Chapter 7: White Dragon Emperor
New York City, That Very Same Night
Night had fallen over the city and Shirogane was seen flying through the air, however, he couldn't exactly be seen by normal eyes.
He had casted an invisibility spell over him that would allow him to traverse the city and remain unseen by unwanting eyes, and incase that guy, Rizevim, had spies anywhere in the city. He couldn't take anymore chances, and he didn't want to deal with the lunatic sooner rather than later.
He just wanted a calm, relaxing nightly patrol before heading home and going to sleep.
"Diamond, this spell is really handy." the boy told his partner.
The Kaleidostick nods. "Yes, but there's more to the magic you have access to through use of me and your newfound powers, but it'll take time to learn about them."
Shirogane nods, but he didn't mind having to wait and learn, and was honestly looking forwards to it.
And on top of that, he needed to start experimenting with his magic and seeing if he could create something that could watch over the city and alert him if something went wrong...
And so he didn't have to keep on patrolling constantly and finally relax!
He sighed. The work of a hero is never done, is it?
'Nope.' he heard Jeanne and Galahad reply in his head, both amused by his inner thoughts. But both can't help but feel a little sad for the youth, and vowed to help them anyway they could.
But, hearing their voices, it reminded Shirogane of something he been meaning to ask the Holy Maiden Savoir.
'Hey Jeanne, I've been meaning to ask, but what exactly is your other Noble Phantasm?' in his mind, the Saint of Orleans body jerks.
She had hoped to not speak of this anytime soon, but looks as though she was going to have to tell him what it was and why it was dangerous.
'My other Noble Phantasm is a last resort Shirogane. Normally, using it would result in my death should I have been summoned with a physical body.' Shirogane promptly halted in midair and looked on in shock and slight horror.
'You're Noble Phantasm kills you!?' he exclaims inwardly. No wonder why she didn't want him to use it now!
'Not only that, but it's power is what I'm worried about most. The power to burn everything and anything it touches with no hesitation, flames so strong, they can even kill Gods.' Now the youth paled, and greatly so. 'They're powered by my will, and a reminder of my last moments and my final prayer to the Lord.'
Hearing that, it hit the boy.
'The day you burned at the stake?' he thought. 'Your Noble Phantasm embodies those flames as Divine Power, enhanced by the Grace of God and used as a finally resort against all manners of evil?' Jeanne, even if she was surprised at his deduction, nods.
'Correct. Which is why I don't want you using it until you have better control of your power, and until we know what would happen to you, you could possibly live, or like me, it could kill you.' The boy nods in understanding, resuming his flight once more.
But he understood where she was coming from, and why she didn't want to tell him about it.
'I promise, unless I absolutely have to, I won't use your second Noble Phantasm Jeanne.' he could hear the Maiden giggle softly.
'Thank you Shirogane.' And the next half hour was spent watching the city from above, and discussing battle plans should Rizevim appear with Diamond and the Heroes in his soul.
-Platinum Hero-
The young hero sat atop a skyscraper once again, taking a break from his patrolling and just taking in the sight of the city in the night time. He had took off his invisibility and was now out in the open since he wasn't flying around anymore.
It never got old, but sometimes, he wished it wasn't so bright so he could see the starry sky above one day. Oh, how he just loved star gazing, looking up at the night sky and looking at all the stars that were in the universe, or, well, their corner of the Universe.
He knew of people who were from beyond their world, like Superman and Martian Manhunter for example. But he wanted to see more of it for himself someway in he future maybe.
"Whatcha thinking about Shiro?" the Kaleidostick asked.
The boy shrugged. "Just about outer space and what it could possibly hold..." The boy then realised something. "Hey, Diamond, the old man made you through use of the Second Magic, Kaleidoscope, right?"
The Kaleidostick nods. "Affirmative."
"Well, do you have the power to traverse to other dimensions like the Old Man can possibly do?" Diamond had to pause and think about that.
In all honesty, he didn't know, but the possibility is there, and the fact Diamond is far more powerful than his sisters, Ruby and Sapphire, there could very well be an actual chance he could do so.
"...maybe?" was the Mystic Code's reply, "honestly, I have no clue, and right now with how far we are in our quest, I don't think it's a good idea to explore other worlds without being ready for what's there."
The boy nods in defeat. "Fine, but we'll test it out one day." The Wand nods, also interested in the possibility of traversing other worlds one day in the future.
As Shirogane went to relax once again, he felt a new presence appear, and he frowned.
"What now?" he muttered. And, not to his surprise, a voice spoke from above him.
"So, you're Shirogane, huh?" The boy and his stick looked up. But, both blinked at the sight of a white armored individual with a set of white wings extending from their back, a shimmering and transparent blue membrane seen in between the wings.
Shirogane had to admit, he looked really really cool, but for now, he adopted a serious expression. After dealing with Rizevim earlier, he wasn't taking any chances right now. "Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer right away, but gave a small chuckle before replying. "My name is of no importance at the moment, but you can refer to me as Albion." Shirogane's eyes narrowed slightly, but didn't say anything.
This guy was off, but not the bad kind of off, it was just he gave him a weird feeling that he couldn't decipher if it was a good or bad thing, so of course he was on edge about the guy.
"Well then, Albion, what do you exactly want?" The yellow eyes of the armored individual looked directly at the young hero.
"I want to fight you."
The air was silent as Shirogane and Diamond looked at the person with blank expressions, and the former couldn't help but wonder what he had done to some God in his past life to have this type of luck...
He gave the armored figure a look of confusion. "Fight me why, exactly...?" Albion chuckled.
"I wanted to see why everyone was so engrossed about, and what you're capable of, and I want to experience it firsthand." he gave a chuckle. "And don't worry, I don't mean to cause any more trouble."
The boy gave a sigh before looking back at the armored figure. "Alright, I'll fight you." Diamond looked at him in surprise.
"Shiro, are you sure this is a good idea!?" The Magical Boy nods with no ounce of hesitation.
"Yeah, I am. He doesn't feel or sound hostile, and I think he just wants to have some...fun?" that's all he could get from the person before him, and they genuinely seemed only interested in fighting him.
"But what of Rizevim?" The boy shrugged.
"I can teleport in an instant back home or far away from him, so we shouldn't worry." The Kaleidostick, against his better judgement, simply nods, but worried for the possible outcomes of this battle.
"If you say so..."
Shirogane floated upwards as he came face to face with Albion, Diamond held in both hands as the Kaleidostick began to radiate great magical power.
Vali grinned under his helm at feeling the boy's power rise with every passing second. Finally, he would get a battle with the Platinum Hero, and truly see what the younger of the two of them was capable of, and if he really did deserve his title as a hero.
Neither moved from their position, both of their eyes locked as a tense silence filled the air around them.
It was then, Ablion struck first.
The Armored figure stuck out his arm, a glowing blue magic seal appearing before him, and from it fired out streams of magic shots that homed in on Shirogane, who was prepared for the fight.
He swiped Diamond in an arc in front of him, sending an equal amount of magic streams that met the in coming ones head one, all exploding upon impact.
The hero then shot forwards through the smoke, Diamond raised. He appeared on the other side and swung his partner, aiming to hit the armored being. Albion saw the strike coming and raised his arm as the Kaleidostick struck him, sending him flying back from the force of the strike.
Albion righted himself quickly and shot forwards, aiming a punch at the youth. Shirogane managed to catch the punch, and gave his own punch to Albion, who also caught it.
They exchanged blow for blow, before Shirogane kneed him right in the abdomen, causing Albion to stagger in air, and then decked him in the face, sending him into the side of a building, leaving an indent in his place.
Albion gave a small groan, and pulled himself out of the human shapen indent he left on the wall, and gave grunt of frustration.
He's good, he'll give him that, but lets see how well his body can tank damage.
He shot forwards, and before the youth could realise anything, Albion slammed his body right into him, sending the boy hurtling to the ground.
Shirogane crashed with a harsh thud as he went tumbling before he fixed himself halfway and skidded to a halt on his feet. He looked up and saw the armored figure with magic seals surrounding him.
"Install: Ruler!" he equipped Jeanne's armor, flag in hand and ready, and also giving a silent prayer and thanking whatever being above made the streets empty at this time of day.
And not a moment later did the seals fire shots of magic energy, all aimed at Shirogane. The boy twirled his flag, using his momentum to either dodge, block, or deflect each and every shot that came his way, doing so with grace and skill unseen.
And a couple moments later, the incoming fire had stopped, and the boy panting from the event he put on, but was still ready to continue the battle.
Vali, meanwhile, was, to be completely and utterly honest, amazed by what Shirogane did, managing to evade or deflect each and everyone his attacks.
{Damn, that was cool.} Albion, the real one, said from within his Sacred Gear, giving an impressed whistle from the show.
Vali grinned. "I see you've managed to dodge and block my attack, but let's see if your new form is strong as they say it is!" he shot forwards, hoping to tackle the youth.
But Shirogane learned his lesson from earlier.
When Albion was close, he jumped up, as the armored fighter made impact with the ground, the pavement shattering upon impact. "Wha-!?"
"HAA!" Shirogane, with the point of his flag, shot downwards, and jabbed it right into Albion's back, the ground turning into a crater from the force of the strike.
The boy then jumped, flipping through the air as he landed a safe distance away from the downed figure.
'Is it over?' Diamond asked from within his mind.
The boy shook his head. 'Not by a long shot pal.' true to his words, Albion stood, giving a grunt of pain, but wasn't mad.
"Not bad." he said, standing to his feet, "but let's kick it up a notch." the armored male shot forwards, spinning his leg to roundhouse kick the hero.
Shirogane rose his flag pole and blocked the strike, a miniature shockwave resounding from the impact. The boy pushed him off, Albion jumping back as the youth spun around and went to slash the armored figure, who sidestepped.
Albion then went to punch him, but the youth back bended out of the way, and gave a split kick to his opponent's abdomen. But, to Shirogane's surprise, he caught his kick, and before the boy knew it, Albion went and threw him behind them.
Thankfully, the boy was able to land on his feet as he skidded to a halt before darting forwards to his opponent, slashing Albion in the side.
The next short while, the two are seen exchanging blow for blow, punching, striking, or slashing - in Shirogane's case - at the other, both seemingly equally matched in terms of power, skill, and strength.
And now, it came down to who had the most determination to win this battle. But, it seemed both males were having the times of their and enjoying their battle.
But, like all good things, it had to come to a stopping point sooner or later.
Albion grabbed Shirogane's flag in his grasp, then, started spinning around, before he looked like a miniature tornado, and threw the boy into the air.
Shirogane was seen flying, not of his own accords, through the sky, and quickly shouted. "Uninstall!" he reverted back to his Magic wear and managed to righten himself.
But the young magical boy wasn't through. He stuck Diamond out and fired a beam of energy that was aimed true, and Albion retaliated with a beam of his own. Both attacks collided, and the result of both meeting was an explosion of blue and white that could be seen for miles.
Both opponents waited till the smoke cleared, neither tired or out yet, but, both couldn't help but give the other a smirk, both enjoying themselves overall.
Diamond sighed. 'Of course they're both enjoying themselves...'
And without any form of words, the two went back to their fighting.
Elsewhere
"Lord Rizevim!" The Son of Lucifer sat up from his bed with a start, more than aggravated at his slumber being interrupted.
"What is it!?" He exclaimed, his magic swirling around him violently.
The Devil who had entered kneeled down in apology before speaking. "Pardon my intrusion, but we have word that Shirogane has been spotted, and he's currently fighting an unknown individual in white dragon armor, sir!"
Rizevim froze.
"Are you certain?" he asked hastily. When the messenger nods, he grins, and wickedly.
He got out of his bed, naked as the day he was born, and quickly ordered his lackey. "Don't let them out of your sights, and if they stop fighting, keep them preoccupied till I arrive to finish the boy off."
The Devil soldier nods. "Yes my lord." and left the son of Lucifer to his own bidding.
Rizevim began to dress himself, thinking of the possibly outcomes tonight that could very well all end in his favor if he played his cards right.
He knew Shirogane was currently in a battle of sorts, but a person with white dragon armor, he felt like he should know who it is, but he didn't care at the moment, his thoughts focusing solely on the pize he sought.
He just had to defeat the boy, and bring him in while he's down, and break him before molding him and building him back up to be the perfect soldier for his Khaos Brigade.
And if this armored figure was strong enough, why not add them too? The more people, the better chance at laying waste to all of creation, once and for all!
New York City
If one looked up at the sky at a certain point in time, they would see two shooting lights, one of blue, the other of seemingly white coloring, flying overhead, clashing furiously like there was no tomorrow in sight.
Shirogane and Albion continued their duel fiercely, neither willing to bend or brake to the other's power, yet, and were still going at it.
The people who were up at this time of day, had of course seen the light shows or scenes of them fighting earlier, and already was it trending online yet again.
But whenever it involved Shirogane, it would always end up trending online no matter how little the event maybe.
Before long, the two bought their clash over Central Park, and both were well spent on energy, both panting and looking a bit damaged.
Scraps, bruises and tears on his clothing was evident on Shirogane's form, but his newfound enhanced Endurance and Strength skills gave him an upper edge in tanking attacks and giving them right back.
Albion's armor had creaks in more than a few places, a few chips evident in the armor, but he still felt like he could go on. Vali wanted to use Divine Dividing against Shirogane, but decided not too, and he was having far more fun in doing so. But, he couldn't help but feel Shirogane wasn't going all out, or didn't know if he was himself actually.
But he didn't mind, and rather fight with what he has to know where he stood.
The two stared down the other, silence once again reigning over them in a deadening wave of sound, and the tension from before was there, but far more lighter than before, because, they weren't enemies.
Rather, they were kindred spirits who wanted the thrill of a challenge, and found it right in the heart of the other standing opposite of them.
Albion regained his composure and stood up in the air, an aurora of pride and happiness evident around him. "I enjoyed this battle you have given me Shirogane, and you are truly worthy of your title as a hero!"
Shirgane gave him a grin, twirling Diamond before pointing it at him. "You're not bad yourself Albion! I actually quite enjoyed this fight!" And it was the truth. He wasn't fighting to the death like he had done before with people like Klarion, but instead, he was fighting for the fun of it.
Although, there was a bit of destruction in the wake of their fight, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, so he'll let it slide this time around.
Albion narrowed his eyes from beneath his helm. "But, I think it's time we finish this fight, don't you agree?" the Magical Boy nods, his grin turning more feral as his single tail swished malevolently behind him as he brandish his staff.
"I couldn't agree more."
-Platinum Hero-
From afar, Rizevim watched with a sinister grin as he prepared to strike Shirogane out of the sky. This was it, finally, the time for his greatest follower to finally know his place, at his feet, and at his side.
He prepared his attack, aiming his magic circle right at the boy, who was conversing with the armored individual. He would deal with them after he had taken care of Shirogane.
When he was certain the boy wasn't going to move, he fired his beam.
-Platinum Hero-
Shirogane was about to attack, when he saw something out of the corner of his eyes.
Time slowed down as he turned, only to find a magic beam heading straight for him, and he didn't have the time to dodge...
"Look out!"
Albion, at the last minute, got between him and the beam, and the result was a giant explosion that rocked all of central park from the resulting blast.
Albion fell to the ground, his armor broken in many places and one of his wings half-way gone, and Shirogane was shocked. Without thinking, he let go of Diamond and dove down after the armored figure.
"ALBIOOOON!" Diamond, even though he was shocked by the sudden turn of events, quickly followed after his partner.
Shirogane managed to grab Albion and pull them horizontally, but still crashed to the ground, Shirogane taking the impact for the both of them, skidding across the dirt ground before stopping.
"Shirogane, are you alright!?" Diamond exclaimed, flying up to him. The boy sat up and gave a slight nod.
"Yeah, I'm okay, but..." he looked down at the figure on his lap. He then gently shook them. "Hey, Albion, are you okay...?" the person didn't respond, and his worry grew. "Hey, speak to me!"
At that moment, did their helmet break apart, and what the two saw made their eyes go dramatically wide, shocked and slightly horrified them.
It was a boy, a few years older than Shirogane was. He had dark silver hair on his head, and a nicely shaped face, a soft pale complexion to his form. But, he looked almost exactly Rizevim from the looks he had, and the two were confused.
Were they working together!?
"He looks just like the crazy guy!" Diamond cried out. Shirogane couldn't tear his eyes away from the older boy.
"But, he saved me..." he muttered. He knew the guy only wanted to fight him, and any doubts about him being in cohorts with Rizevim were washed away recalling the guy hadn't tried to harm him too bad.
But, a familiar voice spoke overhead. "What a shame." Diamond and Shirogane looked up to see Rizevim looking down at them, a frown on his face. "That beam was meant for you, but he had to take it, what a waste of an attack."
Diamond's doubts were washed away hearing that, knowing for a fact that they weren't working together now. But, he prime concern was his holder at the minute and his safety.
He turned to his partner. "Shirogane, we have to get out of here, now!" The boy nods in agreement.
"Right!" Rizevim, wasn't done.
"You can't escape your fate!" he summoned a ball of condensed magic to his hand, this one different than his usual attacks. He then launched it right at th three.
"Diamond!" Shirogane couldn't reach his Mystic Code's handle in time, and he knew that, so he threw his hands up as the ball of magic hit its marks and exploded.
The resulting blast engulfed all of central park in a hellish blaze that could be seen from every corner of the city, the shockwave spanning such as well.
Rizevim smirked, not saddened by the death of Shirogane. If he couldn't have the brat, than take him out of the equation before he became a hindrance to his goals. With his work done, he formed a Magic Seal at his feet, and teleported away.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the smoke cleared, and revealed a surprising sight.
A translucent grey dome encased a small portion of the part, and inside were none other than Shirogane, Diamond, and Albion. The young hero, meanwhile, looked on in shock at what just happened, while Diamond was more than ecstatic.
"Amazing Shiro! You harnessed your new found magic for the first time already!" the boy lowered his hands, the barrier fading away as he looked at his own palms, surprise never leaving his face.
"Woah..." was all that he could give out. He then shook himself of the thought, saving it for later and turned his attention to Albion, who still layed injured and unconscious on his lap. He quickly laid two fingers on his neck, and sighed in relief.
He was alive.
He the looked at his partner. "We should get going Diamond."
The Kaliedostick nods as Shirogane took hold of him, and in a wave of energy, the trio was gone.
Sinclair-Hoshi Residence, Aaron's Room
Shirogane, now Aaron, Diamond, and Albion appeared in the boy's room. The boy lifted an arm of the older boy over his shoulder and brought him over to his bed and laid him down. Then, to his surprise, his armor faded from his being, leaving him in regular looking clothes.
"That makes things easier." Aaron moved his arms closer to the older male's body, his Magic Circuits activating as blue lines appeared on his arms, and magic began to emanate from his palms as it washed over the other individual.
Than, to Diamond's amazement, the individual's injuries began to heal right before his eyes, looking as thought they were never their in the first place. And a couple of minutes later, all of their injuries were gone, and they now were asleep on the bed calmly.
Aaron gave a small sigh as he walked over to his desk and sat down in the chair.
He looked out his window and could see the smoke rising from Central Park in the distance, and gave yet another sigh, this time of both annoyance and aggravation.
He hadn't planned for his night to go like this, not in the slightest, and now because of a Crazy Mad Man who didn't want to leave him alone, an innocent person was injured, Central Park was destroyed, and now people think he's dead.
What a night...!
He folded his arms as he laid his head on them, trying to think calming thoughts, but not even a moment later did he hear a beeping noise, and groaned.
Without even looking he opened one of the drawers on his desk, reached in, grabbed the earpiece Batman gave him, and brought in up to his ears as he sat his head up to speak.
"This is Shirogane, I'm still alive and well." He could hear a sigh of relief from the other side and heard Superman speak to him.
"Good, we were worried something happened to you. But what of the person you were fighting?" Aaron turned to his bed and looked at the teen's prone form on his bed.
"He was injured, I managed to heal him up, and he should be fine by morning." He heard the man of steel gave a grunt of conformation.
"Alright, we'll be sending people over tomorrow to check in on you. Superman out." the line was cut as Aaron took the earpiece out and dropped it back in the drawer, using his leg to close it this time.
Diamond flew up next to him, and looked on with a sympathetic look.
"It's alright Aaron, hopefully, this all blows over tomorrow." the boy turned his head slightly and gave the Kaleidostick a deadpan look with his grey eyes.
"Rizevim will know I'm alive come tomorrow Diamond, and he'll be back, to either finish the job, or take me for himself." the Mystic Code sighed, but conceded to his point.
"At least get some sleep, it's almost two in the morning, and you need your rest." The boy groaned, but complied with his partner's wishes.
He got up and stripped to his black boxer-briefs, and was about to get in bed, before seeing his guest on his bed. He quickly stripped him of his own clothing, down to their boxers - momentarily looking at the teen's more toned and muscular body and felt a bit self conscious about his more slim and slender one - and pulled the covers back as he got both of them comfortable.
And in a few short moments, he was out like a light.