There are secrets in the universe that may never be fully explained.
Where there are mysteries, there are always three kinds of people connected to them. One is the kind of people who want to seek the mysteries out to their fullest.
The other are the people who are out to destroy any secret they believe threatens their security or positions of power.
The third type are the defenders of mysteries.
This is the tale of several such defenders.
Outcast Legends: And Outlaw Star fanfic
Destiny Under Siege
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the original Outlaw Star TV anime. I'll make a list of those characters and concepts I do own at the end of the fic.
Chapter 10: The Battle Begins
In the blink of an eye, they all understood. For a long moment, there was total silence, nearly everyone's mouth simply hanging open as their minds began to digest what they had learned in the twinkling of a moment. The maiden, like a holographic projection, still stood there, but her expression was urgent.
"Please, you are my last hope. I don't know if there's anything any of you can do to stop the energy draining away, but I do know this for certain: if DragonMage succeeds, not only will eons of vital research be destroyed possibly forever, but the universe itself may well hang in the balance. Please, … will you help me survive?"
There was a long period of silence,… then Dawn Sword spoke up.
"Gladly." Was the only word he said, but it spoke volumes of words unsaid.
"Thank you." The maiden said, smiling weakly. "I'm sorry I can't help, but if I don't try to conserve my energy, I might not make it anyway. I'll go with you in this form, but I probably won't be able to help as more than a guide."
"Way I see it, that's better than nothin'." Reaper stated. He then turned in the direction Backtrack had pointed when the leyline had 'screamed'. "Is that where Melfina is?"
"Yes. DragonMage has her captive, and Hitiriga is with him. The other members of his crew are scattered throughout the leyline, but I can't be sure where."
"DragonMage said he wanted this to be the last great battle. He's probably hoping to narrow down the odds to just me and him so that way he can get the thrill of finishing what he started when he tried to kill me." Dawn Sword said, then turned and looked at the rest of the group. "If we play by his rules, we'll never make it out of this alive. We stick together and fight as a team, ok?"
"So long as Starwind and company don't get in my way, I'm fine with that." Ron stated, loading his Caster.
"Hey, you just better try not to get in my way, McDougal." Jean countered with an angry glare.
"Where do you think you get off taking to my brother like that, Starwind?" Harry challenged.
"Considering he killed my father, I have every right!" Jean shouted angrily.
"Are you trying to start something?" Harry returned.
"You're the ones who started everything!" Jean rebuffed loudly. "You killed my father, you tried to take Melfina, and if you hadn't showed up none of this would have happened!!"
"Oh yeah!" Harry gave Jean a shove.
"Yeah!!" Jean shoved back.
"Stop it!" There was instant silence as the maiden stepped in-between the struggle. She looked first at Jean, then at Harry. "Melfina would not want you fighting like this! Don't you know it breaks her heart when she sees the two of you acting like this?!" There was a pause. "You both need to step away from all of this, put the past behind, and learn to let Melfina make her own choices. I know from her memories that she would truly never feel love at all than to constantly have the two of you fighting over her like this. If you cannot learn to co-exist, I honestly believe she would rather not choose either of you." She stated with tears in her eyes, then turned and looked away.
Harry and Jean looked at each other for a long minute. Then Jean diverted his gaze to Ron, who had been watching the situation from a slight distance.
"… I can never forgive you for killing my father,…" He said, looking at Harry. "But for Melfina's sake, let's forget about our differences until she's safe. Agreed?"
"… I can respect that." Harry said with a gentle nod.
"Yeah, let's get this show on the road." Ron stated, holstering the Caster. "We've wasted enough time as is, and there's no point squabbling when DragonMage and his goons are out there waiting for us."
"Good, I'm glad to see you've all come to a truce." Dawn Sword started. "I agree; let's get moving before we waste any more time."
With the hologram which had hid the doorway now gone, due to the Dragon Claw's power of persuasion, DragonMage felt an excited chill crawl up his spine. He quickly turned to Cerpa, who still was keeping one hand on Melfina's restraints.
"You can release her now. She won't be going anywhere unless we want her to."
Cerpa quickly released the manacles around Melfina's arms, and they dropped to the ground with a thud.
"Now be a good little android and unlock the doorway. It won't open unless you're, shall we say, installed."
Melfina was still for a long moment, then suddenly attempted to make a run for it. Cerpa remained completely still, watching her try to escape, but DragonMage wasn't in the mood for games. He clenched his fist within the Dragon's Claw and instantly a transparent black-energy orb surrounded Melfina, stopping her dead in her tracks.
"Must I remind you again and again of my power, android? Is there something wrong with your memory chips, or are you trying to annoy me? If you will not cooperate, I'll put you in the door myself."
Using the hellish gauntlet, DragonMage lifted the entire black bubble, along with Melfina, several into the air, then made it float over to where the doorway stood, then dropped Melfina like a coin into the slot. The living-metal of the door closed around her, binding her hands into place above her head and her feet together below her. She looked almost crucified into place, and tears ran down her eyes as she realized DragonMage was slowly gaining control of the leyline through her, starting with this doorway.
"It was foolish to run." Cerpa stated calmly. "The Dragon's Claw is in control of you now, so resistance is utterly futile."
"Please…" She begged. "Don't do this…"
"Stop whimpering; it'll do you no good." He paused for a minute, like an actor trying to remember his lines. "Engage password 'It was you who broke my mason plate'."
With that, the doorway and Melfina slid backwards, quickly enveloped by the darkness that lay just beyond the now-open doorway.
"At last. Soon I shall fulfill my destiny…" DragonMage smirked.
Suddenly, a figure materialized nearby. It was the blue-flame warrior from the ship.
"My lord DragonMage," The figure stated. "Just as you suspected, the Outcast Legends are all on their way here, traveling as a group for mutual defense."
"Good. Dawn Sword is reacting exactly as I anticipated he would." He paused for a moment. "Now that I have access to the Dragon's Tribute, I'll use some of the leyline's power to scatter them across the leyline. It will be the job of you and your warriors to engage them in single combat and eliminate them one by one as soon as you find them. Tell the others that if they are overwhelmed that they are to make all attempts to gather here and wait to pick off all the survivors except Dawn Sword and Suzuka."
"Your will be done, DragonMage." Was Archon's response as he bowed low.
"Good. Now go and do as I have said."
It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, the group was racing together towards the leyline, then with a flash of light everyone except Dawn Sword, Suzuka, and the maiden were gone. Vanished. Disappeared.
"What the-!" Dawn Sword exclaimed, skidding to a stop. Suzuka wasn't far behind him.
"DragonMage has tapped into the matter transferal systems in the Dragon's Tribute." The maiden exclaimed, worriedly. "He has scattered the others to various points across the leyline."
"Blast it!" Suzuka exclaimed. "Is there no lengths to which he won't go?"
"DragonMage's ideals of 'the final battle' incorporate his own twisted form of chivalry; he's trying to even down the odds so we eventually face him and his generals one on one, to prove how superior the Dragon forces are." He paused. "But now we really don't have a choice except to play it his way."
"Where am I?" Reaper wondered out loud. The leyline path all around him was full of giant golden crystals, and there was no sign of the rest of the group. He grunted in frustration. "This has got to be DragonMage's doing."
"True, old friend, very true…"
He instantly spun in the direction of the voice, and was just barely able to dodge as a thin sphere of energy shot straight at him. Getting back to his feet, he easily located the enemy that had attacked him. Archon, hovering a good foot or so off the ground, almost seemed to smirk at him in defiance, though nothing of his facial features could be seen beyond the mass of blue flames which constantly surrounded his body.
"So, we meet again, Archon. Still up to your old tricks of sneaking up on people, I see."
"And still the same headstrong confidence, I see." Archon scoffed. "I've said it before and I'll say it again; your confidence will become your downfall."
"Enough talk, then. Let's get this started."
"You haven't changed much at all, Carnage." Nightshade stated, sword ready. A good dozen or so feet away stood Carnage, DragonMage's knight in shadow armor.
"Neither have you, Nightshade. But appearances can be deceiving, as you well know."
Carnage slowly sunk into a battle position, sword pointed at Nightshade. Black energy, like electricity, coursed through his armor as he tightened his grip of the handle of his blade.
"I've been rather anxiously awaiting a chance to face you again in single combat." Carnage stated confidently. "Considering our previous battles, I know you will not disappoint me, Nightshade."
"On the contrary, I think you'll soon find yourself quite overwhelmed."
She faded into view against the copper-color sky like some kind of phantasm, an unreal figure floating several dozen feet in the air. Harry and Backtrack looked up at the mirror-robed figure and got ready to fight as she slowly descended to the ground, landing with feather-like perfection.
"Well hello, Backtrack. A pleasure to see you again." She laughed rather unthreateningly, in fact somewhat girlish. "Who's your cute friend?"
"Who is this wierdo?" Harry whispered.
"That's Mirage, DragonMage's expert in illusions. You'd better stand back and let me handle this." Backtrack stated, tensing for battle.
"Boys, boys!" She teased as suddenly instead of only a single Mirage, there were now three. The three figures spoke at the exact same time. "There's enough of me to go around. And as I'm sure you've noticed, Backtrack, I've modified my holograms so they have time fields identical to my own."
"Great, just what I didn't wanna hear." Backtrack muttered.
Firestorm never even saw the blast coming. As the energy bolt slammed her into the ground face-first, she quickly became aware of a figure materializing on the ground now far in front of her. As she tried to stand up, a kick in the face sent her flying onto her back, dust kicking up around her where she landed.
"I hope you'd have learned your lesson by now, Firestorm." Siren challenged, black robe blown gently by an invisible wind. "You might as well surrender; you can't possibly defeat me."
With a single swift movement, Firestorm tucked into a handstand, pushed off with her hands into the air, and landed several feet away. She wiped a trickle of blood from her lip, then got into a battle position.
"I never surrender, witch. I hope you'd have learned that by now."
"Always a drama queen, Firestorm." Siren mocked, her long crystal rod held loosely in her left hand. "Well, it's time I extinguished you once and for all."
"Go ahead and try."
"Greetings, gentlemen. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Trick."
Jean and Ron, Casters ready and loaded, watched as the strange black-cloaked figure with the clown-like voice stood there, almost seeming to silently laugh at them. With a single motion, Trick threw off the cloak, revealing his true form. His skin, a unreal neon blue, seemed almost completely transparent. He wore a two color jumpsuit, one half black and one half white. Attached to his forearm bracers were a pair of long, sharp, straight, ninja-like blades. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses, and he had no hair whatsoever. Jean couldn't help but get the creeps just from looking at him/it.
"What the heck kinda freak are you supposed to be?" Ron scoffed.
"That's my little secret, gents. Suffice to say I'm one of the trickiest opponents you'll ever meet."
"Yeah, well, here's a trick for you." Jean scoffed, leveling his Caster. "Play dead!"
"Hey, where are we?" Aisha wondered out loud. "Where'd everybody else go?"
"This has got to be because of DragonMage." Bluestone stated, looking around. "That flash must have been a teleport. We're separated from the others."
"So what do we do now?" Aisha asked innocently.
Bluestone thought about it for a second, holding her chin in her hands.
"If I know Dawn Sword, he's gonna try to get to the entrance to the inner leyline as fast as he can. We should just follow the path until we meet up with him."
"Assuming DragonMage doesn't find us first." Aisha huffed. "I knew when I got up this morning that this was gonna be the worst day of my life."
"What are you worried about? You're a Ktarl-Ktarl; you've got more natural inbred fighting power than almost and other humanoid." She said, checking her supply of Striker shells. "I'm the one who should be worried. All I've got are these shells."
"Well, are we gonna just stand here all day feeling sorry that we're lost? Let's go!"
Dawn Sword and Suzuka raced down the long and wide paths of the leyline at top speeds, each having their sword continually ready in hand. The maiden followed close behind them, hovering weightlessly just above the ground. They knew their mission. They knew time was running out.
They knew that the fate of nearly every living being now rested heavy on their shoulders, fear reminding them every moment of just how mortal, just how frail their own lives were, and how easily a single misplaced action could spell the end. Brother and sister both felt the cold sweat on their foreheads and felt the strange blurring of reality, almost as if this was a horrible, endless nightmare.
They knew that courage means you're the only one who knows you're scared to death.