Chapter 9: The Devil Himself

Roger sat in the control seat of the Big O and closed the helm, encompassing Amelia and himself in metal armor a thousand times too large. The clock finished it's chiming and everything became deathly silent, as if Amelia and Roger, the only people awake in Paradigm City, had gone deaf. The air crackled with electricity and Amelia watched as her memories came to life, the ground trembling as flashes of purple and black light swam in the clouds.

The silence prevailed again and the strange colored illuminations slammed into the ground, making the city shake in its very foundations. The ground split open and The Devil, the Mega Deus that had haunted her dreams came from the bowels of the Earth, ready to wreak Armageddon on Paradigm City. Roger moved the Big O forward, ready to meet the other Mega Deus head on. He knew that Amelia was still in the Big O with him, but it was better than leaving her on the street where she could get stepped on or burned to a crisp. At least he could protect her while she was with him, no matter how dangerous it was.

The Devil pulled it's self from the hole it had made in the ground and immediately spotted the challenger approaching. It moved forward in lumbering, slow steps while the fires within began to ignite, ready to do as much damage as possible. Roger thought through what Amelia had told him and tried to read the Mega Deus's moves before they were made.

He knew they were pretty evenly matched from what she saw, but the question of what it did at the end to finish him was still hanging over his head. Unless he could do something to counter the attack then everyone would die. It wasn't time for Paradigm City to end, not as long as he was around.

The Devil made the first attack, its claw aiming right for the Big O's head.

Roger blocked it by raising the large forearm and taking the opening to send a punch into his opponent's midsection. The Devil reeled backwards, stepping back to gain its footing. Roger pushed forward, changing the Big O's right arm into the high-powered gun, firing relentlessly on the other Mega Deus.

It reeled again, holding up both arms to block the barrage of fire power coming at it, trying to protect something in its chest area. Roger stopped firing simply to get a better look at what it was protecting so carefully that it would take the hits to keep from getting it damaged. The giant, crimson forearms came down and Roger could see some sort of crystal plate among the hot metal, embedded deeply in the thing's armor.

Roger moved the Big O forward and tried to punch the crystal plate. The Devil caught his fist with its own, doing the same to the other and bringing them to the standstill Amelia had seen before. Roger flipped open the top of his right control and pressed the button, sending the piston in the elbow into action and blowing The Devil's right arm completely off.

Roger used his now free arm to grab the other Mega Deus by the neck and lift it slightly into the air, holding it still while it's left arm tried to fire some kind of attack at him. The crystal plate began to glow and Roger felt his body grow feverish to the point where he was sweating. Amelia stood up, sweat on her brow as well as she touched his shoulder with a shaky hand.

"That's it, the crystal is what keeps it burning."

Roger nodded and made the left hand of the Big O into a fist, which he jammed against the crystal plate. The heat got more intense as he fired the piston again, shattering the crystal plate and blowing a hole in The Devil.

The crimson Mega Deus fell to the ground in a heap and began flaking away in ashes, covering the city in a gray snowstorm that would be irritating to clean up. The heat that had been plaguing Roger and Amelia subsided and the city came back to life, the people in the buildings coming out to witness the eclipse and the strange ash covering their world.