Darkening Rage
______________
A backfist to the face cracks the Soul Blazer's nose and loosens his grip on Walker, long enough for the cloaked villain to fly up out of his grip, rising into the air…and stopping, arms spread out, eyes closed.
"What is he doing?" Roll demands, landing with Bass next to Blues and Titenin.
"Gathering power," the sorcerer responds, "He's taping into the ambient ley lines of the planet."
Turning from his apprentice to the fallen Weltall, he eyes Zero standing above with the green-haired woman.
"With Weltall out of the picture, Walker is now mad and readying a frontal assault. We will have to break it. Soul Blazer!"
The Templar Knight turns, his nose healing with a glow of blue energy.
"Do it."
Roll and Bass take to the skies, as do Titenin and Blues, aloft on magic winds…leaving the Soul Blazer standing in the sky. He turns, seeing a worried Sarah Cole standing next to a confused X and Gutsman…and he grits his teeth, turning from them to the Walker.
Unsheathing his sword, drawing it from the scabbard in his back, he holds it in front of him, resting the flat of the blade in his hand.
Titenin told him what this simple, plane one-handed sword is. It is a host. A channel.
"Say the name, and it will be yours."
"Alright…alright, let's see if you're right."
Gripping the sword with both hands, he holds it in front of him…and he hears a voice.
He hears a song. Nothing he can understand…but something deep within his soul, coming from what lies beneath the blade…as if it was meant for him all along. Closing his eyes, he takes in the music and voice, lowering the blade…
And pulling the sword up, he holds it above his head and points it to the sky.
"Soul Blade!"
The sword glows…and the song becomes a triumphant climax. A gem appears on each side of hilt, one black, one white. Upon their appearance, the plane, flat hilt flares out into two wings, a red gem and a blue gem cast in the right wing, a green gem and a lavender gem cast into the left.
The hilt of the sword glows and grows downward like a tree root, doubling its length as he grips it firmly with both hands, the light cascading into the gold gem now forming the base…and the blade glows.
Where silver metal once lied now is a blade of polished marble, four feet in length, with lines of blue power running up the grooves. Lowering it, seeing his blue armguards now gold, his chest armor now deep violet and indigo, and a dark blue cape falling from his flared shoulder guards to his ankles, he examines the awakened Soul Blade.
And sheathing himself in Templar energies, he takes off like an arrow from the bow towards the Walker.
Emeralda hops out of Zero's arms, leaping off the apartment building as Zero screams for her to stop. Her form becomes liquid, splattering onto the pavement before reforming into her humanoid form.
Teleporting in a beam of read, Zero appears next to her, trying to ask a question before she continues walking…right towards the inactive Weltall.
"Wait!" he screams, "What are you doing?!"
"I am doing my part," she responds, "Quickly! Follow me!"
She runs up to the torso of the machine, and jumps into the cockpit opening.
"Oh, why the Hell not?" Zero asks, looking up as if beseeching a higher power, and runs after her into the cavity…
Pointing the Soul Blade towards the Walker, a blast of eldritch force shoots from the Soul Blazer through the sword, as Bass and Roll begin unleashing their fully charged plasma blasts at him.
Coming from his trance, the reinvigorated Walker gestures, a half-circle shield of violet energy appearing before him and absorbing the blasts. Gesturing with his other hand, a second shield appears to deflect the lightning bolts cast by Protoman and his master.
"Please," Walker growls, "Don't insult me."
The shields explode into bursts of force, the shockwave knocking Bass out of the air, Roll swooping down to catch him, righting him as they fly low, under his sight as Protoman and Titenin renew their assault.
"Thanks," Bass says, his back-jets reigniting, "Well…"
"I know," she responds, "This isn't good. Bass, are you carrying any weapons?"
"I have a spare beam sabre."
"Good," she says, "Give it to me. I have an idea."
The rod rises out of a spare compartment on his right forearm, and he hands it to her. She clicks it on, a beam of light blue extending…and Bass places his hand on her arm, garnering her attention.
"Roll," he says, "Be careful."
She nods, with a slight smile, and flies up at the continued assault…
With strength he would have never guessed she possessed, Emerald pushes Zero into the padded chair, the cockpit door closing behind them…and Zero's jerked back into the seat as the chair rises into the chest cavity, before a set of screens and controls.
"What are we doing?"
"I am not Weltall's pilot," she says, "Only the Contact is, and only he can unleash Zenogais. But I can act as a medium between your commands and Weltall's systems, for he knows and loves me."
"Huh…lady, this is making less sense than before, and even then it was it pretty fuzzy…"
"Please, call me Emeralda, not lady," she says with a smile, "I also prefer Emmy."
And with that, her form liquefies and becomes a web of green, latching onto his skin and around the cockpit, connecting to controls, the walls, even the screens.
"Ew…"
His questions to himself on whether or not this is the result of that peanut butter and ham sandwich he had the night before are put to rest when the cockpit lurches…and entire rows of data run over the screens, the keyboard controls lighting up as a pair of joysticks appear in either of his hands.
"Oh, baby…"
Weltall's eyes glow green, a slow, steady moan escaping the metal giant's throat.
Clenching its limp hands into fists, it sits up, gathered onlookers screaming as they run in terror of the revived goliath.
Steadying one hand on Sachs, it pulls itself up, pavement creaking in protest as it rises. Looking up to the battle, it thrusts out its shoulders, the emerald wings manifesting for a second before disappearing.
And it holds its hands high…and light begins to crackle around them.
Weaving between the exchanges of blasts between the sorcerers, the Templar, and the Walker, Roll flies upwards, then diving down into a jackknife at the Walker. Seeing her, he forms a shield around them both, drawing his sabre and blocking her opening slash.
"Aggressive, aren't you?" he asks, "Don't worry, I haven't been ignoring you. I've just been busy with people who are an actual merited THREAT."
"And now?"
"And now I'm just going to even the odds by one," he responds, flying back, swinging into her block.
The two begin their duel, exchanging perfectly timed and blocked blows as they weave in and out in the air, blue sabre against violet, emitting flashes of light with each blocked blow.
He blocks her thrust, turning her sabre, bringing her close.
"You're better than I remember," he says with a grin.
"I've been practicing," she growls, "And how would you…"
"That's the fun part."
He slams his sabre down, causing her to lurch forward as he brings the sabre up…
And finds her arm buster pressed to his stomach.
"Strategy, to," she says, "You struck me as the 'play with them before you kill them' type."
The white-hot plasma blast rips into his gut, shattering the shield, renewed attacks from the mages and Soul Blazer catching him off guard, making him scream…
Weltall chambers his hands to the side, a white sphere of power forming.
Inside the cockpit, Zero grits his teeth, feeling his own life energy being sucked into the blast, the very metal groaning and the green of Emeralda's webbed form glowing…and he screams.
The giant thrusts its hands upwards, the sphere rippling before becoming a solid pillar of white hurtling towards the waiting Walker…
And the Walker sees it, desperately thrusting his hands down, a solid field of violet energy catching the blast…and straining his efforts, sweat beating down his brow.
"Tell me, Blues," Theadore says, "How far ahead have you studied?"
"Quite far, Master," Blues responds.
"And the locked book in my study?"
"I'm an excellent lock pick."
The wizard gestures to Walker, Soul Blazer flying to Titenin's side…and Protoman's form ripples with eldritch energies, one hand bracing against another as he raises them high.
"Hark, Celestial Star, summon the might of the gods and men into your mercy," he chants, "Breathe life into my call, and shatter the darkness before me! HOLY!"
He thrusts both hands at the Walker, a blast of white enveloping Protoman before turning into a sphere, and hurtling at the defenseless villain.
The Walker screams as it impacts, his shields shattering…and the blast of Weltall overtaking him, one last long, shattering scream escaping the Walker's throat before he falls to the pavement far below.
Landing, they surround him. Roll extends her beam sabre at his throat. Titenin and Blues extend their still smoking hands. Bass aims his cannon. Soul Blazer stands at his head.
And Weltall overshadows them, arms folded and waiting…
And the Walker coughs, climbing to his feet…and grins, beneath his high collar.
"This is hardly the end," he says, "But a good first show."
He takes a step forward, and fades away, stepping between dimensions.
The city is silent, as the people see the warriors gathered where they cast the enemy down…and it starts. Just one person clapping. Then those around, and around that crowd, spreading out through the city as the heroes look in befuddlement…
And grinning, the Soul Blazer slaps Bass on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over.
"Now this I could get used to."