Previously on the Disciple Arc...
The secret is finally out and Zanza has reawakened. The Killing Titan War has reached it's final climax at last, but seeing Sharla holding on to the smallest bit of hope that Shulk has survived has prompted Gonta and the rest of the disciples and pawns to plan a Telethia attack on Colony 6 in order to shatter her hope.
Disciple Arc Chapter 13: Telethia Onslaught
"Wake up, sleepyheads! We're almost at Colony 6!"
Mirai's voice woke me up the next day, I turned to see Colony 6 in the distance and the others waking up as well.
"How long did the trip take?" I asked.
"All night I'd say." The writer snarked.
"It's to be expected." Kiyo said. "The Telethia had to carry our sleeping bodies without accidentally throwing us off. They may be monsters, but they know what to do when the situation calls for it."
"Quit your bellyaching and follow my lead." Dickson advised. "It's time to commence our assault on Colony 6. I've heard a few traitors to our cause have devoted themselves to rebuilding the place so that all races have a place to live in harmony."
"Well, we'll see about that." Beshi said as we set off towards Colony 6.
We arrived outside the entrance and saw Sharla and her allies. Along with them were Nessa, Drednaw, Melony, Lapras, Allister, and Gengar. All of them with weapons drawn and prepared for battle.
"You!" Nessa growled.
"Everyone!" Murasaki called angrily.
"That's right!" Minori exclaimed, staring down at the small group from her seat on her and Murakumo's Telethia. "Glad to see us~?"
"Shut up!" Zellium shouted.
Dickson laughed. "Looks like that High Entia's big bro died for nothing!"
"Hey, don't look at us like that." Murakumo said as a smaller Telethia flew near hers. "You'll meet him soon enough anyway."
She reached over and stroked the smaller Telethia's head. "Perhaps you'll be reborn if you're returned to Lord Zanza. Who knows? He might be your boyfriend in the next life."
"You will not mock the memory of my brother!" Melia shouted.
"You guys just don't know when to quit!" The manga artist shouted before kicking the Telethia away. "Can't you just give up?!"
The Telethia rushed downwards, arms extended, hurtling straight for the group below us.
They transformed and managed to take it out, but dozens more approached. Things continued like that and soon Bea, Machamp, Shoku, Kenko, Seiyo, Saki, Beshi, Dora, and Kiba joined the fight. Now they had to deal with them as well if they want to survive.
"Look at them struggle." Dickson remarked. "If they can't even handle a few Telethia and all of our remaining pawns, how do they expect to defeat us?"
"Perhaps luck?" Angie theorized. "It's unlikely, but still."
"This is not the end!" Sharla shouted.
Kiba tried striking her with her whip but hit Fiora instead. Sharla rushed towards her, countering Seiyo's shots while Nessa and Allister kept Beshi, Shoku, and Dora at bay.
"Why are you trying to cover it up, you traitors?" Miyadera asked, seeing what was going on. "Come on, just admit you've had enough!"
"NEVER!" Melony screamed.
"Look out!" Zellium yelled.
"Lots of Dinobeasts!" Riki shouted.
Several massive three-headed Telethia crashed down and the group below backed into a circle, glaring at the countless Telethia and the pawns.
"It truly seems as though everything is going... as Zanza planned." Sharla said, hopelessness filling her voice.
The group looked at her in shock, her head bowed and eyes closed in something close to defeat. But then they opened and she lifted her head, fierce determination on her face, glaring up at us as her guardian animal appeared and circled around the group as she continued. "But our hearts and minds... they still hold the will to seize our own destiny!"
My eyes widened a bit as my red eyes gazed into her soft brown ones, filled with a fierce hope that I'd never seen before. "No matter how hard you try to break us, the future is ours to shape, guys! Always!"
"When will you learn you have no future?!" Mirai called back. "Face it! Your destiny is to die here!"
But just as the nearest three-headed Telethia prepared to fire at the group, a figure with angel-like wings wearing dark armor and holding a green sword that was split apart to reveal a blade of blue light sprinted forward. He flew toward the heads, slamming his sword into one. The Telethia cried out, thrashing it's heads back and forth as a green mist spurted from the wounded one, and then the figure leapt straight up, spiraling into the air. The figure hurtled down, plunging his sword into the Telethia's neck, and then he slid down the neck, down the back, dragging the sword with him and tearing through the shiny green skin.
"What?!" Murakumo exclaimed, furious.
The figure landed with his wings, and the Telethia collapsed before exploding.
"Shulk!" Sae cried out, overjoyed.
"Thank goodness you're here!" Melia called.
"Damn kid!" Dickson said, loud enough for Shulk to hear as he turned to face us. "So, you're still alive. Attack! Destroy them!"
Several Telethia shot blasts of light down, but Shulk charged forward with an angry yell, and dodged to the left from a blast of light. Then he dashed forward using his wings, slicing down a Telethia that came too close, dodging another blast, and then killing another one.
"What?!" Bea shouted angrily as Machamp let out a sound of shock and disbelief.
The mechanic straightened and turned toward his friends, who approached him.
"Dickson!" I called out before his Telethia dove down and crashed beside the group.
While they fought, Bea looked up at me. "I'll take care of them. You too, Minori."
"Alright~!" The confectioner cheered as she leaped off hers and Murakumo's Telethia before pulling out her bucket. "Time to bring the smackdown!"
Shoku, Kenko, Seiyo, Saki, Beshi, Dora, and Kiba yelled in pain and I saw that they had tried to attack the group while they were struggling with Dickson's Telethia as Soul Read was active but they were countered and sent flying a bit before hitting the ground, all of them could only look on now since they couldn't get back up as Dickson leapt off of his Telethia as Shulk finished it off and it vanished in a white-gold burst of light.
"Those brats." The bladesmith muttered. "How could they read my movements? What the hell's going on?"
Bea let out a sound of irritation. "They really are something special if Brigitte gave them her final Rally."
"Hey! Hey! You can quit hiding and get yourself out here now!" Minori called out. "You know Father doesn't like being left to do all the hard work! Alvis!"
Murasaki gasped. "No, it can't be!"
Alvis walked straight through the group of people, who backed away from him in horror, disbelief, and sudden hatred.
"Alvis!" Zellium said in shock. "Not you, too!"
"Yeah!" Tsumugi said with a smile. "Another one of Lord Zanza's faithful. One of the original Trinity."
"No!" Sae breathed. "How can he be one of them?!"
"Alvis!" Melia said, hardly able to believe it. "Is this the only reason you served under my family?! You traitor!"
The seer continued calmly walking towards us.
"Hey!" Murasaki shouted, enraged. "Say something!"
Shulk blocked her with one of his wings, stopping her from running forward. Sharla walked up to her and shook her head.
"Leave it." Shulk said. "It doesn't matter what he is. That doesn't change anything at all. Does it, Alvis?"
He halted and glanced back toward them. "Yes, precisely. You must find your own path to the future."
He held out a hand and the beating of wings can be heard.
"The Telethia." Zellium said in disbelief. "He's..!"
His Telethia swooped down, it's massive wings raising a cloud of dust as they beat heavily.
"So you're just another one of Zanza's lapdogs!" Murasaki growled.
"Get ready, everyone." Sharla called grimly.
"Show them no mercy." Sae muttered, softly but intensely.
"As you wish." Alvis said with a smile. "Let us see that will to survive!"
The wings on his Telethia proved to be a problem but they managed to kill it and defeat him. Machamp growled in anger as Bea and Minori prepared to attack.
"Is that all you got?!" Zellium shouted. "Not so tough without your pet, aren't you?!"
Alvis chuckled softly, causing Murasaki to glow in a dark purple aura and charge forward.
"Alvis!" Bea shouted. "Stay back! Me, Machamp, and Minori will take it from here!"
The three charged at Murasaki at full force as Beshi, Dora, and Kiba ran off inside Colony 6. I assumed that they were expecting the worse and didn't want to work for Zanza anymore upon seeing all of this play out.
"I'll show you the will to survive, you DIRTY TRAITORS!" Murasaki screamed.
They countered her attacks as quickly as they could, but it was clear that they couldn't last for must longer.
"Come on~! Fight us! Come at us with everything you got!" Minori shouted as she prepared to strike quickly.
"Minori! NO! STOP!" Murakumo pleaded. "Something isn't right!"
But the confectioner ignored her warnings and charged ahead. Murasaki sent her shurikens spinning extremely fast at her and before any of us could react...
She cleaved through Minori's midriff, bisecting her and destroying her Battle Gem. Shoku, Kenko, Seiyo, and Saki screamed and climbed onto their Telethia in a panic as her body collapsed to the ground.
"Murasaki, stop it!" Sharla shouted, trying to stop the purple haired girl's rampage.
She shoved the sniper aside to the ground in a burst of dark energy, knocking her out of her transformation. Bea and Machamp clashed with the Jewel of the Bionis once more, countering as many attacks as they could and being pushed past their limits.
"You want some more?!" The karate master challenged before using X-Slash to counter Murasaki's attack.
"Calm down, Bea! You and Machamp can't take anymore!" I shouted as the fight continued. "She'll kill you like she did with Minori!"
"That doesn't matter!" She responded as she kept countering Murasaki's rageful attacks. "I cannot retreat with this... monster still standing!"
"Monster?" Kiyo repeated. "Don't be ridiculous, Bea."
"Oh really?!" Gita asked before she suddenly swept the hair covering her left eye out of the way, revealing the burst of emerald flames coming from it in an act of rage. "Then why does Murasaki look like she's not even human anymore?!"
I looked down and my eyes widened in shock and horror. The guitarist was right, Murasaki doesn't look like she's human at all. She was completely engulfed in a dark purple aura, her hands looked a lot like claws, and her eyes lit up brightly in a dark purple glow.
"How?" Bea muttered. "This shouldn't be-"
The karate master was interupted when she and Machamp were hit by several dark energy balls, knocking her to the ground and destroying Machamp's body enough to kill him as he vanished as soon as he collapsed.
"Bea!" I cried out before several of us gasped as Murasaki approached her to deliver the killing blow.
The silver haired girl looked up in fear at the Jewel of the Bionis as she was unable to get up because of the pain she was in. Her silver eyes were caught by the dark purple ones that glowed in front of her, unable to look away.
Murasaki raised all three of her shurikens, bringing all of them together and engulfing them in dark flames. Most of us screamed in horror and helplessness.
The shurikens plunged down, and Bea screamed, pain-filled and abruptly cut off.
What is this weird feeling within me? Is it rage? Grief? No, I think it's a new power of some sort. It feels warm for some reason.
Before anyone could stop me, I leapt off my Telethia and went high above the group below us. I felt dark light going around my body before a pair of large black angel-like wings burst from my back, it didn't seem to hurt me as you might think though. Some details on my headpiece became dark orange and the ends of my hair became a dark orange in contrast to my normal dark greenish-brown color. I quickly charged at Murasaki with sword in hand, causing her to block my blade quickly with one of her blood-stained shurikens.
"Hmm... Interesting." She muttered. "You must've found the strength hidden in your heart. That girl must've been important to you if that power was given to you."
"Important?" I repeated. "She was my girlfriend! She said it herself, I became stronger because I believed in myself."
"Ah, naruhodo." The purple haired girl said. "I could see it myself when I met you both, how much you cared for her and loved her. Affection for another person can be so fickle yet equally mysterious."
"Murasaki! It doesn't have to end the way this is going!" Sharla pleaded as she ran up to her. "You can't keeping fighting for much longer!"
"It was always meant to be this way from the start of this war." The Jewel of the Bionis responded. "You know what to do when I'm gone, Sharla."
"You mean the reason Brigitte trusted me with that power is because..?" The sniper muttered but the sudden realization of what was being implied made her freeze.
"You're on! Come at me with everything you got!" I challenged as I flew upwards with my wings.
Murasaki quickly followed me using her shurikens like propellers on a helicopter. Our weapons seemed to clash at every moment, taking every chance to counter when needed.
"You're a tough guy, you know." The Jewel of the Bionis said as we kept clashing. "You're the first person to be able to counter me this quickly, you probably feel even more powerful than ever with that power, right?"
"Isn't it obvious?" I snarked. "You did say that love for someone else can be fickle and mysterious at the same time. Bea's heart lives on through me, and I'm not gonna let anyone take it from me!"
I managed to overpower her with a quick energy ball straight at her, causing her to stagger back a bit. I brought my sword back a bit, aiming straight at her.
Sharla cried out before I charged right through Murasaki, she screamed as soon as my sword sliced right through her. Killing her in an explosion of dark purple ether that rained down onto the ground.
"How about that?" Dickson asked, looking at the group below us. "Without the Jewel of the Bionis, you lot don't stand a chance against us."
"This isn't the end!" Allister shouted. "Not until Zanza is gone for good!"
"Even if they're gone, she and the seven protectors still live on through us!" Nessa added. "The will to change fate lives in us all!"
"The will to change fate..." Sharla repeated suddenly.
Her body was surrounded in a multicolored aura-like glow, and she rose off the ground with her eyes closed holding her Battle Gem, which now had golden wings on either side. Most of the group gasped in surprise while Nessa, Melony, and Allister looked at the sniper in sudden realization.
"Brigitte's final Rally is awakening from within her!" Melony exclaimed while Lapras let out a sound of disbelief.
"Ridiculous." Mirai growled. "There's no way she trusted her that much. So unless you can prove me wrong, you'll still die at our wrath!"
Sharla looked at the writer before closing her eyes quickly as she crossed her arms in an 'X' formation and the light formed a large pair of angel-like wings behind her.
"I can feel it..." She muttered. "The light of my friends, our unbreakable bond, the power to seize our destiny. I am Sharla Kuhlauf, me and my friends are the ones who will end Zanza's tyranny. We all feel connected to the seven protectors' powers, affection, bravery, camaraderie, rashness, obstinance, passion, and heroism. And as one, we will end this war!"
The sniper then became engulfed in light, nearly blinding some of us before our eyes adjusted when it faded. I lowered my free arm and came face-to-face with Sharla, now transformed, but now she had a large pair of white angel-like wings with black rims matching her outfit and six golden rings woven into them. In those rings, were a kanji reading 'healing' in canary yellow light like the symbols on Zanza's Monado.
"This is..!" I muttered in shock.
"It's the same power that you and Shulk have." She said before aiming her rifle at me. "This is what happens when you believe in yourself and your friends."
She fired at me and I quickly blocked with my sword before shooting a barrage of energy balls at her. Suddenly, the symbol for Monado Speed appeared in the rings and she swiftly dodged the rain of ether attacks. Before I knew it, I was hit by her Thunder Bullet.
"Sharla!" Shulk called out.
"You don't to ask me to do what I will!" The sniper responded with a smirk.
Before any of us could react, her Monado Cyclone was triggered, sending me crashing into a Telethia and holding onto it. The rest of us seemed to quickly jump onto the closest Telethia.
"Let's get out of here!" Murakumo exclaimed as the Telethia carried us away into the sky.
"Get back here!" Zellium shouted.
I didn't hear what Alvis said to Shulk and Sharla, but I knew what it meant. Tremors shook us, even Ajia and Kiyo quivered slightly.
"I'm trembling." Dickson muttered disbelievingly, seizing his hand. "Me!"
Mirai looked back at the group still watching us depart. "Those stubborn idiots!"
All of us looked at each other before we began laughing.
"After all this time." Miyadera said. "I never thought the day would come when we would feel fear like this."
For the first time since I ended up becoming a disciple, I felt afraid of the potential Shulk and Sharla had especially since they now got a power boost from Brigitte.
The Killing Titan War was almost over, and it's going to be one hell of a climax.
Next time on the Monado Arc...
Sharla has to believe in herself and her allies if she wants to survive the Killing Titan War and Nessa, Melony, and Allister know it. It will take a sudden Telethia attack by Zanza's disciples for Brigitte's final Rally to take full effect and it'll lead to new powers awakening that will reveal how she and her allies will be able to fight back against Zanza and defeat him once and for all.