-Chapter 21-
The group hurried through the empty cell blocks as fast as they could, even faster than before now that a group of guards was now in hot pursuit. Bastion, dropping back to the rear of the group alongside Chazz, pulled out his wizard's staff, thrusting it forward and swiping it across his body in the direction of the approaching soldiers.
"Blizzara!" He shouted, the thick particles of ice forming in the air where the staff had made it's path, shooting from their place towards the soldiers, covering the floor beneath them in a heavy layer of twinkling ice that formed around their feet, freezing their metal armor and causing their feet to stick to the ground beneath them.
"Great work, Bastion!" Jesse praised, holding Syrus's hand as they ran, making sure the tiny prince would be able to keep up with their swift pace.
"Yes, but that won't hold them for long!" Bastion informed, cursing the fact that he hadn't yet mastered the highest forms of elemental spells just yet, but still he hoped it would be enough to give them an advantage in their escape efforts.
"Well whatever!" Chazz dismissed, shaking his head for a moment, not much caring about the minutiae of the situation so long as they made it out okay. "Just keep running!"
"Sorry to bring it up," Syrus began, glancing back at Chazz for a second with a worried yet inquisitive look in his eyes "but that doesn't sound like much of a plan at this point?"
"Well excuse me, princess!" Chazz spat back, frustrated with the situation enough as it was, and Syrus's input was neither helping nor appreciated for the time being. "Sorry we spent all our time breaking you out of jail and not standing around talking about plans!"
"Alright first," Syrus argued, offended by Chazz's annoyed outburst "I'm not a princess! Second-"
"-Hush up, both of you!" Hassleberry scolded as they ran, keeping an eye out for any other soldiers that could be looking for them now that they had freed Syrus from his prison. "This really isn't a good time to argue!"
"Quiet!" Axel commanded, annoyed with all the unnecessary chatter going on behind him. Felling any foe who dared cross his path, nearly sprinting with the others through the dark corridors as the others made their best effort to keep up with his exponential pace. Doing his best to keep up, Syrus was relieved Jesse had been holding his hand as they ran, making it much more difficult for him to fall behind despite his vastly shorter legs not offering him any extra help in that regard. "The dungeon entrance is just up ahead, and once we get out there, there'll be even more of those guys, so keep your guards up!"
"No way they're gonna stop us now!" Alexis declared, her rather large blade already in hand, she poured all of her focus into making sure the way would be clear and safe for the defenseless little prince, knowing full well that since Viper's magic suppressing field was calibrated specifically to prevent Syrus from being able to use his portal powers, he was even more helpless than usual. Especially since if he could use it, they would have already been gone by now, and they could have already taken him back home to safety. But the situation being what it was, all they could do now was protect him until they had cleared the field and he could use his powers again to get them out of the godforsaken sixth dimension. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
"Well either way, we've gotta keep moving." Jim interjected, honestly just hoping they could make it through the remainder of the whole ordeal without someone getting hurt. They had gotten lucky when Yubel attacked them before. No one had taken any serious injuries, and even though Jesse had taken a blow to protect Jaden, his slightly more fragile body had only sustained a few scrapes and bruises from the aftermath of the magical burst. But they couldn't be lucky forever, that much was clear to just about everyone, and especially with Syrus around in dire need of their protection, it made Jim worry even more about whether or not they could pull this rescue off successfully or not. "If they catch us, we're all gonna be locked up like that. Or worse."
"Then stop talking, and run!" Axel commanded, gesturing to the fast approaching dungeon entrance, which led to the main hall of the guard's quarters within the fortress. Would that they could have taken the secret entrance to escape, they could have avoided such a dangerous route, but the tunnel having partly collapsed on their way in, it would be next to impossible to use and far too dangerous at that. Meaning unfortunately, the main entrance was their only option. Drawing their weapons, the party prepared to storm their way through the guard's citadel, knowing that if they could make it out of there they would be just about home free as long as they could just get out of the anti-magic field's range. Holding Syrus's hand tightly, Jesse worried about the young bluenette. Of course he was aware just as the others were that he wasn't completely helpless. After all, he did have a deck of his own as just about all of them did along with some very basic magical abilities, but the boy had never been in a battle before, much less one where all of their foes would be trying specifically to capture him. Honestly, Jesse worried Syrus wouldn't be able to handle it and would almost require someone to handhold him through it. But Syrus was tougher than the others gave him credit for. Weapons at the ready, they charged the large double doors. Cutting down each and every foe in their path, Alexis lead the charge, her sword finding its way into the guts of more than a few soldiers blocking the way forward, blood positively coating the otherwise sparkling blade as she ran it through the final soldier barring their pathway forward.
"C'mon, let's get this door open!" Hassleberry shouted, joined by Axel and Jim the pushed with all their might, slowly forcing the heavy iron door to part for them. Gathering together in a barrier around little Syrus, Jaden kept his small blade at the ready, ushering Syrus behind him as he heard more guards approaching from the depths. Chazz stood at the front of the group having taken the responsibility of guarding their flank on the trip out, he growled while his narrowed eyes caught a glimpse of shining armor approaching them. Glancing back for a moment, he could see the others still struggling to force the door open without the means to unlock it themselves, but with soldiers starting to close in on them, they were already running out of time.
"Dammit." Chazz muttered under his breath. Shaking his head for a moment in frustration, he realized what he had to do. Tightening his grip on his sword, Chazz took a deep breath before sprinting back down the corridor, intent on dispatching the swiftly approaching foes.
"Chazz, come back!" Bastion demanded, his eyes widening when he saw what the raven haired warrior was going to do. Taking a step forward, he reached out for the foolish warrior, a look of worry present on his typically calm face. "It's far too dangerous!"
"Well someone's gotta buy those guys some more time!" Chazz called back, glancing back to the others for only a second before his blade made contact with the first soldier's chest, cutting through the thin armor like it was nothing at all. Pulling the blade back, Chazz effortlessly twirled his sword around in his hand for a moment, showing them just what kind of warrior they were dealing with before assuming his battle stance, eyes narrowed as he prepared himself to fight. "Next?"
"Idiot!" Alexis scoffed, not thrilled by his momentary hero complex, though she did commend him for his efforts. Besides, if any of them could handle a group of soldiers single handedly other than her at the moment, it was Chazz. Being the greatest warrior in his own dimension, he was both highly skilled and highly experienced. He was going to be just fine.
"How you holding up, Sy?" Jaden asked, turning his head back to his tiny friend, realizing this was all certainly quite the ordeal for the little prince. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Jaden." Syrus reassured, nodding back up at the brunette. Of course he was a little frightened, he figured just about anyone in his situation would be, but physically he was perfectly fine. A few slowly healing scrapes from the fall he had been a part of during the actual kidnapping itself, but otherwise Viper and his goons hadn't harmed him at all, which honestly surprised him a little, though he certainly wasn't complaining. "Don't worry."
"Good." Jaden nodded, a relieved smile sneaking across his face, holding his free arm out in front of the bluenette as a show of protection, Jesse joining in as well. "Well, we're gonna make sure you stay that way. So stay behind me, okay?"
"Okay." Syrus agreed, honestly not one for not doing what he was told despite what his previous and deliberate breach of security and rule breaking would have otherwise suggested. Still, he kept close to the brunette, following Alexis's previous instructions to stay with him and Jesse as they made their escape. Behind them the others kept pushing away, the heavy double doors starting to succumb to Hassleberry's inhuman strength as well as Jim and Axel's own strength. Cracking just enough, Hassleberry mustered all the strength he could, digging his heels into the floor he roared, forcing the metal doors apart in a violent display as the doors shot out, opening the way to the citadel ahead of them they knocked back every converging guard in their path.
"Nice work, Hassleberry!" Jim praised, patting the tired child on the back, giving him a second to recover from using up such an immense portion of his strength all at once like that, but there really hadn't been any other choice considering they were on a serious time constraint since the longer they took, inevitably the more problems they would have.
"No problem..." Hassleberry panted, only allowing him a second to catch his breath before returning to his battle stance, the danger nowhere near behind them yet. Gesturing for the others to follow, he headed into the citadel proper, following closely behind Axel who had already taken it upon himself to begin clearing the way for the others. "C'mon, let's get a move on!"
"A novel idea!' Bastion nodded, ushering Jaden and the others finally out of the dungeon, taking a few swift strides in pursuit before remembering that Chazz had still been fighting behind them. Stopping dead in his tracks, Bastion turned hastily yet still somehow elegantly on his heels, not about to leave the snow white warrior in the lurch. "Chazz! We're pushing forward!" he called, beckoning him to rejoin the rest of the party. "It's time to go!"
"Dammit.." Chazz panted, his stance faltering for a moment as he felled one more foe, surrounded by blood and death he wiped a drop of blood from a small cut on his cheek, staining the silver of his gauntlets he took a moment to catch his breath before lowering his blooded blade and returning to his full posture, nodding silently as he turned back to Bastion. "Remind me to kill you if you cross us again." hurrying back to rejoin the group, Chazz met Bastion back at the entrance, not bothering to stop he grabbed Bastion's arm as he passed him, whirling the posh wizard around immediately before letting go.
"Jesse, look after him for a sec!" Jaden shouted over the noise of the ensuing battle, handing Syrus off to his absolute dearest companion as he grabbed an incoming soldier's arm. Pulling him forward, Jaden jammed his short blade into the soldier's neck, quickly withdrawing it he dropped the soldier to the ground. Honestly Jaden still felt terrible about the idea of killing another person, but right now he recognized that if they were going to get out of the sixth dimension at all he really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Glancing back to make sure the two bluenettes weren't in any immediate danger, Jaden nodded, contently joining Alexis and the others in the heat of the battle.
"He's becoming more like a warrior." Jesse thought to himself. Smiling softly at the goofy brunette, proudly watching him join the battle, assisting in any way he could though Jesse's focus never wavered from his task. Keeping his arm extended to block Syrus from their enemies, Jesse thought hard on what he could do to assist as well. He contained a small amount of magical powers for self defense purposes, but that wouldn't be powerful enough in such an environment and with Viper's field weakening magic it wouldn't be anywhere near as effective anyway. Quickly catching a small group of soldiers daring to approach from their left, he made a split second choice. Ripping his own deck from the small box hidden under the cascade of long white ruffles flowing down from his vest. Only giving himself time for one draw, he swiftly pulled a card from the deck, shoving the cards back into the box before throwing the card onto the field.
"Sapphire Pegasus!" Jesse shouted, swinging his arm out as the card released from his elegant fingers, a soft iridescent shine enveloping his body as the form of the celestial beast appeared on the field, hurrying to his master. "We need your help, pal!"
"Of course, Jesse." The majestic beast answered for only Jesse to hear, eyeing the little prince behind the celestial child. "Come, on my back!"
"C'mon, your highness." Jesse urged, grabbing Syrus's arm he gently pulled the little boy closer to the Pegasus. Wasting no time, he hoisted the prince up onto the beast's back, hastily hopping aboard himself. Situating himself behind Syrus, Jesse took only a second to make sure the bluenette was secure. "Go!"
Sapphire Pegasus let out a mighty neigh, his voice tearing through the sounds of the battle around them, the dying screams of defeated soldiers and the clanging of metal against metal, swords and lances clashing together. Holding tight to the divine beast, Jesse kept his eyes on the battle around them, doing his best to protect the prince as Jaden instructed, as well as honoring Alexis's own words. She had told Syrus that he and Jaden would look after him, and he wasn't about to let that be a lie. Sapphire tore through the slowly growing hoard of soldiers, determined as well to keep both his master and the little prince safe from harm. Hastily ripping through the enemy soldiers, they found themselves passing Jaden as he fought side by side with Hassleberry, giving his aid to the largely unarmed tank of a child. Passing the brunette by, Jesse turned his head to him, Jaden's eyes turning to meet his, the world seemed to move slower as the brown and emerald orbs stared into each other, a proud and loving smile on Jesse's face as he saw the warrior Jaden was becoming. Turning his gaze back forward the world resumed its speed around Jaden, Jesse's flawless eyes narrowing while his determination swelled within him, vowing not to fail his dear one.
"Way to go, Jess." Jaden praised under his breath, giving himself a moment to rest, he drove his blade through another unsuspecting soldier having been preoccupied trying to take down Hassleberry, who himself was tearing through incoming enemies despite his fists being the only weapon he had. The child was simply inhuman, that's the only explanation Jaden could come up with though he knew even that wasn't entirely true. Panting heavily from the fatigue of battle, Jaden looked around, hoping the others were faring better than they were, yet to be fair, the others were far more experienced and highly trained than he was. "You hangin' in there, Hassleberry?" He asked, glancing quickly to his battle companion.
"Just fine, Jaden." He answered, a cheeky grin coming over his handsome face, landing a particularly forceful blow onto another soldier before turning back to him. "I could do this all day."
"Well lucky for you, we don't plan on having to." Jaden assured, pulling his deck out he drew a card from the top. Looking at the slowly waning battle around them, he glanced at the majestic beast moving about the large open hall, carrying Jesse and Syrus along in an attempt to keep them safe from the battle at hand. Looking back to the card in his hand, he raised an eyebrow in thought.
"Polymerization?" He thought, starting to recall hearing that name somewhere before. "Oh! I think Alexis used this before, when we rescued Chazz. It fuses monsters together." quickly coming up with an idea he searched through his deck, quickly locating the two creatures he had in mind.
"I'll use Polymerization to fuse together Elemental Hero Avian, and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix to form Elemental Hero Flame Wing-man!" a deep red glow overtaking his body as he threw the cards out onto the field, the two creatures appeared, quickly fusing themselves together a mighty beast took their place, more than ready to assist in the battle. "Help us end this, Flame Wing-man!" bathed in a fiery flash the great beast appeared on the battlefield, letting out a mighty battle cry, the beast fired his flames towards a group of soldiers cowering in fear of the beast, the flames consuming them until there was naught left of them.
"Jesse! On your left!" Sapphire called to his master, directing both bluenette's attention to another group of soldiers chasing them down. Gritting his teeth for a second, Jesse wrapped his arm tightly around Syrus, preparing to make a rather swift maneuver.
"Dammit!" Jesse muttered, securing the prince in his grasp. "Will they ever stop coming!?"
"Let me!" Syrus called back to Jesse over the sounds of the waning battle around them. A blue sparkle emanating from his hands, Syrus's deck appeared to him, drawing a card from the top he threw it onto the field with urgency, wanting to do his part to help. "Go, Steamroid!" Upon the little one's command, a rather large train-like creature appeared on the field. With the boost in power from the prince's life force enhanced deck the creature made short work of the soldiers, dispatching them swiftly before returning to Syrus's deck, the blue glow surrounding his tiny body fading away in turn.
"Nice work, your highness!" Jesse praised, honestly surprised by the power in the boy's cards, although he figured he really shouldn't be. Syrus was royalty after all, and their decks typically were just more effective by default it seemed. Smiling at the little prince, Syrus flashed an adorable smile of his own at the celestial bluenette, happy to have been of even just a little help.
"Thank you!" He replied, his cuteness truly knowing no bounds it seemed. Holding on tightly to the divine Pegasus, the beast took them as far from the immediate fighting as he could, thankful that the number of soldiers there had decreased significantly by then, making it far easier to protect the two fragile bluenette's from any potential harm.
"It's time, Jaden!"
"Wha-" Jaden began, whirling around as the sound of Neos' strong baritone sounded in his head once more. Turning his eyes to the large double doors at the far end of the extremely large chamber, he could see the doors begin to crack open, the sound of the heavy wood scraping across the floor encompassing the entire room as well as the creaking of the old metal hinges. Watching as the doors opened, he could see what looked like a massacre in the hallway beyond, blood and death all around just as was in the chamber now. But before that death, there was a man. A rather large, almost pure evil looking man. Seeing him for himself, Axel narrowed his eyes, tightening his grip on his blades as an anger rose within his body.
"Viper!" He shouted, growling deeply at the sight of the tyrant if he'd had the guts to try he'd have tried to kill the man right then and there for banishing him, and branding him a traitor simply for disagreeing with his lack of morals. But he couldn't. Axel was many things, but what he wasn't, was a cold blooded killer.
"Well now, if it isn't Axel Brodie." Viper chuckled darkly, not at all phased by the fighting still going on around them as his voice boomed about the room. "Come to take revenge, I assume?"
"More like justice." Axel answered, glancing over to Syrus and Jesse, who had by then found themselves parked with Sapphire Pegasus on the far western side of the chamber, fear in the little prince's eyes at the sight of Viper. "I'm taking Prince Syrus back! And you'll answer to the council for what you've done!"
"What I've done?" Viper questioned. Glancing over as well to the frightened child, he laughed at Axel's claim, horribly amused by the thought. "As I recall, it was you, who broke into the palace and heartlessly abducted his highness in the night. I haven't laid even a finger on the little one."
"I only did it because I was under your orders, Viper!" Axel shouted back, raising his blade towards the cruel hearted man, his own eyes narrowing more as his anger began to take hold. "You're as much to blame as I am!"
"Perhaps." Viper chuckled for a moment before regaining his typical calm and commanding aura, as well as gaining a darkness about his composer as well. "But no matter. Now that all the pieces have gathered, it is time for the young prince to finally be made use of!"
"What the hell do you mean by that!?" Jaden demanded, brandishing his own blood soaked blade at Viper, his brown eyes narrowing at the thought of what danger and harm he had planned to force upon his dear friend. An anger growing within his own body as well, Jaden couldn't bear the thought of seeing the little prince hurt. After all the boy had done for him, Jaden was determined to protect him at all costs. It was the least he could do for him now.
"Come now, young Jaden." Viper said, fully aware of who the young brunette was, though that was certainly news to the rest of them. Continuing his seemingly perpetual dark chuckle, Viper extended his hand to the little prince, Jesse in turn wrapped his arm around the bluenette, determined to keep him safe from harm like Jaden asked of him. "As it would turn out, the child is extremely valuable not only to myself, but also to a mutual acquaintance of ours."
"What does she want with my friend?" Jaden interrogated cautiously, narrowing his eyes at the tyrant he knew how Viper would answer. It was clear Yubel was that certain acquaintance, the dulled stinging in his chest was proof enough of that. But he couldn't help but worry about how exactly Syrus could be of use to her, although unfortunately, he had a fairly decent guess in mind.
"Wouldn't you like to know, boy."
Standing there in the large chamber the fighting had all but ceased, Chazz pulling his sword from the chest of the final soldier as the others turned their eyes to the bloodthirsty tyrant, more than prepared to turn their weapons on him too should the need arise. If it meant protecting the little prince from harm, the consequences of attacking or even killing a dimensional leader could be damned. Clutching his blade tightly, more than ready to attack as well should the need arise, Jaden could feel the sting in his chest begin to pulsate, its former dullness sharpening just barely with Winged Kuriboh's light within his soul keeping Yubel's curse suppressed as best he could. From behind Viper, a dark light shined, gasping at the sight, Jaden shot a glance at Jesse, warning him to make certain he and Syrus were as far out of harm's way as was possible.
"Well now, my dear." Viper smiled menacingly, filled with pride as beside him in a thick veil of darkness, Yubel manifested her physical being. Unamused or unphased in the slightest it seemed by the appearance of the children, she kept her eyes locked on Jaden, a deep maniacal smile plastered to her face. "I've brought you the child. Now, I think it's time I received my reward."
"Oh yes." Yubel nodded in response to the dictator, raising her hand slowly she drifted back just enough to reach behind him, chuckling quietly to herself a smirk found itself a place on her lovely, demonic face. "Your reward." A black glow overcoming her body, she pressed her hand against Viper's back, as swift as lightning from her palm a thick blade shot out, piercing straight through Viper's flesh, knocking the air completely from his mortal body as his eyes widened as far as they could possibly go, as well realizing just how little time he had remaining.
"You truly are a fool, Viper." She chuckled, extracting the spiritual blade from Viper's body, but with one nudge he fell to the ground, a river of blood pouring from the newly formed hole in his chest. Laughing maniacally to herself she turned her attention to the children, truly loving the shock and terror on each of their faces. Jaden's most of all. "But still. I must thank him for bringing the little one to me. As well as the rest of you fools."
"What the hell do you want Syrus for!?" Alexis shouted, her sword in her hands, she was more than prepared to strike at a moment's notice, if only her sword hadn't proved practically useless against her the last time. Still, she wasn't about to just let her use their friend for a nefarious purpose. "To start a war!?"
"Perhaps." Yubel answered, raising her other arm in the direction of the two bluenettes, Sapphire Pegasus neighing loudly in warning, not wanting to see the two in his care brought to harm if he could help it. Clutching Syrus tightly in protection, Jesse reached for his cards, ready to defend the little one at all costs as Jaden instructed him to do. "At least, that was the original plan." Cackling to herself she shined black once more, a powerful shock wave of dark energy shooting from her open palm towards the two boys.
"No!" Bastion cried out, raising his staff to cast any spell he could think of to help, but even his great haste was too slow. Before he or anyone could do anything at all, the shock wave hit Sapphire Pegasus. The sheer force of the dark energy sending the divine beast back a good ways from where he had been stood, a mighty cry from the beast ringing out as he was knocked back by the blast, sending Jesse and Syrus flying off of his back unable to keep them on any longer. Disappearing back into Jesse's deck the others watched in horror as the two fragile boys were thrown from the beast, their bodies crashing into the stone wall behind them. Crying out in pain they fell to the floor in a heap, Syrus's head having slammed against the stone, his large, gray eyes drooped closed as consciousness left him to fade into darkness. Jesse on the other hand, trembled as he tried to pick himself up off of the ground, a fire burning in his eyes from the ever growing desire to send the demoness back to the depths from whence she had come.
"Sy! Jesse!" Jaden cried out, his heart crying out with him in pure worry. Making a run for his dear unconscious friend and his weakened love, Yubel chuckled to herself. Sending another shock wave at the brunette, she stopped him in his tracks, knocking him from his feet she sent the brunette to the ground too, not about to let him stop her this time.
"I don't think so." She said. Flicking her wrist ever so delicately an orb of an almost dazzling dark purple light formed around Syrus, enveloping him in Yubel's power. "Come to me, child born with the ancient powers." Beckoning the boy come closer, the orb floated up from the stone ground, carrying the unconscious prince to her side, cackling in twisted joy. "As I have discovered, with this child's powers I shall bring the twelve dimensions to their knees! As the dimensions collapse in on one another, none shall survive my vengeance!"
"That's not gonna happen!" Jim shouted, Shirley gnashing her teeth at the demoness in turn, sharing in her dear Jim's sentiment. There was little he could do by way of battle, he knew that all too well. After all, Jim was no warrior, he was a man of science. It had taken all he had to aid the others in this fight, but he could tell they all shared the same sentiment. Should they be able, Yubel would never fulfill her dark schemes.
"Ah, pitiful mortals. Ever naive fools." Yubel shook her head at the senseless claim, unimpressed even by the group's resilience. Looking out upon the group she chuckled at the pitiful display before her, only two true warriors among their ranks and one, the greatest of his homeland, was weary and battle worn. Weakened by her previous attack, the fair sword master's wounds more or less began to reopen, a small amount of blood seeping through the bandages about his body, staining the lavender silk of his shirt. A thin trail of blood ran down Chazz's pale face, a small wound from an enemy sword having taken residence on his forehead, staining his white skin red. The girl on the other hand, had few wounds but was fatigued that much was clear. She took quick and shallow breaths as she held her blade firmly, doing her best to stand her ground. The others too were weary, their bodies not too acquainted with battle on such a large scale, even the child engineered to fight, however unwillingly. The piece of strength she had managed to steal from him had taken a toll on the child, rendering him weaker in stamina than he was meant to be. From the corner of her eye Yubel caught a glimpse of vibrant red. Turning her eyes she watched Jaden rise to his feet, reaching out for his dear Jesse, a deep concern in his eyes, and fear for what was to come.
"Jesse…!" Jaden called, stumbling back to his feet, his heart pounding at the thought that Jesse could have been hurt, and a deep desire to see Syrus freed from Yubel's grasp. "Jesse, please! Get up!"
"So, it's as I suspected." Yubel chuckled to herself, amused by such a pitiful human feeling. "I can sense the weight in your heart. Love." A deep sigh escaping her lips she shook her head at the celestial children, a look of an almost complacent nature appearing on her face. "I was given love once. By all the peoples of so many different dimensions. But they forgot all about me. Bereft of their love I became the demon you see here today."
"J-Jaden.." Jesse choked out, trembling as he once again tried to pick himself off of the ground but to little avail, the world spinning around him, disoriented from the powerful blow being flung into the stone wall had dealt him.
"Why don't I share with you the pain I felt all those many centuries ago?" Yubel cackled, flicking her wrist again another dark purple orb ensnared Jesse, tearing him from his spot on the ground before any of the others could even attempt to reach him, a small cry exiting from Jaden's lips as his dear Jesse was torn away from him too. "Actually, it's just as well." She continued, reaching her hand through the orb she caressed Jesse's fair face, scathed by not but a few scratches after such a battle. "Perhaps I could devise a use for your power too, in the collapse of all dimensions."
"No!" Jaden shouted, anger brimming in his soul as he gripped his blade, hurling his thin form at the demoness, he couldn't help but allow his emotions to take control. "Let them go, you monster!"
"Jaden, don't!" Bastion called, reaching his hand out to the brunette he could see where this was going. No good was to come of this encounter. Not with both Syrus and Jesse within her unholy clutches. Ignoring Bastion's warning, Jaden continued his assault, raising his blade as he jumped at the demoness the brunette cried out in anger, taking great pleasure in the thought of driving his short blade through her skull to save his companions, though unwary of her ability to react. Frowning at the boy's attack, Yubel threw up her hand, clasping it tightly around the brunette's throat as he gripped his left hand around her own, his feet kicking against the open air as she squeezed tighter until the blade fell from his right hand. Pulling him in closer, Yubel narrowed her eyes at the pitiful child, though reveling in the sight of seeing him gasping for air like a fish fresh from the ocean's waves on the hot sand as he wriggled in her grasp.
"At the center of all things the child shall be my blade, to cut the ties of all creation." Yubel hissed venomously into Jaden's ear, keeping her grip firm around his throat, strong enough to keep him struggling but not to kill. "And you, dear Jaden. Will perish once again. As will all your little friends."
"N-No…!" Jaden choked out, trying frantically to pry himself free of the monster's grasp, though fruitful his attempts were not.
"And in the ashes of this doomed universe I shall remain, and on the ashes of the old world I shall build my throne." She warned, curling her fingers in, the orbs holding Syrus and Jesse moved closer to her, the dark purple shine glowing brighter as they moved. "Alongside humanities wretches you and the rest of the children you call companions will die. But since you seem so eager to keep him alive, your dear, precious Jesse will remain by my side. As my prisoner for all eternity." cackling as wickedly as she could muster Yubel threw Jaden to the ground, a pained cry forced from his lips as he slammed into the ground. Hurrying to his side, Hassleberry and Alexis helped him to his feet, a knowing lament on their faces that there was nothing they could do in their current, weary condition. "I've been alone for so long! Well, now it's your turn!"
"No!" Jaden cried, frantically struggling in Alexis and Hassleberry's grasp as they held him back, unable to let him risk getting himself injured, sensing the battle yet to come. "Let me go!" He demanded, tearing his right arm free of Alexis's hold he reached out as far as he could, his eyes fixed on his dear friend and love. "Syrus! Jesse!"
"Come, Jaden! On the field of battle will your fate be sealed! And I left to revel in your honorless death once more! And I'll be saving special pockets of the void just for you, and holy Neos! And your spirits will be trapped in darkness just like I was!" Losing herself in her wicked cackles once more Yubel seized the orbs imprisoning Jesse and Syrus, forcing them to either side of her while a great black portal materialized behind her, her dark laughter echoing through the empty halls of death, overpowering even Jaden's cries for his companions. Feeling the brunette's pure despair, she extended her hands, caressing the fair faces of the celestial son and unconscious prince, taking great pleasure in making Jaden's treasures her own as they sank into the dark portal. The darkness taking them to the center of all creation, where the final battle would be waged.