Crystallis' Secret - A MAT2K1 Adventure
Chapter 11: Hangin' On The Edge of Tomorrow....
By Ashura Hedgehog

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"WAHOO!" Crystallis shouted. "I....I can't belive I'm flying!" She looked
down at the ground as saw how far she was from the ground. Thanks to her new
powers, she was channeling Merc's, Super Sonic's, Seiyuka's and Vegeta's power to
fly. And she was enjoying every minute of it. "Look at me, Ashura! I'm flying!"

"Hehehehe.....she's really enjoying it!" Ashura said. He, too, was flying,
but not by his own power, but that of his modified armor. His Wing ZERO Custom
armor.

"How much longer?!" Crow said, being carried Angel.

"Not much." Merc said. "I'm picking up some massive power level up ahead!"

"This is it, gang! This is gonna be the biggest battle ANY of us has been
in!" Ashura said.

"Don't worry. We're ready for it!" Vegeta said.

"So let's not let the Guardian wait any longer! Let's GO!" Super Sonic 2
said, racing ahead. The others soon followed.

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"WHAT?! They're supposed to KILL Razla, NOT help him!" Guardian said, furious
to no end. She walked from her viewing spot to a portal she had opened for an
emergency. "I didn't want to do this, but now I must!" She raised her hands in the
air and chanted an incantation. All of a sudden, various characters appeared near
the portal. The villians from some the fanfics and movies the group read. Ivan
Ooze, Apocalypse and his minions, Katzie and Bertie, Evil Tiger of the Wind, the
Doomsday lookalike, most of them were there.

"What the hell are we doin' here and who the hell are you?" Sabretooth said.

"Welcome to my world. I am the Guardian and I need your help." she said.

"Yeah, and just WHY would we help YOU?" Katzie said.

"I am under attack by a group of heroes who demand that my head be on a
silver platter." Guardian said. "I'm pretty sure you know what to do."

"Yeah, we get to crush some goody-goodies!" Juggernaut said, bashing a statue
with his bare hands.

"Yes, but don't do that in my lair." Guardian said. "Now, go. Protect me from
those who demand me dead." With that, the evil gathering raced out.

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"WHAT THE..?!" Gero said. "I've just picked up some additional power levels
up ahead!"

[Same here. Evil in nature.] Metal said. [We're in for a major battle.]

"Guys, ready?" Ashura said.

"I'll protect the others, you go on!" Yugi said. With that, she picked up
Amy, Mike, Tom, Crow, and Sasami and encased them in a protective barrier.

"Alright, it's game time!" Merc said. "Absolution crew, LET'S ROLL!" With
that, the group split up just as Sauron and a flock of Tengu Warriors flew by.

"That was close!" Sara said. "Alright, Sabian. Drop me down. I'll be fine!"
Sabian, reluctently, released her from his grip and allowed her to fall to the
ground. On the way down, she took down a few Tengu with her sword. TOM followed
suit, dropping from Trunks' grip, his arm cannons frying a few Tengu as well.

"This may be easier that I thought." TOM said.

"Don't count on it!" Sara said. "Let's move!" As the two followed Yugi and
the others, some of the others broke free of the Tengu flock. Vegeta turned around
and fried Sauron and the rest with a Final Flash.

"Heh. Not a problem." Vegeta said.

"That's what you think, runt!" a voice said. All of a sudden, Sabretooth
pounced on Vegeta, pinning him to the ground. "Yer no Wolverine, but I'll use you
as an example!"

"That's what you think!" Vegeta shouted, letting his golden aura launch the
crazed killer off him. "You think you can get away calling me "runt"?! THINK
AGAIN!" With just a flick of a wrist, Vegeta fried the killer. For some reason,
Sabretooth's bones weren't metal. "Heh. A fake. I knew it. Probably from those
fics the others read."

"Well, what do ya know? We're facing the fic versions!" Ashura said.

"I guess we got our work cut out!" Merc said. Just then, a boulder came
zooming past him. "What the?" Merc looked down and saw Juggernaut launching another
boulder. Merc blasted it with his new Arm Cannon, blasting the "unstoppable" in
the process. "Heh. I guess we are!"

"C'mon! Everyone's waiting for us!" Angel said.

"Coming!" Ashura shouted. "Hey, where's Sonikku and Metalla?"

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At that moment, Super Sonic 2 and Metal Sonic were battling the bigger,
eviler version of one of the more popular characters of "Monster Rancher", Tiger of
the Wind.

"HAH! I may have been beaten by a measily KID, but I'll never fall to the
likes of you!" Tiger growled.

"THAT KID WAS CHEAP!" Super Sonic shouted. "HE USED A CHEAP ATTACK ON YOU!
I'M NOTHING LIKE THAT!" All of a sudden, a bunch of black gears flew out of his
back and attemped to attach themselves to the two, but failed.

[Earth to Tiger: WE ARE NOT DIGIMON!] Metal said, his shoulder cannon
pointing at the monster. [GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD!] He fired a few volleys at the
monster, nailing him head on.

"Grrrr.....TAKE THIS! THUNDER!" Tiger shouted, launching bolts of electricity
at the two. They struck the two of them, but barely even phased them.

"HAH! Is that all?" Super Sonic said. "Then, eat this! SONIC RUMBLE!" With
that, he fired a bolt of energy at the monster, piercing through his head. "GOT
'EM!" Metal launched a slew of missles at Tiger. The impact literally decimated the
monster.

[Scratch one creep!] Metal said.

"C'mon! The others are waiting!" Sonic said.

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Inside the cave-like entrance, the group made their way to the Guardian's
little base. Sonic and the Saiyans were enough to keep the place lit. Ashura blew
the barrels of his Twin Buster Rifles while Yugi was wiping purple gunk off her
metal jacket.

"Well, I can say I made short work of those "Nega-Sisters"." Ashura said.

"Yeesh, that's the last time I throw a rock at anyone made of Ooze..." Yugi
said.

"Although, that blue skinned woman had the most TACKIEST taste in clothes!"
Amy said.

"I hope you enjoyed your current victories...," A voice said. The group
looked ahead and saw Apocalypse and the Doomsday lookalike standing there. "because
they are your last."

"Yeah, well, I like to see you beat us!" Gero said, stepping up.

"Very well." Apocalypse said, siccing the monster on the scientist. With one
mighty blow, he punched off the monster's head. While Apocalypse was in shock over
the monster's fall, Seiyuka and Sabian took down the mutant.

"And then......there was one." Yugi said. "Let's go." With that, the group
headed towards the Guardian's lair.

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"DAMN THOSE GUARDIAN GEMS!" Guardian cursed. "If I didn't make them, they
would have been defeated already!" She got up and advanced towards the entrance to
greet the others. "If my minions couldn't kill them, I WILL!" Just then, the group
walked through the entrance.

"Well, well. If it isn't the Guardian?" Sonic said, "Here to surrender?"

"Surrender? I think not. You're making the biggest mistake of your lives
challenging me." Guardian said.

"Yeah, well, we made the biggest mistake trusting YOU!" Ashura said. "Thanks
to you, the team was nearly destroyed!"

"That was the plan the whole time.....until YOU decided to play hero and
save your pantywaist of a girlfriend!" Guardian said. This pissed off Ashura.

"HEY! WATCH WHAT YOU'RE SAYING TO MY GIRL!" Ashura said. He pulled out the
Twin Buster Rifle and seperated them into two rifles. "We're here to end your
madness and go home!"

"I like to see you try, boy!" Guardian said. "Of course, why not show you a
bit of my power." She snapped her fingers, and suddenly, the group began
hallucinating. For Ayeka, it was losing Tenchi. For Sasami, for everyone to start
hating her, even though Ryo-ohki was right there, comforting her. For Vegeta, it
was him being extremely weak. For Trunks, it was combatting the Androids, who had
killed everyone around him. For Amy, it was losing Sonic. For Sonic, it was being
trapped under tons of rubble at the Twin Towers site. For Mike, he was stuck seeing
the movie "Hobgoblins", while Crow and Tom had "Manos: Hands of Fate" going through
their minds. Sara was witnessing Sabian going off with another girl, while Sabian
saw his old world destroyed by the creatures he vowed to demolish. Merc was being
tortured by someone from his old world. Angel was reliving Jeff's escape from the
afterlife. Ashura was reliving some of his bad times back from his old world, while
Crystallis was reliving the days before she met Ashura.

"Odd, how come it didn't affect us?" TOM said, looking at the group.

[I'm guessing it has to do with something unique.] Metal said.

"Impossible! ALL OF YOU should be quivering like babies! Why NOT?!"
Guardian said.

"Don't you just love mind shields?" Yugi said. "I had time to erect some on
me and the others just before you did that. Now, we still are able to fight back!"
With that, the four began fighting, ki and laser blasts going strong.
Unfortunantly, she had a barrier surrounding her, preventing the attacks to go
through.

"DAMN!" Gero said. "Now what?!"

"Die." Guardian said, raising her hand and firing a massive blast at the
four. The blast scatters the four away. "With your friends moaning over their worst
fear, I'd say it's game, set......" She never got to finish as an energy blast
singed her shoulder. Guardian looked and saw Super Sonic standing there, panting.

"If you ever....EVER.....make me relive that day again, so help me, I'll send
you to the hell I hope they send bin Ladin!" Sonic said.

"How did you break the hallucination?!" Guardian said.

"I was there....and I survived!" Sonic said. Unbeknowest to Guardian, Sonic's
blast somehow destroyed the hallucinations the others were having.

"AUGH! They're coming to!" Guardian said, finally noticing them. "FINE! I'll
destroy you MYSELF!"

"BITE ME....or bite YOU!!" Crow said, running up to the woman, chomping down
on her leg. Servo followed Crow, his little beak chomping on her arm. Guardian
swung fiercely, trying to get them off of her.

"At least they've given us some time regroup." Merc said, standing up.

"Good God, that was a horrible experience...." Ashura said, wiping some tears
from his face. He helped up Crystallis, who was also wiping her tears away. "You
okay, Cryst?"

"I'm fine, Ashy...." Crystallis said. "I think it's time to end this."

"I'm with you!" Vegeta said, stepping up. "This ends here and now! BIG BANG
ATTACK!" With that, Vegeta fired his attack at Guardian, the impact sending her
into the wall and flinging Crow and Tom off.

"Whoo-hoo! That was fun!" Crow said.

"Can we do that again?" Tom said.

"Not now!" Merc said, rushing towards the recovering creature. He lept into
the air and activated the blade on his arm. "TASTE THE BLADE OF THE SOUL REAVER!"
He pierced right through her chest. All of a sudden, his forearm converted into a
Arm Cannon and fired a few plasma shots into her. He lept off her and saw that she
wasn't moving. He turned around and walked back towards the group. "Well, that's
that!"

"Not....so....fast...." she sputtered. Merc turned to see her rising, her
eyes glowing blood red. "You actually think that a few measily shots can stop ME?!"

"We were hoping....,but since you just WANTED to show us your impersonation
of Sigma, I guess we'll hafta show you our impersonation of X and Zero!" Sonic
said.

"HA! I'm all powerful! What do you have?" Guardian said. Moments later, she
had a facefull of cannon fire from Metal.

[How's that for starters!] Metal said. He took off into the air and attacked
her with everything he had. But, that prove useless as she had a barrier around
her. [Im....possible! There's no way she could have blocked them all!]

"I'm the greatest being on this planet. Thanks to Razla and his stupidity!"
Guardian said. "See, whenever a Guardian Maiden dies, her possible power goes to
me. Crystallis here is the last of them. Had she had died when Razla attacked her,
I would have all the power I needed to conquer this puny planet and the universe."

"News flash, sister!" Yugi said. "It's gonna be Robotnik who's takin' over
the universe!"

"Oh, really?" Guardian said. "Well, tell him to shove it and let a
professional do it."

"Defeat us and do it yourself!" Gero said. Guardian grinned at that.

"Ah, a challenge! Great! I JUST LOVE A CHALLENGE!" she said. All of a sudden,
a pink aura surrounded her. From her back sprouted two demon wings. Her body
started to get skinny, as if it had not eaten in months. Her hair fell out. Her
clothes became torn and decayed. All in all, she was becoming a monster.

"Holy shit.....I had a dream about her....." Mike said. "Of course, this was
caused by Merc's cooking."

"ThIS iS YoUR enD, HEroES!" She shouted, getting set up for battle. "PREPARE
FOR YOUR DEATH!"

"Gee, where have we heard THAT before?" Amy said, sarcastically. That
infuriated Guardian, causing her to blast Amy. The tiny hedgehog went soaring
through a wall.

"AMY!" Sonic shouted, flying to the hole she was in. He lifted her burned
body. "You okay, Amez?"

"Sonic....get her for me....." she said, before she fainted.

"Don't worry, Amez, I will!" Sonic said. He carried her body to Mike and gave
her to him. Then he turned his attention to Guardian. "Who do you think you are?
Picking on someone like Amy! You'll regret....." He was stopped by Angel, who
bopped him on the head.

"Hey, can the Tuxedo Mask speeches and fry her!" she said.

"Oh, yeah....heheheheh....sorry." Sonic looked at Guardian and held his hands
out. "SONIC RUMBLE!" He released a blast at Guardian, who just allowed it to bounce
off her barrier. "Damn! She still has that up!"

"But, she should still be reeling from the wounds Vegeta and Merc inflicted
on her." Sabian said. "If only we could destory her barrier...."

"Perhaps there's a way." Crystallis said.

"Crysty, what do ya...." Ashura began to say. He turned his head to see her
flying into the air. "CRYSTALLIS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"You need the barrier destroyed, I'm gonna destroy it for you!" Crystallis
said.

"If you plan on sacrificing yourself, you're being a bigger idiot than I
thought!" Trunks said.

"No, I know why I was chosen now." Crystallis said. "To put her down once and
for all." Ashura flew up to Crystallis.

"Crysty, are you being an idiot?! She's too powerful! If she could stop Sonic
and Metal, then I'm sure you'll fall, too!" Ashura said. She began to speak when
Ashura cut her off. "If you're gonna die, can we go along as well?" She blinked
a couple of time and smiled.

"Why not? We're a team...no...a family after all." Crystallis said.

"Now THAT I like!" Sabian said from the ground. "What do you say, everyone?
Ready to show her our power?"

"YEAH!" the others shouted. Just then, Ashura tossed Mike his scythe.

"Well, the team's a family now? Don't you just hate it when families ARE TORN
APART?!" Guardian said, firing a blast at the group, scattering them.

"THIS IS IT! IN THE WORDS OF MY CARTOON OTHER, LET'S DO IT TO IT!" Sonic
said, he and Metal rushing towards the Guardian. All of a sudden, Super Sonic's
gold barrier turned blue as he got faster. He slammed into the Guardian's barrier,
cracking it badly.

[My turn!] Metal said, focusing a major blast on the crack. She looked at the
robot, sneered and fired a blast at Metal, but, for some reason, was blocked.

"Who dares interfere?" Guardian said. She looked to see Ayeka, in her battle
outfit, preparing an energy blast. "Ah, the prissly little princess. Care to try to
hit me?"

"In fact, I think I will." Ayeka said, launching the ball. Her timing was
perfect, as Metal finally broke the barrier, allowing the energy ball to slam into
her chest.

[Nice shot, your highness!] Metal said.

"My turn!" Super Sonic said. Once again, he flew at top speed, his barrier
turning blue. He slammed into her chest, sending her into the wall, through it,
and right outside. "You'll pay for hurting Amy!"

"Yeah, right!" She said, firing an energy blast at Sonic, sending him
spralling back into the cave. She teleported back in and caught Sonic. "Hmm....it
seems you have a Guardian Gem in you. I think I'll take it...." She held out her
other hand over Sonic and proceeded to remove the gem from inside his body. His
golden body reverted back to blue, the proceeded to shrivel. She dropped it like a
piece of trash. "One down, six to go." She looked at Metal Sonic. "And I see
number two..."

[You'll hafta catch me to get it!] Metal shouted, turning around and flying
from her. Just then, she fired the same type of blast at Metal, extracing his gem
and sending him crashing to the ground, reverting back to normal.

"METAL!" Gero said. "Alright, now it's MADS business! No one attacks my
partner and gets away with it!" Gero fired an optic blast at the monster, only to
have it knocked away and reflected back at him, piercing his chest. The impact
sent Gero soaring into Yugi, both slamming into a wall.

"Ah, man!" TOM said "Four of us are down! And she's getting stronger by the
minute!"

"Not if I can help it!" Seiyuka said.

"Seiyuka! Get back here!" Ashura said. It was too late. Before she even got
close to her, Guardian extracted her gem from her. She, like Sonic, collapsed to
the ground, drained and shriveled. "No.....'Yuka, no......"

"Three down, four to go!" Guardian said. "Care to surrender your gems and
live?"

"Like hell we will!" Vegeta and Merc shouted. They both fired ki blasts at
Guardian. They struck her, causing her to lose the gems, allowing Crow, Tom and TOM
to gather them up.

"MISERABLE PESTS!" Guardian said, firing at the robots, causing them to
explode. She recovered the gems, then she turned her attention to Merc and Vegeta.
"You'll pay for trying to take me down, moreless trying to HURT ME!" She fired
the same blast at those two, stealing their gems.

"FATHER!" Trunks shouted.

"MERC!" Angel shouted, tears starting to form.

"Aw, man! We weren't ready! We were NOT READY!" Ashura said.

"What do we do?" Mike said.

"Five down, two to go. We gotta get outta here!" Ashura said.

"Not so fast, little man!" Guardian said, destroying the entrance. "You're
not going anywhere....but, the Afterlife!" She fired the same beam at Ashura, only
to have it blocked by Ayeka.

"We're not going down without a fight!" Ayeka said.

"Yes, you are." Guardian said, extracting Ayeka's gem.

"AYEKA!" Sasami shouted. "NOT YOU!"

"And, then....there was one......." Guardian said, focusing on Ashura.

"My team....destroyed....my family.....destroyed.....AND IT'S ALL YOUR
FAULT!" Ashura shouted, firing his Twin Buster Rifle wildly, not even touching her.

"Sad, really." Guardian said, firing the blast at Ashura. But for some
reason, Ashura fought the beam with all his might. He wasn't going to abandon
Crystallis. But, this confused the others.

"I don't get it. Ashura's fighting the beam, but the others didn't?" Mike
said. "Did they purpously give up? Were they caught off guard like that?"

"I wish I knew..." Sara said. Just then, Ashura's fight finally proved futile
as his gem came out, but it was odd.

"IT'S ONLY HALF A GEM?!" Guardian shouted. "WHERE'S THE OTHER HALF?! THE
GUARDIAN MAIDEN COULDN'T BE HERE IF HE ONLY HAD HALF A GEM! _WHERE IS IT_!?"

"I like to know that myself...." Crystallis said. She walked over to the
bodies of her friends. "Why couldn't we have just left? We could have just went
home....we finished the mission...." She started tearing up. "Now, I've lost my
friends, my loved ones....my beloved...." Just then, something odd happened to her.
As she started crying, she, once again, started glowing pink again. Then, the gems
floated over to her.

"What's going on?!" Guardian said. As the gems encircled her, the broken gem
that was once in Ashura hovered over to Crystallis. As she went to grab it, the
gem suddenly became one. "No....SHE MUST HAVE HAD THE OTHER HALF!"

"What's going on?!" Sabian said, noticing Crystallis standing up as the gem
entered the circle. She reached up into the sky with her right hand, as if to get
something. She balled up her hand, brought it down, and began shaking it, as if she
was shaking a pair of dice. The gems started spinning.

"She's powering up!" Sasami said.

"What makes you say that?" Trunks said.

"I know how! Sonic and Shadow did it a few times themselves!" Sabian said.
"But, is she becoming Super?" That was answered as the gems surrounding her began
glowing, then became a large column of light. "Perhaps she is!"

"Wait! Look!" Mike said. Just as soon as it started, it was over. He costume
was modified even more. Ashura's Wing ZERO Custom replaced the body armor of Vegeta
and Sonic's shoes and it was gold. The shoulder pads and forearms of Merc's
replaced Metal's. Ayeka's tiara appeared on her forehead, the headpiece of the Wing
ZERO Custom helmet on the center. Crystallis' quills grew longer. As she opened her
eyes, a pair of large, pink wings appeared on her back.

"It....can't be!" Guardian said.

"You've made a big mistake, Guardian." Crystallis said. "You killed my
friends. You killed the man I love. I'll make you pay for that!"

"Let's see you try, Guardian Maiden." Guardian said.

"Fine, I will!" Crystallis said, Metal Sonic's shoulder cannon appearing.
"I'll make you pay." She fired a few volleys at Guardian. As she blocked them,
Crystallis flew up to her, ramming her, causing her to slam into the roof.

"YOU BITCH!" Guardian said, firing the same blast that extracted the gems
from her friends, only to have it reflected off Crystallis and sent back to
Guardian. "I'll kill you! HEAR ME? KILLLLLLLLLLLLLLL YOU!"

"I'll see you in hell before you do that!" Crystallis said, pulling out
Ashura's Twin Buster Rifle and fired it at Guardian, disentergrating half of her
body.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?!?!" Guardian asked, frightened out of her mind.

"You didn't give mercy to my friends. You didn't give mercy to the one I
loved." Crystallis said. "You killed various Guardian Maidens for power. You must
be destroyed for the good of the universe!" She held out the blaster and pointed it
at Guardian again.

"WAIT!" Guardian said. "Before you kill me, you want to know the real reason
why Ashura wanted you as a girlfriend?"

"Wha...what are you talking about?" Crystallis said.

"He never loved you. You see, he was having tons of problems after he read
a.....fanfic, is it not called that?" Guardian said. "Anyway, the plan was he was
to spend time with that person, then send them back to earth after he was freed
from his nightmares."

"That's not true!" Crystallis said. "He loves me! He didn't use me!" She
pointed the gun at Guardian again "TAKE IT BACK!"

"It's true! All true!" Guardian said, laughing her head off. Crystallis
started shaking her arms in anger. She was confused. DID Ashura use her? WAS she
just used for a single purpose, not for love?

(Crysty, don't listen to her...) A hauntingly familiar voice said. Crystallis
turned around and saw the ghost of Ashura there. (It's not true....,well, not
totally true....)

"Wha....what do you mean?" Crystallis said.

(Allow me to tell you a story. A few months before I was sent to the
Satellite of Eggs, Merc and I went to a dance club. When Merc left to see if he
could find a dance partner, I stayed at a table. That is, until I was met by a
beautiful female hedgehog girl. I still remember her kindness that flowed within
her.) Ashura began. (From that day forward, I wanted to meet that girl again. I
never knew it wouldn't be too far from that day. When the others went to find a
girl for me, the plan WAS to find a temporary girlfriend. When I was you on the
ground as part of that line of girls, I had a feeling it was you. When I saw those
soft, purple eyes, I knew it was you. I completely ditched the plan and decided to
make the relationship a real one.) Crystallis hovered over to Ashura.

"You....you really mean that? You actually....loved me?" Crystallis asked.

(Ever since that day. Crysty, even IF I went through the plan, I would have
ditched it immediately.) Ashura said. (I love you too much to hurt you, you know
that.)

"Yeah....you're right." Crystallis said.

"WHAT?! I tried to seperate her from her last bond to her sanity, and it
FAILED!" Guardian shouted. Crystallis looked at Guardian, then put back her gun and
held out her hand. "Oh, what are you gonna do? Ki blast me?" All of a sudden,
Crystallis started glowing blue. "Wha...what are you doing?"

"Allow me to show you the power of a MSTer. This power was discovered by a
good friend of ours." Crystallis said. "It's called the "Fury". It's power has yet
to be regestered. But, if used correctly OR incorrectly, it can be very......
deadly."

"You can't be serious!?" Guardian said, shocked. "You...you can't kill me!!"

"Wanna bet? You've hurt too many people. It ends here and now." All of a
sudden, electricity started flowing around her body. "UNLEASH.....THE.....
FURYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" With that, she unleashed a massive bolt of energy, slamming
into the creature. As it filled her body, it started bubbling and Crystallis was
beginning to tire.

(Crysty, stop attacking with that and use the other attacks!) Ashura said.

"NO! I'm taking her out now!" Crystallis said.

(Crysty! You'll kill yourself!" Ashura said, not knowing that the attack was
causing him to reappear in the mortal world, as it did to those Guardian killed
recently.

"NO! Stay out of this!" Crystallis said.

"Well, if you're gonna kill her, at least let me help!" Vegeta said, coming
towards her, fully revitalized.

"WHAT?! This can't be!" Guardian said. "I KILLED YOU!"

"Let's finish this together. As a team." Super Sonic said

"No....I'm sorry....I hafta end this." Crystallis said, the attack really
draining her.

"Crysty, you'll die!" Ashura said. "Let Vegeta destroy her!"

"I'm sorry, Ashura. I can't. I, and I alone, must destroy her. She is a
threat to all."

[You kill her, YOU'LL become the Guardian!] Metal said. She stopped in her
tracks.

"What?!" Crystallis said, in shock. "You're kidding?!"

"No, she isn't." Merc said. "Now I see why she wanted the Guardian Maiden's
killed: so no one would replace her!"

"And if one of us kills her, chances are YOU won't become one!" Seiyuka said.

"Damn you, heros!" Guardian shouted.

"Nice try, bugly!" Sonic said. "I think it's time for the prince to rock her
world."

"Why don't we ALL destroy her?" Vegeta said, grinning.

"Eh, why not?" the others said. All at once, the group unleashed their most
powerful attacks at the Guardian, and all at once, she became nothing but pure
molecules.

"HA! WE DID IT!" Merc shouted.

"Way to go, sis!" Sasami said, cheering for Ayeka.

"Huh...? Wh...what's going on?" Amy asked, coming to. Then, she saw Sonic
hovering towards her. "Sonic?"

"I'm fine, Amez." Sonic said, taking the hedgehog from Mike's arms. "It's
over now."

"MERC! Aw, man! That's so awesome! Do it again!" Angel said, cheerful as a
little kid. Trunks flew up to Vegeta and the two exchanged grins. Seiyuka flung her
arms out, hoping to recieve a hug from Trunks, but he just turned away. She
sighed and lowered herself to the ground.

"Why does he still hate me?" she asked herself.

"Hey, look, if you want, you can blast me for it." Crow said. She looked to
see the three robots standing there, all repaired.

"No, then, Trunks'll be even madder at me." Seiyuka said.

"Aw, come here. Give Uncle Servo a hug." Tom said. Seiyuka looked at the
robots, grinned and gave all three of the a light hug, as to not damage them. Only
Crow and TOM returned the hug. "Damn inarticulate arms. Makes me like a teddy
bear!"

"Well, what do you think of your first buttkicking?" Ashura said to
Crystallis.

"Feels....odd." she said. She, then, clutched her head. "Ashura....I don't
feel too well...." The Guardian Maiden armor disappeared and she fell to the
ground, Ashura catching her before she hit.

"Crysty! You okay?!" Ashura asked her. He shook her a bit to see if she could
respond, but there was nothing. "No...you can't be dead...."

"BWA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" a voice said. "Thank you, Absolution crew! Now,
I have her power!"

"That's Guardian!" Sara said.

"And what does she mean 'she has her powers'?" Sabian said.

"Thanks to you, I now have the powers she had copied from you! Plus, the
armor to boot!" Guardian said, appearing in the armor Crystallis had.

"No way!" Sonic said.

"And you know what else?" Guardian said. "Second by second, Crystallis'
energy becomes MINE! Do you think you can stop ME without killing HER?"

"Guys,...." Ashura said, turning around to the group, Crystallis still in his
arms. "....this is our final battle here. And frankly, I'm scared. I would say that
I'll take her on myself, but, with her using all of our powers, I need you guys'
help. Can you help me?"

"Ashura, that's a large order for us!" Merc said. "I can't risk your
girlfriend's life to stop her! And I doubt the others can, too!"

"But, what can we do?" Ashura asked them. Crystallis opened her eyes and
looked at Ashura.

"Ashy...." Crystallis said, her voice softer than usual. "I can help you...."

"Crysty...." Ashura said, before she began speaking again.

"Ashura.....this may be our last chance. Please....one last time?" Ashura
looked at her with sad eyes.

"Okay, we'll play it your way....." Ashura said, helping her to her feet.
"What's the plan?" She held up her hand and began glowing blue. "WOAH! No "Fury"!
No can do!" She brought him closer, wrapping her arm around his waist.

"Ashura....for me? One last time?" Crystallis said. Ashura, though reluctant,
brought himself closer to Crystallis, held out his hand and started glowing blue.

"Ashura! What are you doing?!" Mike asked.

"He and his girlfriend are gonna kill themselves!" Yugi said.

"ASHURA! CRYSTALLIS! STOP!" Sabian shouted. It was too late. The shouts went
unheaded as bolts of electricity surrounded them.

"We gotta stop them!" Yugi said. "Eggman'll be pissed if they died."

"Like he wasn't when we told them Sara was dead!" Gero said.

"You think you can kill me?!" Guardian said. "I'll show you!" She began
charging up one massive blast.

"Ready, Crysty?" Ashura asked. She nodded. "It's time. Let's roll!" They both
raised their hands towards Guardian.

"UNLEASH THE FURY!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Guardian said, firing her attack.

"It won't make it! We hafta help them!" Sabian said, flying towards the two
and firing his blasters just as the hedgehogs released the electric attack. One
by one, the ones who could attack with energy blasts did so. It was one mighty
demi-god against some the strongest heros and villians in the universe.

"You'll never win! I'll make sure of that!" Guardian said.

"It's time to prove you wrong!" Super Sonic said. "POUR IT ON!" The group
began adding more power into the attack.

'It's not working. We're gonna lose!' Crystallis thought. 'But, why? Why
can't we win....' Crystallis blinked a few times, realizing why. 'I didn't trust
my friends, that's why. I didn't want them hurt and told them to go....but still,
they're by my and Ashura's side. I guess it's time to do so.' A small grin flashed
on her mouth.

"Crystallis? What's wrong?" Ashura said, see her.

"GUARDIAN! I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL!" Crystallis shouted. All of a sudden, her
Guardian Maiden armor reformed on her, boosting her power greatly.

"WHAT?! NO!" Guardian shouted, seeing her attack get pushed back towards her.

"ONE LAST PUSH, GUYS! NOW!" Ashura and Crystallis shouted. With that,
everyone gave it their all, one massive blast sending the blast right back towards
Guardian, engulfing her with it.

"I CAN'T DIE NOW! NOT WHEN I'M SO CLOSE!" she shouted. With that, the blast
totally engulfed her, causing her to explode. Unfortuantly, everyone one was caught
in the blast.

One thing went through their minds: "I wish this was over...."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Crysty! Wake up, Crysty!"

"Uhhh.....not now.....five more minutes...." she moaned. She slowly opened
her eyes and saw Ashura standing over her. "Wha...what's going on?"

"We're home! We're back on the Absolution!" he said.

"We are?!" she said. Ashura nodded. A huge smile appeared on her face as she
wrapped her arms around Ashura. "WE'RE HOME! I can't believe it! But,..." She
pulled back from the hug. "...where are the others?"

"OW! What the HELL happened? Weren't we in a cave about to become dust?!" a
voice said. The two looked and saw that the others were there. They slowly stood
up and looked around.

"Oh, goody. We're prisioners again..." Vegeta said.

"Well, at least we aren't down there." Sabian said.

"But, how did we get back here?" Amy asked.

"That is simple, my friends." a voice said. The group turned to see Razla
standing there. "I teleported you back here."

"Woah. Thanks, man." Sonic said.

"It was the least I could do. The planet was about to be destroyed anyway."
Razla said.

"WHAT?!" The group shouted.

"Yes. The seconds after Guardian was destroyed, the radical imbalance of good
and evil began to take over. The sudden overflow of good began to overload the
planet. It couldn't take it and forced itself to be destroyed."

"How can that be?" Seiyuka said.

"For some reason, a world with no evil seems to be the wrong thing to have."
Razla said. "Every place that is inhabited must have SOME evil in it...."

"Makes sense." Merc said. "Does that mean you're...." Razla nodded. "Bummer."

"Yes. Teleporting you was my last deed." Razla said, beginning to fade. "I
bid you all farewell and godspeed...." With that, Razla was gone.

"He's....gone." Tom said. "He died saving us."

"Just like Ryujin...." Mike said.

"It's over...it's finally over...." Seiyuka said.

"Not. Yet." Ashura said. He walked over to the captain's chair and sat down.
"Sara? Patch me through to the Antartica!"

"Affermitive." Sara said, her 3D face disappearing and a video screen of his
pal, Jerrod the Lone Outlaw standing there, air guitaring to "Wasting My Hate" by
Metallica.

"JERROD!" Ashura shouted, startling the Outlaw into falling out of his seat.

"Woah! What's going...?" Jerrod said, before seeing Ashura on the screen.
He jumped up. "ASHY-BOY! What's up?"

"Where's Jim?" Ashura said, through gritted teeth.

"Snoozin' in his bed. Want me to leave him a message?" Jerrod said.

"NO!" Ashura shouted. "I want him here. NOW!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jerrod said, motioning for Ashura to calm down. "Hold on
a minute, bro, so I can get him outta bed."

"If he doesn't, beat him !" Ashura said.Jerrod looked back and gave him an
odd look.

"Jim, you buttmunch. What the hell didja' do this time?" Jerrod thought to
himself. A few seconds later, Jim waddled out, wiping his eyes and yawning.

"Whut is it, Ash?" Jim said.

"Jim Penguin, you have done many things in the past that was disturbing and
sick , but what you've done now is UNEXCUSIBLE!" Ashura said. Jim blinked in
confusion.

"Is this about the time I plugged up the toilet and didn't tell ya' 'till
after I left?" the bird said.

"ARRGH! You're about as clueless as that blonde bimbo, Sailor Moon!"

"Look, I have NO idea what you're talkin' about, so if you'll excuse me...."
Jim began to say, before Ashura stopped him

"OH, NO YOU DON'T! You aren't getting away THAT easily!" Ashura said. "Let me
tell you a story. One day, a group of MSTers was relaxing after watching part of
a movie about people who dress up as flying animals. During that, a bunch of them
saw a video involving a clone and a warrior in a VERY compromising situation...."

"Uh-huh...." Jim said, confused even more.

"Well, after the movie, the tape went missing. There were four people who
could have taken it, but THREE of them COULDN'T have taken it!" Ashura said. "It
turns out that a certain PENGUIN took the tape!"

"Woah! Hold on there!" Jim said, pointing his flipper at Ashura. "Where's
your proof?!"

"Right here!" Ashura said, holding up the package that Trunks had recieved
the tape. Right there was the address for the Antartica's oil rig, and the name "J.
Penguin"

"Oh, well, heh heh heh......." Jim said, nervously.

"Figures." Ashura said, grinning. "Well, now, I'm giving you an ultimatum."

"Wha...?" Jim said.

"Because of the tape, Seiyuka and Trunks ended their relationship. It nearly
destroyed the team!" Ashura said.

"WHAT?!" Jim shouted.

"Yes. Now, Jim, I'm giving you a choice. Fix the problem you caused, BRING
THOSE TWO TOGETHER AGAIN, or lose your privialges to board the Absolution OR
ANY OTHER SHIP we may be on AND lose your right to even be NEAR Ayeka!"
Ashura said.

"WHAT?! You WOULDN'T!" Jim said.

"I WILL!" Ashura shouted. "I don't give a rat's ass IF you saved Sasami from
Jeff, what you did was unexcusible. The choice is yours."

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THE END....of the Crystallis' Secret story......

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's it for "Crystallis' Secret", but a new crisis has arrisen. Thanks to
Jim the Talking Penguin, Trunks and Seiyuka are a couple no more.

And Ashura ISN'T willing to listen to Seiyuka beg and plead for Trunks to get
back with him! Now it's up to Jim to fix the problem. But, can the talking pervo-
penguin reunite the two, or will he lose the right to see Ayeka, his "true love",
ever again? Find out soon, as Jerrod the Lone Outlaw tells the tale of the biggest
challenge in Jim's life.

Eggman: HEY! What about us?!
Ashura: What do you mean?
Eggman: I mean, *I* only appeared in the story ONCE!
Ashura: Hey, you guys lived, okay. Live with THAT!
Eggman: ::walks away, grumbling::

::Sigh:: As always, read and review
Ashura Hedgehog