Chapter 46 – True Love, or Fantasy?

General POV

The Codex Beast loomed above Cyrus, Walter and Blake, the trio of mages unperturbed by its appearance. At a glance, it appeared like a giant lizard, with scale-like skin and four enormous limbs, each ending in clawed hands or feet. This was superficial, however, as the Beast was much more than some tyrannical lizard. It had a tail, again laden with scales, however this ended in hundreds of feather-like appendages with eye-like designs on them, and upon its head there were not just two large eyes, but also a dozen smaller ones that blinked in unison, their slitted gazes taking in information from all sides. The most disturbing thing was the giant gaping mouth, in which was held millions of tiny pointed teeth, that gave the creature a wicked smile. The creature was showing a smile as Walter strode forwards, off the platform of runes that Cyrus had constructed, and standing before the Codex and the boy-Nightmare that stood beside the creature's belly.

"So, you finally decide to fight seriously, too bad it's too late" the Nightmare of Humanity, formally Damien, commented.

Walter nodded. "Better to go down swinging than to completely submit" he stated. Humanity chuckled.

"I suppose you're going to say that I was always more submissive than you?" the Nightmare mused. Walter cracked a slight smile.

"No, I wouldn't be so cocky to assume that, Dame. What I was going to say is that I was never the one to be submissive… although it is a little fun from time to time" Walter retorted. The Nightmare of Humanity scowled.

"I am no longer Damien. I am the Nightmare of Humanity" it barked. Walter shrugged.

"So you say, yet you still have Damien's memories" he said, pointing to the Nightmare with an accusing finger. The Codex licked its lips as it observed the quarrelling boys. After a moment, it decided that this was boring, and intervened.

"Silence, Nightmare of Humanity" it barked with a deep, booming voice that still echoed Damien's own voice in part, the same voice that the Nightmare of Humanity used. Walter looked up.

"Silence yourself, lizard" he shouted up, craning his neck to look into the monsters many eyes.

The Codex laughed. "Lower beings should respect those greater than themselves, an ant does not tell a man to be quiet, so too should a man not seek to silence a god" it said, arrogance dripping off of every word that it uttered. "Regardless, I grow bored with your bickering, and wish to say one thing; bend at the knee, submit to me your codes, and I will spare your existence" it added after a moment. Walter smiled as he heard this preposition, looking to Cyrus and Blake in order to gain their approval of his next statement. They gave it each with a little nod.

Turning back to the Codex, Walter gave their joint reply. "Never!" he called in a slightly overdramatic but confident tone.

The Codex just grinned; this too had been part of its plan. Now it just had to give the command it wanted to give and everything would be over. Looking to its new puppet, it smiled its wicked, bestial smile. "Nightmare, take their codes" it stated, voice edged with amusement at the current situation. The Nightmare of Humanity bowed, still not uttering a word.

Walter registered the exchange, and called up shadows to assist him. Cyrus was already writing runes into the air as the Nightmare charged forward.

/

"Damien, do you really think you'll succeed against all of us?" Walter questioned, as shadows were flicked from his fingertips, forcing the Nightmare to stop its frontal assault prematurely. The Nightmare did not speak. "So, you do think you'll succeed?" Walter questioned.

The Nightmare just smirked, before a flash of golden light signaled the activation of its powers. A moment later it held a vicious golden halberd, around which soft yellow light swirled. Cyrus analysed the Nightmare's spell-casting quickly, using his Scribes Eyes for only the barest moment. That moment was all he needed to confirm his suspicions. "Walter…" Cyrus started, earning a quick glance from the Requip mage to signal he was listening. "That isn't Damien" he stated, "I think… based on his spell casting… Damien's inside there somewhere, that's the only way he can use that magic, however for all intents and purposes that isn't Damien, it really is just another Nightmare" Cyrus explained, worriedly glancing at the Requip mage to observe how he was going to respond to the news. Walter, surprisingly, smiled.

"That's good to hear Cyrus" he said. Cyrus furrowed his brow. "It means I can go all out without thinking I'm hitting Damien" he added. The Script mage sighed.

"Still naive… regardless, calling him out will be a useless waste of time, the Nightmare appears to be under the complete control of that beast, so he won't reply because it ordered him to be silent" Cyrus added to his explanation. Walter nodded again, showing receipt of this information.

"That explains why he's as quiet as Blake" Walter said. Cyrus nodded, before looking to the Dark Elixir mage. He smirked at the comment.

I'm not gonna be silent for long he signed quickly. Cyrus and Walter both nodded at this.

"Right, so… should we go with the usual strategy?" Walter asked after a moment. Cyrus ran a hand through his hair, thinking for a moment.

"Yes. If we can push him back, then one of us can go and take on that beast whilst the others take out the Nightmare" Cyrus stated. Walter smiled.

"I'll be the one to go. Styx is the best bet for destroying them without causing mass destruction to everyone and everything else" Walter said confidently. Blake nodded, before taking out two phials from a hidden pocket in his jacket. He offered them to both Cyrus and Walter.

I made these specially. If the formula is correct, then it should replenish our magic power quickly. I only have two though, and since I've used the least magic out of all of us so far, I can handle this without them he signed. Cyrus and Walter looked to each other for a moment, before removing the stoppers of the phials. "Bottoms up" Walter said, smiling.

Cyrus looked to Blake. "You didn't tell me about these?" he questioned. Blake shrugged.

I wanted to make sure you'd both survive, but I figured if I told you about them, you'd be more inclined to waste your magic power he explained. Cyrus smirked.

"Always looking out for us" he said, before downing the contents of the phial.

After returning the phials to Blake, Walter and Cyrus turned towards the Nightmare of Humanity. It hadn't moved from its spot a short distance away from their group. With the effects of the potion slowly returning their magical power, Walter and Cyrus nodded to each other before preparing for the next move.

Walter was first to act, calling up his magic. "Requip; Chronos, the Time Lord" he said, light accumulating around his body for a moment as the spell began to work.

Cyrus was next, drawing his pen and scribbling runes down in the air. Blake was only a moment behind him, removing the stoppers off of three of his potions, black sludge-men forming from the contents. With his protectors in place, Blake then retreated a safe distance, and began to accumulate his own power to his fingertips, before pressing them to his throat to release the limiting spell placed there.

The Codex watched with amusement from above as its four favorite puppets were about to perform their final show. After this, it decided, I will begin my reign of terror.

/

The Nightmare of Humanity smirked viciously as Walter began charging forward, the Requip only completing as the boy neared his target. Without even stopping his charge, Walter held his hand out. "From darkness of night I call you to my side. Split time asunder; Twilight" he called quickly, shadows seeping from the black metallic epaulet he wore, forming a solid spear of blackness that he held in his hand. The Nightmare raised its eyebrow with slight interest, before raising its own halberd to block the incoming downward slash that Walter delivered.

Walter knew what the Nightmare was thinking. "Yes, this suit is powered with a small fraction of Shadow Maker magic, although not as powerful as Damien's" he stated, before moving from their locked weapons, jumping back before rushing forwards and delivering a powerful thrust. Humanity chuckled, as it moved to dodge the attack, throwing itself right. Walter was a moment in registering its movement, as white light formed in its free hand, forming a blade that it sent arcing in to slice at Walter's throat. Walter saw the attack and jumped up, doing a flip backwards. The Nightmare was unperturbed by the acrobatic show, already pressing its bladed attack with another one-handed thrust from its halberd. In the air, Walter was unable to block or dodge the attack, however that did not matter, as Cyrus came to his rescue. "Red-Yellow Script Fusion; Blast Spark" he barked in the midst of writing his more-complex spell. Two runes glowed instantly from in amongst the hundreds that the brunette had written in elegant patters around his person, their yellow and red colours merging to form a fireball of crimson that crackled with golden-white lightning. Humanity only had a second to register the spell being cast and had to quickly drop its halberd, summoning up a shield of golden light to protect itself from the counter attack.

As the Nightmare was driven back, Walter landed from his jump safely, a thankful smile on his face. "Thanks Cyrus, I'm not gonna make that mistake again" he said, before holding up his black spear. "Twilight, I command you, rend time asunder and allow me free movement to double that of normal flow" Walter commanded. The spear shifted in Walter's hands at the command, floating above his person. Walter looked up as Twilight began wrapping his body in shadows that faded after a moment. As they faded, Walter felt himself shift, like a sudden weightlessness had overtaken his body. "Good" he nodded, "Now anything I do will be completed in half the time that it should, and all other forces only work on me at half the strength meaning…" he grabbed the spear from the air, before leaping forward without hardly any effort; gravity and air resistance were no longer his concern. "I can attack this usurper without him being able to even register my movement" Walter finished, as his spear tip moved to slice at the Nightmare, who seemed to be confused as to what was going on.

Walter cheered triumphantly as the spear tip pierced the Nightmare's shoulder, driving it back a significant distance. He pulled out his weapon and leapt back to his starting position in one movement as the Nightmare still seemed to be processing the attack. "I can move at double the speed of a normal being, Nightmare, you were just struck by me" he called out, earning a confused look from the being.

The Codex above raised a giant eyebrow with interest; this wasn't a skill it had thought a normal human could poses. Deciding to further its own amusement, it allowed its puppet to speak. "Humanity, do not disappoint me" it said in a threatening tone.

The Nightmare looked up for a moment, registering the command, before looking back to Walter. "Guess you've got other ways of being annoying, Walter" it said with a smirk. Walter raised an eyebrow.

"Guess you've just been allowed to speak again, Nightmare puppet" he retorted, the cockiness on his voice sounding more childish as his speed-enhancing spell made his every word sound faster and higher pitch. The Nightmare laughed at the effect.

"You sound like a child, which I suppose is appropriate" he stated, before readying another stance, his halberd raised in a defensive formation. Walter looked at the creature's arm, noticing then that the wound had already healed, and it was still at full fighting strength. "Damn… you heal faster than the other Nightmares" he said, "Kinda reminds me of Hope" he added. The Nightmare of Humanity scowled.

"I am not that traitorous fool. His Perceptual Time Manipulation would have been useful though" he stated with a harsh-but-accepting tone of voice. Walter shrugged.

"Although I hated him, he was a lot more human than any of those other Nightmares" he stated, before pointing the tip of his spear at the opposing Nightmare, "Although as I look at you now, I guess he was even more human than Damien. More human than you" he accused. This earned a viciously angry glare from the Nightmare of Humanity.

"How dare you compare me to that fool. I AM NOT DAMIEN" it roared, before beginning to rush forwards. Walter smirked happily, as his taunting succeeded in drawing the opponent towards him. "Now I just gotta hold…" he muttered to himself, as he, in his speed-enhanced form, began to dodge and counter-strike with the Nightmare of Humanity.

/

Cyrus watched the exchange from his safe distance away. Barely registering the movement of the two battling beings, the brunette teen focused all his energy on completing the highly complex spell that he was writing in the air. "Defending Walter and writing this has slowed me down more than I expected" Cyrus muttered, as his eyes flashed over more rainbow colours that his pen flicked around the air. Soon, though these colours began to glow, and the spell neared its completion. Cyrus flicked his gaze to the battle momentarily, as he prepared to cast the incantation that would complete the spell as a whole. Walter was busy ducking and diving, his speedy blows striking the Nightmare, all to no avail as it healed up instantly.

"Just a little longer, Walter…" he breathed, as his pen finished the final sequence of runes that were needed. "There!" Cyrus declared. At his declaration, Walter finished one final crippling strike to the Nightmares legs, before leaping backwards.

"Now Cyrus!" Walter barked, hearing the Script mage's announcement of completion. Cyrus nodded.

"Here goes… Rainbow Script; Nebula Spectrum" he commanded, sending magical energy forward to activate the hundreds of rune-sequences that he had written in the air around his person. They each responded a second after his command, the runes glowing brightly and melting together into a bright, oscillating spectrum of technicolor that surged forward. The Nightmare of Humanity was overtaken completely by the wave of energy. It struck the being up, wrapping its body, Damien's body, in a cocoon of energy that surged around and around. It felt like being caught in a whirlpool of bright colours, and it hurt. "Walter, if you wanna go, go now" Cyrus shouted, having to raise his voice over the crashing sounds of his destructive spell. Walter nodded, running a hand through his dark, blond-tipped hair.

"Alright… just… you two make sure you get outta this place if I fail. We can't have us all dying here and no one able to stop the Codex" he stated. Cyrus and Blake both nodded at this.

"We will" Cyrus promised, before looking to his spell; it wouldn't last much longer. Walter got the message, and with one final nod to the pair, he ran forward, past the rainbow maelstrom, and towards the Codex Beast.

/

The Codex Beast was surprised when its puppet was caught by such a powerful magical spell, however it was not as surprised as when it found that one of the three human mages had managed to get past the attack and stand before it, his eyes burning with rage and determination. "So… you wish to fight me still; you, a human, wish to take on a god?" the Codex said to Walter, as the Requip mage stood boldly before the beast.

Walter nodded. "Yeah, I do. I wanna fight the thing that possessed Damien and took my friend away from me" he said gruffly, brandishing his Twilight Spear against the Codex Beast. The Codex laughed at the action.

"You think I possessed that fool. It was only by his weakness of heart and character that I was able to take ahold. It's not my fault that your master chose to put me inside such a weak and inexorable fool" the Codex chuckled with a slight smirk.

Walter scowled. "That may be so, however you did not need to do all this… I'm sure you could've found a more normal way to get a body. Heck, we might've helped you if you weren't such an overconfident and cocky monster" he said with a momentarily venomous tone, before shrugging, "But things are what they are. At least you gave me a form I could fight and a beastie I can kill" he mused. The Codex narrowed its eyes.

"You think yourself strong, wearing a fake god-like power such as that Time Lord… or that Star Lord… or even that puny Lord of Demise. Bah! They are not true gods like me, you have nothing that could pose a threat to me, human" the Codex stated. Walter raised an eyebrow.

"You sure about that?" he questioned. The Codex gave a puzzled expression.

"I have witnessed you grow through the eyes of Damien. You have not one power that threatens me" it said. Walter laughed.

"Then you obviously haven't seen this" Walter said, before he began to Requip, one last time. "Come forth calamity and vengeance, victory and death, the Master of Hatred, and she who commands the river of the dead. Come and possess me, Styx!" Walter cried out, his Requip light, turning harsh, and pallid as he finished his words. This change piqued the Codex's interest and it leaned in closer to observe the change. With the changing of the light, an armor unlike all his others appeared over Walter's body; The Codex eyed it with suspicion.

Walter smirked up at the creature as he stood with barely anything on his body at all, save a simple set of plain white, tight-fitting shorts that kept what little modesty he had left. After a moment rainbow light began enveloping his body too. "Now you're really in trouble" Walter said.

The Codex nearly sweat-dropped.

/

The Nightmare of Humanity finally found some reprieve as Cyrus' spell began to fade. After a moment, it finally managed to stand again. "Grr…" it growled in frustration as the hundreds of tiny wounds that cloaked its body were healed by the power of the Codex that the Nightmare borrowed. "I will kill… you… CYRUS!" it barked as it stood uninjured once more.

The brunette script mage stood a short distance away, a cocky smile on his face that rivalled even Walter's smirks. "I guess that means you're gonna be gunning for me now then?" he questioned, cocking his head to the side a little. This action elicited another gruff response from the Nightmare.

"I am going to take those pens and skewer your eyes" it cursed. Cyrus laughed.

"Come on then" he said, gesturing toward the Nightmare with open arms. Humanity raised its hands, conjuring forth a new blade as its previous weapon had already been ripped from it in the Nebula. As it willed shadows forth it rapidly became aware of a growing magical presence. Tearing its eyes off Cyrus, the Nightmare quickly glance behind, at Blake, realising only too late that the Elixir mage had his fingers pressed to his throat. Cyrus registered the revelation in the Nightmare's eyes and turned his head. "Do it Blake" he ordered. Blake nodded, before opening his mouth.

After a short inhalation, the dark-haired teen began to sing. The words were lost on the Nightmare, as the singer was too far away for it to hear properly, however it felt their effect quite quickly. Cyrus smirked for a few moments, before beginning to stride over towards the Nightmare. Once he was within ear shot he wrote in the air, ensuring not to interfere with Blake's Harmony Voice spell.

THIS IS THE HYMN OF ENSLAVEMENT, ONE OF BLAKE'S MOST POTENT TUNES.

He wrote in grey light.

IT WILL ENFORCE RESTRAINT ONTO YOUR BODY, AND PREVENT YOU FROM, MOVING, OR EVEN FROM CASTING ANY MAGIC. ONCE IT IS COMPLETED YOU WILL BE A SITTING DUCK, AND THEN I WILL BE ABLE TO FINISH YOU OFF ONCE AND FOR ALL. HUMANITY OR DAMIEN IT MATTERS NOT TO ME, I MADE A VOW TO KILL YOU AND KILL YOU I WILL.

He added. The Nightmare scanned the words as best he could, as sure enough he found that he could barely move even its borrowed eyes, let alone its head or body; Cyrus observed the difficulty it had moving with glee. After a few more sung words, a melodic tune filled the air around the Nightmare, and Blake began to stride over. "I have finished the song, now its effects should last an hour at best~" he informed the Script mage in a sing-song voice.

Cyrus nodded in understanding. "That's good. I will began preparing the final spell then" he replied. Blake nodded, before his eyes were drawn away to another place in the rubble-filled hole. Cyrus followed the gaze, and found himself looking towards a now half-naked Walter.

"Looks like he's a-a-activated Styx" Blake said, his voice stammering over the 'a' with a natural tune that seemed to fit the one that he had sung only moments before.

Cyrus nodded grimly. "Yes, his most powerful Divine Garment. Looks like he has thirty minutes before…" he avoided from finishing the sentence. The Nightmare of Humanity looked confusedly at the brunette teen.

Blake did too. "We still have that which we can use… if it comes to it" he stated. Cyrus looked to the Elixir mage and nodded.

"I suppose. Regardless… it doesn't matter, we made these choices and we must stick to them" he said, shaking his head defiantly to remove the regretful thoughts from his head. Blake scowled angrily at the dismissive tone his partner just used.

"You put too little value on human life, Cy~" he said-sang.

"You haven't used that nickname in a while, Blake" he replied sarcastically. Blake shrugged. "However, it doesn't matter, since I'm going to do what I intend to anyways, and that includes defeating that monster should it come to it… whether Walter dies or not is of no consequence" Cyrus added.

Blake scowled again, however before he could reply another voice butted in, one that neither of them expected to hear. "C-yrus…" it said in a strangled voice. Both of the code bearing mages looked around with surprise on their faces.

Damien smiled at their shocked expressions.

/

The Codex laughed amusedly as Walter stood defiantly before it in nothing more than his shorts. "Is this a joke?" it inquired with a half-amused, half-wary tone in its voice.

Walter smirked, looking at his own arms and the faint rainbow glow that emanated from his skin. "It is not" he affirmed, "Although I have to admit this is my first time using this power" he added. The Codex raised a reptilian eyebrow.

"So, that really is a threat then… for I see no magic in it, but… you have definitely changed" it analysed. Walter smiled up at the creature, a cruel but interested smile.

"Yes, I have changed. This suit, or more accurately these shorts, have more power than any Divine Garment I have displayed, for they run not on magic but on my will. You know what that means…" he stated. The Codex gave a mildly puzzled expression, before a wave of realisation passed over its features.

"It uses your life energy" it queried loudly. Walter shrugged.

"Perhaps, however that was not what I was referring to" he replied. "No, what I meant for you to realise was that this suits power, Styx's power, gives me great freedom as not only can I use magic, but I can use it with wanton abandon, for no matter my magic usage, the results of using this suit will be the same" he said, raising and pointing his finger at the Codex. "You will die!" he declared a moment later. The Codex Beast laughed at the show.

"No, you will die. I estimate you have thirty minutes or less before your life energy dissipates. All I have to do is crush you before you can do anything to hinder me, or, even better, I could just wait it out and the suit will do my job for me" the creature stated. Walter shrugged.

"Perhaps, I might die, but I will definitely be taking you down with me" he said, "we will ride the river to the land of the dead together". Walter finished that statement, by calling on his magic to conjure forth two weapons; one a hand gun with the familiar heart-and-target shape, and the other a sword of darkest blue metal, the Sword of Astraeus.

The Codex saw the weapons and laughed lowly, before raising a clawed hand above Walter. "You are foolish to brandish your intentions so openly. I will kill you before that suit does, and satisfy my long-held urge. Goodbye you most annoying of brats" it boomed, before sending its claw crashing down on Walters position. The Requip mage smiled at eh action, before he activated his magic.

"Did you forget that I am a Swift magic user? It won't be so easy to crush me" he called out, as his magic propelled him twenty paces forwards in an instant, easily out of the danger area of the Codex's claw. The beast just frowned, before it began moving its other claw to crash down on Walter, this time with a slight bit more speed. Again, the Requip mage dodged, but was unable to do anything more. The Codex licked its lips, as it liked the little game of cat-and-mouse. After a few more failed attempts to crush its prey, however, it soon grew bored, and with one sideways swipe of its left claw, and a follow-up downward swipe of its right claw it finally caught Walter.

"Agh!" the teen cried out as he was smooshed beneath the weight of the magical monstrosity.

"Shouldn't have been so cocky… I didn't even have to use any magic…" the Codex hissed arrogantly, lifting its claws up to observe the sight beneath. It scowled only seconds after doing so.

"Sorry, must be my cockroach genes" Walter smiled, from his flattened, but otherwise unharmed, position on the floor. As he stood the Codex nearly gaped.

"How did you…" it began, before it noticed the intense glow around Walter's form. The teen registered the understanding in the creature's eyes.

"So now you finally realise. Whilst I may die from this suit, I won't die before those thirty minutes are up… from now until then you and I are gonna fight, and I'm not gonna take any damage thanks to my God-given invulnerability" Walter said, seriousness edging into his tone now that he had stopped playing around.

The Codex narrowed its beastly eyes. "You may think that you are invincible, but as I said before… your power is nothing more than a mockery to a true god like me" it hissed. Walter cracked his knuckles, before grabbing his Heart Seeker gun and Astraeus sword once more.

"I never said I was invincible, just invulnerable…" he replied, before aiming the gun barrel right at the Codex's face. "Let's see if you are too though, oh-mighty-god" he added sarcastically, before firing off a complete round of bullets.

/

Cyrus and Blake turned. "That's… impossible" the brunette muttered, as he and Blake came face-to-face with Damien. The Maker mage just smiled.

"You can't… shouldn't… be able to move, let alone speak" Blake piled on in a sing-song voice of surprise. Damien blinked slowly.

"I… can… when… N-ight…mare… is… restrained… not much… time" he said in the same strangled tone as he had gained their attention with.

Cyrus understood quickly. "Alright…" he nodded, "What do you want to say?"

"Found way… to beat… need… codes…" Damien said. Blake looked to Cyrus.

"Walter's fighting, we can't interrupt now… this could be a trap" he stated. Cyrus pouted.

"True, but-" he began, before a shout alerted the two mages to another group of people that were running up towards them; Erza and Lucy.

"Hey!" Lucy called as she ran. Cyrus gave them both looks of annoyance.

"I thought I told you two to get everyone out" he said sternly. Erza shook her head.

"The exit we thought we'd found had collapsed from the fall, there is no way out" she stated, before looking over to where Damien was held, the magic emanating around him in tune immediately alerting her to the presence of Blake's magic spell. "You caught Damien?" she asked. Cyrus nodded.

"Yes, but that's not important" he said, "Walter's fighting off the Codex for now, and Damien has been possessed by a Nightmare, the same one he was trying to create. We've subdued him with one of Blake's songs however… he seems to be able to communicate" Cyrus informed the pair. Lucy pouted.

"So that's what that big thing was we saw…" she mused, before a thought passed across her face, "if the Codex is out, does that mean we've lost?" she asked. Cyrus shrugged.

"We cannot be sure for now, however…" he tapped off as another strangled sound came from Damien's body.

"Not…lo…st" he said. Cyrus and Blake gave each other a slight glance, they nodded their heads in unison.

"What do you mean?" Cyrus asked.

"Need… Walter… use… co-des…" Damien panted, with each spoken word it appeared that the Nightmare's influence was getting stronger; Cyrus activated his Scribes Eyes to be sure.

"Okay… but our codes are incomplete, we can't use them to beat the Codex" he said. Damien looked Cyrus right into the eyes, a burning depth of emotion in those deep pits.

"Not… needed… bo-nds… c… can b-be…remade… make D-dreams… not-" he let out a strangled gasp, a noise of pain and discomfort.

"He's not going to last much longer" Blake warned. Cyrus nodded in concurrence, quickly returning his gaze to Damien.

"Speak quickly Damien" he said. The Maker mage panted.

"M-ake… Dreams… not… N-n-NIGHTMARES!" he exclaimed. At that last word, Damien's head fell limp.

"He's gone again" Blake stated the obvious. Cyrus did not even register the comment; all the brunettes thinking power was going into Damien's final words.

Make Nightmares? Does he mean his creations…?

But that would still need a soul… perhaps use one of ours? No that wouldn't work…

The Script mage's mind raced. Erza and Lucy also tried to process what happened, to no avail. "What should we do, Blake?" the blonde asked the dark-haired teen.

Blake shrugged. "For now, I will maintain my spell over Damien, or the Nightmare, for as long as possible. I have some other restraining potions for when it runs out but…" he glanced over to Walter for a moment, "I doubt they'll hold for long, and I can't go and support Walter right now. Damn it I feel so useless!" he cursed. Erza scowled.

"Perhaps we should see about contacting the others. If nothing else they may be able to help us get everyone out, then we can see about dealing with the Codex" she said, her pragmatic mind trying to work on its own solution. Blake shrugged.

"It's possible to get people out, but the Codex is too great a threat to leave. Cyrus, Walter and I will stay here to-"

"Ah… It's so obvious… so simple…!" Cyrus' voice cut into Blake's speech.

The three mages turned to the brunette, who was now looking at each of them like they were the stupidest people in the world. "What is it Cyrus?" Lucy asked in an unsure tone. The Script mage smiled.

"I think I might've just proven that Damien was smarter than us…" he said. The others all gave puzzled expressions. Seeing their faces mage Cyrus get even more excited. "I've just got to double check something. Whilst I do that, you two go get Natsu and gray, bring them here" he said. Erza and Lucy nodded, immediately rushing off at Cyrus' request. Only Blake bothered to ask the important question.

"What are you going to check?" he asked Cyrus, as the Script mage returned to his thinking.

"I need to analyze the Codex Beast for a second. After that… I'm gonna go grab Walter. We're doing that thing" he said. Blake nodded.

"Okay, guess I'll tie up Damien now too" he added, earning a slight nod from the Script mage, who had already retreated back into his thoughts, faraway stare being directed towards the towering creature before him.

If I'm right that means that Damien understood our codes far better than probably even Master. And here I thought I was supposed to have the 153 IQ… Cyrus thought.

/

Walter sent off another salvo of bullets from his Heart Seeker gun, before he was struck by the clawed hand of the Codex Beast. "Ha ha, looks like my powered-up attacks do hurt you" he cheered, as he dodged the follow-up attack of the creature. The Codex did not like the mocking tone of the 'lowly' human and growled angrily.

"Little pest" it growled, before bringing its arms up in the air. "Fine… if physical assaults don't work, let's see how you deal with magical attacks. Rain of Blades" it called out. Walter frowned as hundreds of golden blades were materialized in the space underneath the Codex's claws.

"I see… so you can still use Damien's magic" he observed, "No matter… Astraeus Blade Dance" he called out, charging magic into the dark blue metal blade in his hand, before swiping it above his person. The Codex followed the movements, and just when it thought it saw an opening it fired off its summoned blades, however not one struck. Blades of silver and gold flame erupted around Walter, parrying and sending many of the golden blades off course. "I said those would be ineffective" the Requip mage chuckled. The Codex hissed.

"I can do more than make blades, observe" it warned, before charging up another spell, "Shadow Make; Shadow Tendrils" it commanded, shadowy tentacles forming from its fingertips that lashed down at Walter at high speed. Walter laughed.

"Swift Steps" he commanded, easily sidestepping the entire attack in one go. As he did so he Requipped away both his blade and gun, opting for another strategy.

"I think it's time to try something new" he said, however before he could finish materializing the gloves he intended to wear, he felt a tap at his shoulder. Whirling around in surprise, Walter came face-to-face with Cyrus.

"No time to explain" Cyrus said, grabbing ahold of Walter's shoulder. "Violet Script; Purple Gate" he commanded quickly, a shimmering of purple runes signaling the activation of his spell. Before Walter could even usher one complaint from his lips he was teleported away from his fight, and instead to a position hidden behind a particularly large pile of rubble. The distance sounds of the enraged Codex could be heard from this new position.

"What's going on Cyrus!" Walter barked quickly. Cyrus smiled.

"We've found a way to beat the Codex" he replied calmly. Walter frowned.

"I thought I was the way we were gonna defeat it" he said with a sarcastic tone. Cyrus smiled wider.

"No. After you left Blake and I were able to communicate with Damien" Cyrus began, raising his hand to silence Walter's question before he could even ask it, "It seems we've underestimated how much our dear ex-Quad code member understood about our powers. I'd wager he understood even more than our Master" Cyrus explained.

"But… what does this have to do with interrupting my fight?" Walter asked, the confusion plain on his face now. Cyrus chuckled.

"We need all of our codes for this, Walter, and don't worry about your fight, I've put up a ward of runes to hide our presence from that creature. It won't realise where we are until it's too late" the Script mage stated. As he finished speaking Blake came into view, a tied-up Damien slung over his shoulder.

I've completed my treatment of these ropes, and I've given him several powerful sedatives. Not even a dragon could wake up from those he signed, his voice gone back to being muted by Cyrus' curse.

Cyrus nodded. "Excellent. Now we just need to wait for the others to get here with those two love birds and we're set" the brunette mused. Walter frowned.

"You're brining Natsu and Gray here? But weren't they supposed to leave with the others?" the dark-haired, blond-tipped teen asked, completely at a loss as to what Cyrus was thinking.

"Everything will be explained later, it's too complicated to go over now. Just trust me… or even better, trust Damien" Cyrus stated. Walter pouted, but decided it best to just do what he was told; after all that had happened he had no reason not to trust Cyrus at least.

"Fine, however… you do realise that if this fails I won't have enough time left with Styx to defeat that monster… I will die" he said. Cyrus looked to Walter with a slightly more serious expression on his face.

"About that…" Cyrus began, before Walter felt an arm reach around his neck; Blake's arm.

"What the…!" Walter began to cry out, before a cloth pressed to his face sent him unconscious in seconds. After confirming it had worked, Blake nodded to Cyrus. Moments later Erza rounded the corner of the rubble pile.

She saw Walter unconscious in Blake's arms and jumped in surprise. "What's going on here?" she questioned. Cyrus glanced at the red-head for a moment, before responding.

"He's out cold" the brunette stated, "Blake and I did it because we intend to undo his Styx Requip and… because I don't think he'd approve of this method, however we have no choice" he added on.

Blake nodded. Walter wanted our 'last resorts' to be irreversible in case the Codex took over any one of us, however… unlike my Lucifer and your Armageddon spells, his was reversible, we just kept it quiet to avoid him worrying he signed, his silent message being translated by Cyrus, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes. Although none of us believed we'd need to undo our last resort tactics, Walter's was selected to be used first both because of its minimal chance of mass destruction, and also because it was the only one with an 'escape clause', not that he knew of course" Cyrus said with amusement. Erza nodded unsurely at the comments.

"Okay… what do you intend to do now?" she asked. Cyrus looked down at Walter's form, being laid carefully on the ground by Blake.

"We're going to stop Walter's heart" he said flatly. This confused Erza all the more.

/

"You're going to do what?!" Erza gasped in surprise. Cyrus sighed loudly, and looked toward the other Requip mage, whilst Blake prepared everything for what he and Cyrus intended to do.

"I can only explain this quickly to you so listen up" the brunette stated hurriedly, Erza nodded and waited quietly for the other mage to explain himself. "Styx is one of the three 'last resort' strategies that Walter, Blake and I came up with. It is not as destructive as Blake's and not as wide-spread as my own, so he was volunteered to go up against the Codex" Cyrus began. He paused for a moment to let this sink in.

Erza nodded. "Okay" she said bluntly.

Cyrus continued. "Styx is different from Walter's other Requips, it is made from a material called Soul Leather. Basically, instead of running on magic, it uses up Walter's life-force with its powers, giving him temporary invulnerability, along with increased speed and strength" Cyrus added. Erza seemed surprised by this information, but remained quiet for the Script mage to continue. "The problem is that once activated, Styx cannot be stopped until… well… until it runs out of fuel. In simple terms, it stops when Walter is dead" Cyrus finished. Erza looked with astonishment to Walter's semi-naked unconscious form.

"So, he used up his own life to fight that creature? He really is a brave warrior" she mumbled quietly, respect laden heavily in her tones. Cyrus smirked slightly at the comment.

"There is, however one additional thing" the Script mage chimed, earning Erza's attention once more, "Blake and I did figure out a potential way to stop Styx, which makes its use more preferable to mine or Blake's 'last resorts'. Much like how Walter used the power of Thanatos to remove Natsu's soul and return it in order to remove the curse from his body, Blake and I can stop Walter's heart for a few seconds, long enough to… err... remove Styx and thereby stop its influence, saving Walter's life" Cyrus explained.

Erza took in this new information, just as Blake held up his hand to signal he was finished with his own preparations. "You are going to do it now?" she asked.

Cyrus nodded. "We need Walter's code. Whilst we do this you need to help get Natsu and Gray over here with Lucy. They are the other key to my plan" he stated flatly, as he and Blake took up positions either side of Walter. Erza nodded.

"Okay, I'll be quick… you two just make sure you are careful" she said, before rushing off again. Cyrus smiled at her retreating form for a moment, before putting on a more serious face and nodding to Blake. "Alright, let's get this over with" he stated. Blake nodded back up at him and administered the potion that would stop Walter's heart by dribbling it carefully into the teens mouth.

After a few moments, it took effect and Walter's entire body went slack. "Alright, now it's my turn…" Cyrus stated, before rapidly writing a short sequence of runes in the air that, upon completion, warped around his hand in a glowing array of white, yellow, and grey. "Yellow, Grey, White Fusion; Resuscitate" Cyrus commanded, placing his palm to Walter's chest and activating the spell.

/

Walter's whole body jerked as golden lighting rocked around it, invisible to the naked eye, but visible clearly to Cyrus' Scribes Eyes. "Again" he muttered, charging another burst of magic through his palm. The crackle surged down his arm and dissipated into the Requip mage's chest. Cyrus waited to deliver another blow; Walter skin felt warm and slightly slick with sweat, however Cyrus did not care. "Come on" he begged, delivering a third wave through his arm.

Blake kept checking Walter's vitals; unlike Cyrus he couldn't see the spells effects, however he was trained in medical methods and knew what to look for when resuscitating a patient. Currently Walter displayed no change, however his Styx clothing was. Slowly, almost as if it was reacting to the fading presence of Walter's soul, the tight shorts began fading away, leaving Walter completely exposed. Blake and Cyrus did not feel embarrassed seeing Walter naked, it wasn't like they hadn't seen him naked before. After a fifth and final blast of energy, Cyrus raised his palm up off of Walter's chest. "That's all I can do. If I give him any more it won't be so much reviving him as cooking him. He needs to get up now" the brunette stated. Blake nodded and pressed an ear to the Requip mages chest. Just as the last remnants of electricity were surging through Walter's body, Blake heard the faint thump of a heartbeat.

Walter was alive.

Looking up to Cyrus hopefully, Blake nodded. The Script mage smiled broadly, "I knew it would work" he said. Blake shrugged.

I hoped so too he signed. A moment later a spluttering sound of surprise was heard as Lucy and Erza rounded the corner of rubble, carefully herding the mated Dragon Slayer and Ice mage.

"Why's Walter naked!" Lucy squeaked as her eyes glanced over at Walter on the ground "I thought you said they were just going to quickly revive him, Erza" she added a moment later. Cyrus shrugged.

"Well… you arrived before we could cover him up" he said nonchalantly. "Regardless… I'm glad that your all here, since now it means we can begin" he added a moment later. Natsu and Gray, who were holding each other's hand, along with the shoulder of either Lucy or Erza, sat down as they heard Cyrus speak. "Erza said you needed us" the pinkette stated, as he took a seat so as to avoid walking into any rubble. Gray sat down beside him.

"I know that we can still use magic, but surely we can't fight against that monster if even Walter could do anything to it" the Ice mage added, with a little severity in his voice. Cyrus nodded at both of their comments, although he quickly realised that they couldn't see this action.

"Yes, I need you" he said aloud, making sure that the pair heard him. They each nodded to signal that they did, and Cyrus began to explain his plan to them. "You see… I need to ask you a question" Cyrus stated. The pair looked a little confusedly for a moment, before leaning in closer.

"Okay" Natsu said, confirming that he and Gray were listening. Cyrus clear his throat for a moment, before asking; even he felt stupid doing this.

"Do you two truly love each other?" he asked, earning odd looks from all present, including Blake. "Not just love, but truly and completely love each other" he added. Natsu and Gray looked almost confused for a moment, however they each shared a brief look into nearly the other's direction. It was Gray that answered for them.

"Yes. We love each other, completely" he replied. Cyrus smiled.

"Good" he nodded, "Because that bond is what's going to save this world" he added a moment later.

/

"What do you mean it's going to save the world?" Natsu asked loudly, confused as to Cyrus' response.

The Script mage expected this, and whilst he and Blake, who had quickly figured out what Cyrus was planning after that last statement, began preparing for the upcoming spell, the brunette decided to reveal his plan. "I will explain" Cyrus stated as the pair began carefully moving Walter towards the seated mates, "When Damien spoke to us, he said that we must create a dream, and not a Nightmare, in order to defeat the Codex Beast. From this I gathered that he meant for us to create something to fight it, however without his code we could not use our own codes to do it; we needed his Code of Bonding for it to work. When I presented this issue, Damien, weak as he was, told us that bonds can be remade, and whilst I didn't understand what he meant, something occurred to me. When I thought of the word bond the only thing that sprung to mind was you two; a mated pair. It was that idea that lead me to this conclusion; Damien meant for us to use you two, whom he had seen defeat Anger, in order to create the 'something' that we needed to defeat the Codex Beast. With that realisation in mind I came up with this plan, and with a bit of skill and a lot of luck we may be able to do just what our so-called enemy intended. Using your bond as a base, the bond of love between mates, Walter, Blake, and I are going to create the Ultimate Nightmare to fight against the Codex" Cyrus declared openly, just as he and Blake finished laying Walter down on the ground. Looking to the pair, Cyrus analysed their expressions. "Do you agree to be a part of this?" he asked them, prompting for a response, time was of the essence now that he had finished his explanation.

Natsu and Blake, along with Erza and Lucy, all seemed stunned to silence at this information and quite sudden request. A moment later, the mated pair turned to each other, sharing a lasting, loving look despite their blindness. Smiling, they then shared a short, but passionate kiss.

Declaring openly for all to hear, the pair gave their response. "Hell yeah, we wanna be a part of this!" they said in unison.

Cyrus nodded. "Perfect. Now I just need to wake Walter up" he said, "And our final battle can finally reach its conclusion".

Chapter 46 End

Next Chapter; Climax

(In more ways than one ^^)