The sound was deafening. Thrusters roared to life behind him as he jumped
and weaved between branches in his mad dash through the forest. Rolling
forward and to the right, Crux narrowly escaped beheading by a blade of
coruscating energy that swept through the foliage, severing the nearby
trees as it continued past him and on towards the infinite horizon.
Cursing, he recovered from the roll and managed a stumbling run, keeping
his head low as the tree canopy collapsed all around him. Blinding shards
of red lanced through the surrounding vegetation as he ran, his pursuers'
accuracy diminishing with their vision in the dark undergrowth.
Glancing over his shoulder, Crux looked back in time to see one of the three Tekkaman launch a small crackling red ball of energy towards his position. There was no doubt in Crux's mind of the nature of that unbearable fire. Tekkaman, the most elite units that the race only known as 'Radam' controlled, routinely wielded anti-matter from their fingertips just as easily as one might flex a muscle. Crux dived forward, the blast swallowed the ground, and a sparkling crimson flash engulfed his reality.
***
The sound was deafening. His own heartbeat and ragged gasps drowned out the world around him. Animals scurried out of Crux's path in fear as he ran, back towards his home - towards the black, pulsating clouds that moved towards his family. Running as fast as he possibly could between the trees, Crux cursed himself for not being faster. He cursed his damnable human legs, he cursed his lungs for their weakness, but most of all, he cursed his own mind. Leaving his family unguarded - even if Miya could more than take care of herself - now felt so foolish. He had to get home as fast as possible. Nothing else mattered, as he burst out of the forest, looking towards his home, his family.
The vision before him was dreadful. If it weren't for the motivation to protect his family, the sight of the black clouds swirling down out of the sky, lightning pulsing within them, would have caused him to stop dead in his tracks. His heart and lungs felt like they were on fire as he ran as fast as he could through the fields surrounding the only home he had ever known. There were loud and familiar sounds; swords clashed and voices rang out as Crux approached. He recognized one voice with hope in his heart - hope that was easily crushed as he heard it cry out in pain before it was silenced. Tears welled in his eyes as he somehow pushed himself further, ignoring the pain as his legs threatened to give out entirely. Painful moments passed as he ran, each one stretching on as if an eternity. With his head throbbing and his heart pounding, Crux finally burst out into the clearing..
He stopped cold. Before Crux was the most beautiful woman he had ever known, as well as the strongest. But there was no joy in his heart, for there was no life in her body. A ragged cut ran diagonally down from his wife's right shoulder to her heart, her body sprawled over a pool of red. His eyes widened, and he dropped to his knees. He heard more inhuman voices further on, and part of him wanted to get up, but he could not move. Lying here amidst dark and lifeless unrecognizable forms was the woman he loved more than every other person in all the world. Every other person but one. He looked up to his home and spoke aloud, his heart filling once more with a fear powerful enough to contend with the shock that held him in place.
"Sachi."
***
The ice cold fire flung the man forward with such force that everything greyed out as he was sent spiraling through the undergrowth. Crux leaned forward and slammed his hands down upon the ground, performing a desperate handspring even as his vision slowly returned. Spinning like a top through the air, Crux planted his right foot on the ground, pivoting to grind his left deep into the topsoil. The momentum from his spin added to the force of his attack as he drew his sword in a powerful diagonal slash, meeting the enemy Tekkaman's blade in midswing. Crux's legs tensed as they absorbed the massive force the impact created, bringing the flying enemy to a complete stop in midair as the swords ground against each other. For one single moment, Crux stared into the crystal visor and met his enemy's gaze. In that instant, he read everything about his opponent. Some say the eyes are a window to the soul. Crux was not so certain, but as his sword swung off the Tekkaman's blade, drawing Crux into a crouching spin that upturned the dirt beneath him, he knew that they had told him all he needed to know.
As the radam soldier brought his rapier down upon the silver haired man, the hilt of Crux's incomparable blade met the rapier, and stopped it completely. Like all the swords of its time, the katana's blade extended deep into the hilt, crafted for endurance. The Tekkaman's head drew back in a mild amount of surprise at the resilient hilt; before the Radam had polluted his mind, the host had not been a swordsman. This was what Crux suspected, and while it saddened him inside that this Tekkaman was indeed one of the many people he wished to save, its moment of weakness was his moment of opportunity. The guard of Crux's sword drew the enemy's rapier off to the side even as the blade sliced cleanly through the bottom of the Tekkaman's shoulder joint, continuing upwards at an angle that severed its head. Even the incredible armor served as little deterrent for Crux's almost impossibly sharp katana. The blade emerged from the other side cleanly, dimming slightly once more at the loss of life. For the first time since he had picked up the sword, Crux was able to vaguely make out a rosary in the glint of the sword. Funny how such things distracted him in such a dangerous moment.
"Dangerous indeed." Crux spoke to himself as he saw an enemy in the reflection of the sword. Without so much as a moment's hesitation, he dove forward shoulder first into the lifeless form of the first Tekkaman, aligning his own sword perpendicular in position to the dead enemy's. As he reached up and steadied the corpse's lifeless hand with his own, the two swords formed a cross shaped defense pattern, and the enemy slammed blade first into it. Sparks flew, purple blood splattered upon the ground, and Crux's vision was nothing but blackness once more.
***
A lifetime away...
He was off again, towards his home, leaving his wife once more. Regret and pain filled Crux at the thought as his house loomed large;however, the noises were not coming from his home, they were coming from the shrine beyond. The Caedon family shrine, where for countless generations, his wife, her mother, and all her mothers before her had kept one thing safe. He could hear inhuman cackling as he turned past his house, and saw dark forms swoop towards the shrine through the air, just as quickly as he was running. They were closer, and they were in the shrine first. A small startled cry confirmed what he hoped. His daughter was still alive. He was almost there, he would stop them in time. He didn't know how, without any weapons, but he would do anything he had to. His thoughts were interrupted by his daughter's voice.
"Stay back... I..." Crux could almost hear the panicked thoughts running through her head, just as he heard her bump into the shrine's display stand, and his heart broke. He could hear his daughter grab the sword from its resting place inside. He had barely time to comprehend the sound, certainly not enough to form words, as his daughter unsheathed the sword, and thunder broke the sky.
***
Thunder broke the night sky as a stream of anti-matter rained down like vengeance from on high. Crux had successfully defended against his enemies' rear ambush, but nothing could prepare him for the incredible pain of the particle attack. By all physical laws, unprotected as he was, Crux could not continue to exist in the flashing crimson fire, but he was not so lucky as to adhere to simple laws of physics. Every cell in his body suffered a thousand deaths and rebirths in a single instant, and he collapsed to the ground. He was still alive, but he wondered if it was worth the pain. His recovering vision revealed an enemy swooping down to finish the job.
He laughed inside at the poor fool. Even if he was almost spent, how could his enemy, seeing him survive direct physical contact with anti-matter streams, not err on the side of caution? It mattered not to Crux, as the Tekkaman's finishing slash was met with a parry so powerful and accurate that it was itself an attack. Both blades stopped completely in that instant, as the ground below Crux erupted with the full force of the Tekkaman's momentum shunted into it. Crux's sword had been forged from an almost impervious substance in what could be compared to the raging fires of hell itself. It had been carefully maintained by the Caedon family for hundreds, possibly even thousands of years to keep it in perfect condition. The Tekkamen's weapons in opposition, were etched with anti-matter, retaining the ability to instantly erode and penetrate anything known to Radam science.
It was no contest.
As the Tekkaman's blade shattered, Crux's own continued it's arc and sliced through the opponent's shoulder blade, creating a massive wound that erupted in purple fluid. The man would survive, but only barely;he would certainly not be continuing the fight this day. Even as Crux took mild satisfaction in the man's continued life, it was extinguished by the last Tekkaman's brutal anti-matter onslaught. Crux managed to fall to the side, narrowly avoiding the condensed stream of particles, but he could do nothing for the Tekkaman whose life he had just spared, its every cell disintegrating in the anti-matter's wake. Crux landed on his side, his breath coming in erratic gulps. Turning onto his back, he gasped for air and closed his eyes. He had used all his strength left after the anti- matter contact to stop the second Tekkaman's attack, hoping for a chance to absorb its crystal into his own within his right hand. It had been completely destroyed in the last enemy's attack however, and he had nothing left. He had gambled and lost. All alone, there was nothing he could do but wait for the enemy to finish him off.
He could hear the whine of the thrusters as the enemy turned to finish him off with one last attack. The thrusters grew louder as the enemy drew nearer. Crux wondered what it would feel like. He wasn't terribly afraid of death, merely upset that he had failed to accomplish what he set out to do. His arm was really quite uncomfortable.
Funny, Crux thought, that he would worry about such a trivial matter at so serious a moment. Turning his head idly, Crux noticed something beneath his right arm. There next to him lay the twitching carcass of the first Tekkaman he had slain. Crux saw his palm's pale blue light reacting to one within the corpse's chest, and his right hand opened flat against it. The enemy zoomed in for the kill, crimson filled his vision, and as Crux looked death in the face, it seemed only appropriate that he black out.
Glancing over his shoulder, Crux looked back in time to see one of the three Tekkaman launch a small crackling red ball of energy towards his position. There was no doubt in Crux's mind of the nature of that unbearable fire. Tekkaman, the most elite units that the race only known as 'Radam' controlled, routinely wielded anti-matter from their fingertips just as easily as one might flex a muscle. Crux dived forward, the blast swallowed the ground, and a sparkling crimson flash engulfed his reality.
***
The sound was deafening. His own heartbeat and ragged gasps drowned out the world around him. Animals scurried out of Crux's path in fear as he ran, back towards his home - towards the black, pulsating clouds that moved towards his family. Running as fast as he possibly could between the trees, Crux cursed himself for not being faster. He cursed his damnable human legs, he cursed his lungs for their weakness, but most of all, he cursed his own mind. Leaving his family unguarded - even if Miya could more than take care of herself - now felt so foolish. He had to get home as fast as possible. Nothing else mattered, as he burst out of the forest, looking towards his home, his family.
The vision before him was dreadful. If it weren't for the motivation to protect his family, the sight of the black clouds swirling down out of the sky, lightning pulsing within them, would have caused him to stop dead in his tracks. His heart and lungs felt like they were on fire as he ran as fast as he could through the fields surrounding the only home he had ever known. There were loud and familiar sounds; swords clashed and voices rang out as Crux approached. He recognized one voice with hope in his heart - hope that was easily crushed as he heard it cry out in pain before it was silenced. Tears welled in his eyes as he somehow pushed himself further, ignoring the pain as his legs threatened to give out entirely. Painful moments passed as he ran, each one stretching on as if an eternity. With his head throbbing and his heart pounding, Crux finally burst out into the clearing..
He stopped cold. Before Crux was the most beautiful woman he had ever known, as well as the strongest. But there was no joy in his heart, for there was no life in her body. A ragged cut ran diagonally down from his wife's right shoulder to her heart, her body sprawled over a pool of red. His eyes widened, and he dropped to his knees. He heard more inhuman voices further on, and part of him wanted to get up, but he could not move. Lying here amidst dark and lifeless unrecognizable forms was the woman he loved more than every other person in all the world. Every other person but one. He looked up to his home and spoke aloud, his heart filling once more with a fear powerful enough to contend with the shock that held him in place.
"Sachi."
***
The ice cold fire flung the man forward with such force that everything greyed out as he was sent spiraling through the undergrowth. Crux leaned forward and slammed his hands down upon the ground, performing a desperate handspring even as his vision slowly returned. Spinning like a top through the air, Crux planted his right foot on the ground, pivoting to grind his left deep into the topsoil. The momentum from his spin added to the force of his attack as he drew his sword in a powerful diagonal slash, meeting the enemy Tekkaman's blade in midswing. Crux's legs tensed as they absorbed the massive force the impact created, bringing the flying enemy to a complete stop in midair as the swords ground against each other. For one single moment, Crux stared into the crystal visor and met his enemy's gaze. In that instant, he read everything about his opponent. Some say the eyes are a window to the soul. Crux was not so certain, but as his sword swung off the Tekkaman's blade, drawing Crux into a crouching spin that upturned the dirt beneath him, he knew that they had told him all he needed to know.
As the radam soldier brought his rapier down upon the silver haired man, the hilt of Crux's incomparable blade met the rapier, and stopped it completely. Like all the swords of its time, the katana's blade extended deep into the hilt, crafted for endurance. The Tekkaman's head drew back in a mild amount of surprise at the resilient hilt; before the Radam had polluted his mind, the host had not been a swordsman. This was what Crux suspected, and while it saddened him inside that this Tekkaman was indeed one of the many people he wished to save, its moment of weakness was his moment of opportunity. The guard of Crux's sword drew the enemy's rapier off to the side even as the blade sliced cleanly through the bottom of the Tekkaman's shoulder joint, continuing upwards at an angle that severed its head. Even the incredible armor served as little deterrent for Crux's almost impossibly sharp katana. The blade emerged from the other side cleanly, dimming slightly once more at the loss of life. For the first time since he had picked up the sword, Crux was able to vaguely make out a rosary in the glint of the sword. Funny how such things distracted him in such a dangerous moment.
"Dangerous indeed." Crux spoke to himself as he saw an enemy in the reflection of the sword. Without so much as a moment's hesitation, he dove forward shoulder first into the lifeless form of the first Tekkaman, aligning his own sword perpendicular in position to the dead enemy's. As he reached up and steadied the corpse's lifeless hand with his own, the two swords formed a cross shaped defense pattern, and the enemy slammed blade first into it. Sparks flew, purple blood splattered upon the ground, and Crux's vision was nothing but blackness once more.
***
A lifetime away...
He was off again, towards his home, leaving his wife once more. Regret and pain filled Crux at the thought as his house loomed large;however, the noises were not coming from his home, they were coming from the shrine beyond. The Caedon family shrine, where for countless generations, his wife, her mother, and all her mothers before her had kept one thing safe. He could hear inhuman cackling as he turned past his house, and saw dark forms swoop towards the shrine through the air, just as quickly as he was running. They were closer, and they were in the shrine first. A small startled cry confirmed what he hoped. His daughter was still alive. He was almost there, he would stop them in time. He didn't know how, without any weapons, but he would do anything he had to. His thoughts were interrupted by his daughter's voice.
"Stay back... I..." Crux could almost hear the panicked thoughts running through her head, just as he heard her bump into the shrine's display stand, and his heart broke. He could hear his daughter grab the sword from its resting place inside. He had barely time to comprehend the sound, certainly not enough to form words, as his daughter unsheathed the sword, and thunder broke the sky.
***
Thunder broke the night sky as a stream of anti-matter rained down like vengeance from on high. Crux had successfully defended against his enemies' rear ambush, but nothing could prepare him for the incredible pain of the particle attack. By all physical laws, unprotected as he was, Crux could not continue to exist in the flashing crimson fire, but he was not so lucky as to adhere to simple laws of physics. Every cell in his body suffered a thousand deaths and rebirths in a single instant, and he collapsed to the ground. He was still alive, but he wondered if it was worth the pain. His recovering vision revealed an enemy swooping down to finish the job.
He laughed inside at the poor fool. Even if he was almost spent, how could his enemy, seeing him survive direct physical contact with anti-matter streams, not err on the side of caution? It mattered not to Crux, as the Tekkaman's finishing slash was met with a parry so powerful and accurate that it was itself an attack. Both blades stopped completely in that instant, as the ground below Crux erupted with the full force of the Tekkaman's momentum shunted into it. Crux's sword had been forged from an almost impervious substance in what could be compared to the raging fires of hell itself. It had been carefully maintained by the Caedon family for hundreds, possibly even thousands of years to keep it in perfect condition. The Tekkamen's weapons in opposition, were etched with anti-matter, retaining the ability to instantly erode and penetrate anything known to Radam science.
It was no contest.
As the Tekkaman's blade shattered, Crux's own continued it's arc and sliced through the opponent's shoulder blade, creating a massive wound that erupted in purple fluid. The man would survive, but only barely;he would certainly not be continuing the fight this day. Even as Crux took mild satisfaction in the man's continued life, it was extinguished by the last Tekkaman's brutal anti-matter onslaught. Crux managed to fall to the side, narrowly avoiding the condensed stream of particles, but he could do nothing for the Tekkaman whose life he had just spared, its every cell disintegrating in the anti-matter's wake. Crux landed on his side, his breath coming in erratic gulps. Turning onto his back, he gasped for air and closed his eyes. He had used all his strength left after the anti- matter contact to stop the second Tekkaman's attack, hoping for a chance to absorb its crystal into his own within his right hand. It had been completely destroyed in the last enemy's attack however, and he had nothing left. He had gambled and lost. All alone, there was nothing he could do but wait for the enemy to finish him off.
He could hear the whine of the thrusters as the enemy turned to finish him off with one last attack. The thrusters grew louder as the enemy drew nearer. Crux wondered what it would feel like. He wasn't terribly afraid of death, merely upset that he had failed to accomplish what he set out to do. His arm was really quite uncomfortable.
Funny, Crux thought, that he would worry about such a trivial matter at so serious a moment. Turning his head idly, Crux noticed something beneath his right arm. There next to him lay the twitching carcass of the first Tekkaman he had slain. Crux saw his palm's pale blue light reacting to one within the corpse's chest, and his right hand opened flat against it. The enemy zoomed in for the kill, crimson filled his vision, and as Crux looked death in the face, it seemed only appropriate that he black out.