Chapter 23: Ragnarok
[The temple guardians begin to descend onto the ground, each one preparing to defend the treasure hidden within, Ronin and Warlord patiently wait for each and every one of them to arrive.]
Warlord: How many do you suppose there are?
Ronin: From what I have checked there are approximately 100 of them.
Warlord: Not too much we can handle.
Ronin: The little ones won't matter at first, what we want is the final guardian, remember.
Warlord: Of course.
[the ninety ninth soldier hits the floor with it's ax in hand.]
Ronin: It's just like we trained. So be cautious.
[Ronin raises her katana.]
Warlord: Yes ma'am.
[Warlord summons his Ashura, who gives his weapons.]
[The guardians march fast towards the two soldiers, Ronin unleashes her blade and and create a energy wave taking down 10 of them]
Ronin: Is that the best you can do?
[Ronin paces herself at the Guardians, jumps into a spin slash and cuts down two more]
[One guardian slams his ax onto the floor]
[Ronin evades]
Warlord: Stay back Demon!
[With one punch, Warlord shatters the ax wielding guardian]
[Shots are fired from up front]
[The two find cover behind some rocks]
Ronin: It appears that melee weapons aren't their only strong suit.
[Multiple guardians are seen holding giant cannons]
Ronin: Theta Spirit Unlock!
[Ronin awakens the Theta Spirit]
Ronin: Lava Dome!
[A glowing barrier is formed around them]
Warlord: May I suggest a different plan of attack?
[Ronin glances at her surroundings, and begins to form a plan]
Ronin: I have a plan!
[She raises her arm and expands the dome surrounding the Guardians, Warlord raises an eyebrow]
[Ronin waves her hand and switches the positions of the Guardians. Some face each other and lay waste by destroying one another, some are cut down by their allies, while others are distracted, which grants the two of them an opportunity]
Ronin: Attack!
[Both mystery warriors fight their way through what remains in the Dome]
[A giant sword is swung sideways]
[Ronin goes low and knee slides]
[Warlord leaps high]
R and W: Piss off!
[Ronin slices the leg, causing it to fall]
[Warlord smash it's face into the ground]
[The lava Dome is put down]
Warlord: How many does that make it?
Ronin: Twenty-Seven.
Warlord: *serious* Good start. But we could do better.
[Behind her mask, Ronin closes her eyes]
Ronin: Why don't we make this fun!
[Lava Coloured Aura radiates from her body]
Ronin: All of you, come at me!
[10 more Guardians run up to her]
[Meanwhile with Shattersquad, Luz and Co, chat among themselves]
Luz: I can't believe you punched a hole through the wall.
Willow: It was nothing really. Pops' training really pays off if you think about it.
King: Well we can't ignore the fact that I basically held those things down while you were ripping their armour off. Do you know the strain that puts on my tough body?
Gus: I wouldn't say you did that. That "crocodile" thing, it did most of the work.
King: Tic Toc Croc is not to be messed with!
[Everyone giggles]
Gus: But in all fairness, I believe the MVP of the night was Amity.
[Willow and King agree]
Amity: I mean I wouldn't say that. I almost tried to kill him. Like last time with Raymond and Kotoha.
[Luz places her hand on Amity]
Luz: Amity, don't worry, that's all in the past. I mean, look at how far you have come. You took down Watts' strongest monster. You found a way to keep that new power of yours under control. And most importantly, unlocked your power.
Kotoha: And also save Luz from certain death.
[Kotoha slaps Amity's back, causing her to fall forward.]
Kotoha: Heheh. Sorry.
Amity: That hurt.
Kotoha: Consider that payback for last time. And to let you know that won't happen again.
Gus: *worried* Oh Kotoha, are you alright?
Kotoha: Why wouldn't I be?
Gus: I mean, Pops told us that you fainted when you encountered One.
Willow: And from what Luz told us about this guy, it brought back some bad memories.
[Kotoha pauses trying to process everything that happened.]
Kotoha: I mean sure, it really did bring back some haunting moments in my life. But...
Willow: You know it's okay to talk about it right?
[Kotoha looks around the group, they make room for her]
[Luz gestures to sit in between her and Gus]
Kotoha: Alright, I guess I can talk about it for a bit.
[Kotoha takes the seat offered to her, while Amity gets a little jealous that she is sitting next to Luz. Luckily she can keep it under control.]
Kotoha: Seeing that man, One. It brings back painful memories of my childhood. Luz knows about them thanks to her Mind Share ability. Shatter Squad knows. So I guess now that you guys are here, I guess you should know too.
[Kotoha begins her story]
Kotoha: It all started when I was a kid. It was always just me and mom. She would train me in the ways of ninjutsu, nurse me back to health when I was sick, and was always there for me when I needed her most. We helped each other in times of need. But one day a strange man came to my house. He was calling out a name I never heard of before.
Gus: What was the name?
Kotoha: He kept yelling out, Tristan.
Amity: Tristan?
[The shinobi nods]
Kotoha: My mom told me that we had to escape from the house. I was curious as to why she wanted to flee, until it happened.
[Luz remembers the memory when she Mind Shared with Kotoha]
King: What happened?
Kotoha: There was an explosion.
[The side of Kotoha's house explodes]
Kotoha: I knew there was something wrong. So we escaped as fast as we could. But he followed us. The way he looked was too frightening for me. We tried to run but he caught up to us.
[Tears begin to form in Kotoha's eyes, and she begins to quake remembering that moment]
Kotoha: He found us. And the last thing my mom did was use a teleportation Technique that transferred me to our rendezvous. And the last thing she ever said to me was.
Luz: あんたは一人じゃない！！
[everyone turns their attention to Luz, all with confused looks on their faces]
Kotoha: Yeah.
King: What?
Willow: Did anyone get that?
Gus: I've heard Kotoha speak like that, but never actually knew what it was.
Luz: From what I've learned, it's japanese for, "You are not alone".
Amity: Japanese?
Luz: A language from the human realm. We have thousands of dialects that many people speak from.
Gus: I have so many questions.
Luz: Save them for later.
[Luz turns to Kotoha]
Luz: And Kotoha, your mom is right. You're not alone. Losing her meant a lot to you and felt like a burden on your life. But after all of that. You have me, Arthur, and all of us to fight with you. So that way you'll never be alone again.
[Luz grabs Kotoha's hand and makes a promise with her]
Luz: And I promise that by the time this will be over. I'll help you take down One. And avenge your Mother's death.
[Willow places her hand next]
Willow: So will I.
[Gus after]
Gus: You have my back, Master.
King: And me!
[Amity places her hand last]
Amity: Me as well.
[Behind her mask, Kotoha smiles with tears of joy]
Kotoha: Thank you.
[Then they hear tears from behind them]
Edric: *sniff* That was beautiful!
[They all turn to Edric]
Luz: Have you been here the whole time?
Emira: Well, I told him not to disturb anything, but we went ahead and listened anyway.
Amity: You two realise you ruined the moment right?
Emira: What, I didn't do anything. It was mostly Edric.
Edric: Oh shut up! Why can't you ever take my side.
[Amity groans while everyone else laughs]
Amity: What are you two even doing here?
Emira: *ahem* Well if you must know, after a few minutes of talking to West. And Edric being the annoying idiot he is around Arthur. We are here to let you know that Ed and I are going to be joining you.
Amity: WHAT?!
[Emira walks over to amity and rubs her face]
Emira: Isn't that great, baby sister?
Amity: *groans* I can think of many reasons to hate this.
Edric: Oh come on, you guys look like you've been having a blast doing this. So why can't we join the fun?
[Amity groans]
Luz: I guess the more help the better. Right guys.
[Confused with West's decision. They all end up agreeing.]
Raymond: Hey guys.
[Raymond enters the room]
Raymond: A.X.E.L. wanted to let you know that midnight snacks will be served in 10 minutes. You know in case you're interested.
[They all cheer]
Gus: Yes please.
King: I'm starving.
[Everyone exits the room
Luz: Let's eat.
[Amity watches her leave the room]
[Visions flash through her mind, the same one with Luz falling to the ground]
Luz: Hey, you coming, Amity?
Amity: Uh yeah I'm coming.
[Amity stands up]
[As soon as she exits the room she sees Arthur]
Arthur: Hi Amity.
Amity: Oh.
Luz: Hey Arthur!
[Luz sees the expression on his face]
Luz: Is everything alright?
Arthur: Yeah everything is alright, I'm looking for Amity actually.
[Luz raises an eyebrow and turns to Amity]
[Amity is nervous]
Arthur: Amity, we need to talk.
[The battle between the Guardians and the team of Ronin and Warlord rages on with Warlord smashing the head of one of them]
Warlord: Got another one. How many does that make?
[Ronin perfectly slices a Guardian in half]
Ronin: Forty-five.
Warlord: Then we better kick things up a notch!
[Warlord's gives himself a boost of energy while summoning Ashura]
[He widens his eyes. Eyes glowing red]
Warlord: Omicron Spirit Unlock!
[His Aura bursts into green flames]
Warlord: Courage Charge!
[He slowly builds his Stamina, replenishing lost energy and diverting it into one single attack]
Warlord: This is the Courage I can muster to finish this!
[Performing a Kamehameha style blast, he fires the built up energy from within and releases it on multiple Guardians]
Warlord: RAGH!
[Destroying at least 40 more of Guardians, it leaves them at 85 guardians defeated.]
Ronin: Impressive.
Warlord: Well we have been training for this moment.
[Five more guardians show up]
Ronin: Stay back and recharge, I'll handle the rest.
Warlord: As you wish.
[Ronin raises her Katana towards her face]
[She runs up to the five Guardians]
Ronin: Theta Spirit! Lava Dome!
[She entraps the 5 guardians pursuing her]
Ronin: Let's make this quick!
[She ducks and knee slides a sideward slash and parries with her own sword]
Ronin: I'll be taking this.
[She grasps the Guardian's sword like a feather and cuts down two more Guardians in front of her]
[She notices 9 more of them coming from the front]
Ronin: *sigh*
[She pauses once more and drops the giant sword]
[She raises her arms to the side and leaves herself wide open]
[The three Guardians take this opportunity to fight back]
[The pile on her and thrash onto her body with every inch of rage they can muster]
[100 hits that felt like a Car running you over can be felt on her body]
Ronin: (Just what I needed).
[She reaches for her Katana but couldn't after seeing it was snapped]
Ronin: (Shit! Guess we are doing this the hard way)
[She closes her eyes and waves her hand switching positions of her and One of the Guardians]
Ronin: Hi there.
[She somersaults to her snapped Katana]
Ronin: Rebuild!
[The Her being inside the Lava Dome helps her repair her blade]
[Ronin zooms across the three that beat her up with multiple slashes appearing from everywhere]
[She slides it back into the Scabbard, once the handle clicked, Three Guardians Shattered]
[Warlord walks up to her]
Warlord: Not wasting the energy yet?
Ronin: I'm merely storing it for the final boss.
Warlord: Fair enough.
[Warlord grabs a coming Guardian by the face]
Warlord: Honestly from what Icarus told us, I thought they would be more of a challenge.
[Warlord splats it head like an orange]
Ronin: I guess we thought too highly of this.
[Ronin teleports herself to the center of 3 more Guardians]
[Creating a Circular Slash that split them in half]
[She generates another lava dome]
Ronin: Fly!
[The halves float into the air and levitate above the remaining 5]
Ronin: Drop!
[The halves fall onto four of the Guardians while another dodges in time.]
[Both Fighters notice the remaining one, they nod to each other and begin to run towards it from opposite sides of the room]
Ronin: Scatter!
[Ronin and Warlord fly circles across the last Guardian. Clashing into it repeatedly over 75 times in two seconds]
[Both land swiftly and gracefully]
[The last Guardian begins to malfunction and self-destructs after all the damage it has taken]
Ronin: This seems easy.
Warlord: Don't get distracted. There is one left.
[The room begins to shake and a giant figure falls from the ceiling]
[It crashes feet first onto the ground]
[Standing tall and prepared to fight, and faces one of its humongous swords at Ronin]
Guardian: Step Forth mortal. And answer why you have come here!
[Ronin notices the sword on its forehead]
[She immediately grins and prepares to fight again]
[Amity and Arthur enter the kitchen sitting across each other]
[He continues to read the Azura series as he progresses with Book Four]
Arthur: Luz is right, what kind of jerks would want to debate with her about this.
Amity: Uhm Arthur, are you here to talk about the Azura series, because you made it look like you had something serious you wanted to share.
[Arthur claps the book back together and puts it down]
Arthur: First off, this book leaves a cliffhanger that makes one wonder what happens next. Secondly, if there is a fifth book, where can I find it?
[Amity blinks]
Amity: Luz happens to have the fifth story.
[Arthur smacks his lips and nods]
Arthur: Got it.
[Amity taps her finger on her legs]
Amity: Well if there's nothing else I'm going to go..
Arthur: So what deal did you make with them?
[Amity comes to a halt.]
Arthur: Come on, spit it out.
[Amity takes a deep breath and sits back down]
Amity: I met with the Council of Death. And they offered me a Spirit Power in exchange for my services.
Arthur: I see. What kind of service?
[Amity sighs]
Amity: They told me that on something called the Day of Unity, Belos and One will do battle. Once the battle starts, they said that Luz would die in the process.
[Arthur with a blank expression, does nothing but nod]
Arthur: Why Luz specifically?
[Amity grasps her hands together]
Amity: They told me that Luz was an important factor in future events, and if I didn't save her on whatever this Day of Unity is. I'd kill myself in three days.
Arthur: So you made a deal to protect her until then.
[Amity nods with a sad expression and nothing else to say]
Arthur: You realise this is a big task right?
Amity: I know.
Arthur: Aren't you a little worried? Because if she were to die on that day, you'll be punished for all eternity. Hell you got lucky that they let you live after the fight with Watts.
Amity: Honestly Arthur I am worried. But knowing that Luz's life is on the line. I know this is a job only I can do.
Arthur: Amity once you make a deal with them. There is no going back. You sure you're up for this.
[Amity clenches her fist, and begins to yell]
Amity: Listen! I know what I got myself into! And if Luz, my Luz's life is in danger! I know what I have to do! And with the proper training! I know I can change the future!
[Arthur pinches his eyes and sighs once more]
[suddenly he chuckles]
Arthur: That's what I like about Blight. You got spunk. If this is what you really want. I might know someone who can help you improve your power.
[Amity awe-stricken by this news she slams her hands onto the table]
Amity: You do?!
[He smirks]
Arthur: Yeah, we figured since we caused trouble around the Isles. We would make enemies of the emperor. So after the mission. We made a call, and other members of our Squad will be joining the fight. And it just so happens. This friend of mine also uses a Death type Spirit Power.
[Amity smiles]
Amity: So this friend of yours, can help me?
[Arthur nods]
Amity: When can I meet them?
Arthur: Hold your horses, kid. It will take some time before they can get here. So you'll just have to stick with us for a while.
[Amity determined by this news makes the decision to wait until they arrive, in the meantime another thought pops into her head]
Amity: You know, about Luz.
[Arthur raises an eyebrow]
Amity: There is something I've been wondering for a while.
Arthur: Fire away.
Amity: There's something about her that no one else knows is there.
[Arthur pauses, and his expression begins to change]
Arthur: Why do you want to know?
Amity: Ronin said you might be hiding something. And I had a hunch.
[Arthur closes his eyes]
Amity: She told me that there are things that you know that everyone else doesn't. How you knew about the Spirit Powers, how you know about Ronin. Arthur, I don't know what you're hiding or what information you have on Luz. I'll make things clear.
[Her Beta Spirit unlocks along with Yama]
Amity: I'll take your word for the new trainer, but if whatever you're hiding harms my Luz in any way. I won't hesitate to kill you.
[Arthur unlocks his Delta Spirit alongside Dragon]
Arthur: I can promise you that I have no such intentions.
[their Aura clash into one another]
Amity: Luz and the others may trust you. But I don't.
Arthur: Then I'll just have to gain your trust.
Amity: I'd like to see you try.
[The room begins to shake and King enters the Room, shocked by the sight. Like watching two Emperors duke into a world ending battle.]
King: WEH! Uh guys? Is everything okay here?
[Both hear King's voice and immediately simmer down]
Arthur: It's nothing King, we were just having a discussion.
King: Uh well, the midnight snacks are ready. So. yeah I'll just go.
[He scurries away in fear]
[Amity watches as he leaves, then she has another glimpse into the future, but this time she sees Arthur standing above Luz's corpse]
Amity: *sigh*
[She leaves after him]
[The Guardian stands still waiting for a response]
Ronin: I've come here for the key.
Guardian: HA! No man nor witch has ever beaten the guardians, let alone swipe the key from the temple.
Ronin: Well I'm neither Witch nor man.
Guardian: Then what are you?
Ronin: *serious* I am a God!
[The Guardians laughs at that statement]
Guardian: HAHAHAH! One who claims that they are a so-called God. Then prove it to me!
[The Guardian makes the first move, by slamming his sword onto Ronin and Warlord, the two avoid in time.]
Ronin: Lava Dome!
[The room is surrounded in her Shield]
Ronin: Scatter!
[Both warriors fly circles around the giant, repeating the same move]
Guardian: Not enough!
[A shockwave is launched and both are sent flying to the walls]
[Warlord bounces off the and launches himself towards the Guardian for a second time]
[He collides his fist, forcing them to break the limits of his energy]
Warlord: OMICRON UNLOCK! COURAGE CHARGE!
[Replenishing his Aura and breaking his limits, green and red lights continue to grow]
Warlord: ASHURA PALM!
[Warlord delivers a flurry of Palm strikes while pushing back the Guardian]
[Guardian blocks the attacks with his swords as it begins walk backwards, struggling to keep up with the Green Warrior]
Guardian: Enough!
[Another shockwave is formed flinging Warlord to the floor]
[moments before he could land however]
Ronin: Lava Dome!
[Theta's barrier is formed]
Ronin: Switch!
[the Ronin switch places with her partner and flies at her opponent]
Ronin: Spirit Power!
[Ronin Aura begins to burst, but instead of a Spirit Floating above her, and giant hands untombs itself from the ground]
Ronin: Bringer of the End, Surtur!
[A massive Fire Giant is reborn from the ashes, along with his world ending sword]
Ronin: This is your end!
[Ronin spins herself into a flaming drill and attempts to break through the Guardian]
Guardian: Hmph!
[Guardian blocks the drill with one of his weapons.]
[Raises his other sword and swings downward]
[As the sword impacted the drill, it shatters right in front of him]
Ronin: Fly!
[Ronin raises her arm to shoots Warlord to the top of the Temple ceiling]
Ronin: And Drop!
[Warlord begins to descend and summons Ashura]
Warlord: Ashura: Lend me your power!
[Ashura claps all six of his hands together and gives Warlord all of his energy]
Warlord: God Slayer Fist!
[The Final Guardian keeps in mind that the attack comes from above, so his next move is to counter from the front]
Ronin: Switch!
[Ronin and Warlord change their positions once again, with Warlord attacking from the front]
Guardian: I got you now!
[Both of their attacks clash together, leaving him wide open]
[Ronin teleports herself to his head and begins to pull the sword out, but has a hard time doing it]
Ronin: (Damn, Icarus was right, it really won't budge)
[Her foe feels the feet on his head, and attempts to shake her off, however Warlord keep him distracted by fighting him head on,]
Guardian: Get off me!
Warlord: Don't look away!
[He strikes him on the stomach then uppercuts him in the chin]
Guardian: Annoying pest!
[Guardian slaps him away]
[his hand is held onto and stuck to the ground]
Guardian: Let go of me!
Warlord: Oh that's not going to happen!
[Guardian lifts his sword]
[Warlord crushes his right arm]
Guardian: AGH!
[Warlord swings at him again]
Warlord: GOD SLAYER FIST!
[Warlord shatters the other sword]
Guardian: *shocked* What?!
[The sword begins to budge]
Ronin: Got it!
Guardian: NO!
[Guardian immediately grabs on to the body of Ronin and throws her]
[Warlord catches her]
Guardian: No mortal can take the blade!
[Ronin begins to laugh as Warlord puts her down]
Ronin: I told you that I am no mere mortal.
[Ronin teleports again]
Guardian: Wha?!
[Guardian becomes cautious and watches his surroundings]
[Ronin and Warlord zip around him]
[Guardian watches carefully and waits for the next move]
[three seconds later, one of the two appears from the front]
Guardian: NOW!
[Guardian then reaches for the one upfront and pushes him to the ground]
Guardian: You will never lay your hands on the sword!
[his hand is held down]
Guardian: What?!
[Warlord crushes the other arm]
Warlord: It's a good thing I'm not the one after the sword! God Slayer Fist!
[Warlord jumps out of the hold and attacks with a rush of punches]
[Guardian is launches into the air, and he feels the sword being pulled out from his head]
Guardian: NO!
[Ronin lands on the ground]
[guardian lands on his back]
Ronin: Heheh!
[Ronin relishes her victory, until a pulse pounding force is felt throughout her body]
Ronin: AGH!
[The sword's energy begins to break her from the inside, gusts of wind and light swirl across, she struggles to stand]
Guardian: HA! I told you no mere Mortal can wield the blade.
[Ronin continues to scream in pain]
Guardian: Ragnarok is the Sword that contains vast amounts of Chaos Energy. Once someone holds it, their body will begin to crumble. Like a million souls from Hell, pull you down into the fiery depths. No man can hold onto it. Honestly I'm surprised you even made it this far.
[Guardian pushes himself back up]
Guardian: But now it is...
[He is interrupted by wave of power being released from the sword]
[Ronin grabs onto Ragnarok with both hands]
Ronin: I told you for the last time! I..am not a mere mortal!
[Her energy explodes causing Surtur to reappear and transfer his world ending powers into the sword]
Guardian: But that's impossible. No one should be able to wield Ragnarok! What are you?!
[Ronin confidently yells, as the pain begins to fade]
Ronin: I am...a GOD!
[Ronin summons Surtur]
Ronin: Surtur lend me your Power!
[Ronin summons Surtur and both raises their swords, Ragnarok begins to glow and enlarges itself]
Ronin: Witness. Oblivion! VALHALLA CUTTER!
[Ronin Swings her sword downward]
[As it slowly falls, Guardian falls to his knees and accepts his fate]
Guardian: Let's see what you can do with this power.
[Ragnarok's blade lands on impact obliterating Guardian. Smashing and cutting him into pieces.]
[Energy can be felt from Arthur's sword, Luz also notices it's presence]
Luz: (Wait, this energy feels familiar? What is it?)
[Arthur sees his sword glow, he takes Excalibur out from its Scabbard]
Arthur: *serious* (This glow means. Ragnarok!)
[The dust begins to clear as the shatter warrior has fallen, Ronin spins Ragnarok and slides it into her Scabbard]
Ronin: This power is mine now.
Warlord: Well we got the key? What's the next step?
[Ronin laughs]
Ronin: Hahahah. The plan is we let Meta and Shatter Squad gather the pieces. And then once they all have been gathered, we destroy them, along with Alpha. but for now, we wait.
[Warlord begins to walk out of the temple, Warlord follows, as the Temple begins to shut down]
END
BREAK NEXT WEEK