XXIV: Die Another Day
Three humans and one Crimson Nobel suddenly appeared on the crooked edge of a submerged building in the drizzling haze. The corner stood out above the liquid blue Glaive Le Gable, and stood witness to a monster towering above all, Nega Filgaia. The creature resembled a giant, dark thorny plant with four long tentacle like roots waving themselves in the air like a squids tendrils in the sea, awaiting prey. The many pupil-less eyes looked about at the remains of Jolly Roger as the beast let loose an enormous cry.
Gallows took a step forward, standing atop the very apex of the building, and turned his hands into a fist. "Rudy's voice!"
"That's Rudy's voice?!" Jack was surprised. "I always thought it would be a bit small and timid… or something… ya know?"
"It's so huge! We can't fight against that!" Lilka grabbed onto Gallows tails and cringed.
"If we don't, it will spread across Filgaia and destroy everything in its path! And if that happens, we won't get a paycheck." Marivel looked to the others.
"What's the plan fella's, cus I can't think of one God Damn thing…" Jack asked anybody.
Suddenly, a ringing was heard. It startled everybody, and they all looked around. This ring was coming from the group and was becoming more and more annoying. Gallows looked as if he had been struck by lightning and reached into his coat pocket and took out a cell phone. "003!"
The other agents looked stunned. He had a cell phone the whole time?! Marivel stepped forward and grabbed the phone from gallows as Jack and Lilka set to berating him up. "Agent Crimson Nobel here!"
Irvin's voice came loud and clear. "Crimson Nobel! Hey what's up girlfriend?"
"Oh nothing much, except for the huge reincarnation of malevolence and animosity standing before us." Marivel sounded ticked. (off that is.)
"Ah yes, the Nega Filgaia. Listen, two Hornets have taken off from Boot Hill Air force Base. They should be arriving any second now." Irvin replied.
"Hornet?! We need jets! Not insects!" Lilka shouted. Obviously, the fighting had subsided so they could listen in.
Marivel gave a tired look to Lilka. "They are Jets, Lilka, now continue your pummeling, please."
Almost on cue, the screams of after burners shot across the bleak gray skies. Marivel, Gallows, Lilka, and Jack looked up to see two F-14 Hornet Fighter Jets blaze across the sky towards the abominable aberration.
"This is Alpha One! We have visual contact! I repeat, visual contact!" The fighter pilot of one of the Hornets spoke into his helmet.
"That's a 10-4! Fire at will." Came the response from Boot Hill.
Both Hornets broke off from their directions, heading away from the Nega Filgaia as they fired their missiles. The bombastic bombs' jets came to life, spurting fire that propelled them through the gray rain and into the hulking physical form of Filgaia. All eight missiles made direct contact, exploding with a fiery malice.
"Direct contact with target!" Alpha 1 reported.
"Is target destroyed?" Boot Hill asked through the helmet.
This was answered shortly, as Vanda, one of the tentacles, shot from the smoke and completely destroyed the Hornet in one blow.
"Madam President, Alpha 1 is down." The Operator at Boot Hill turned to Maya, who was sitting in a chair, one leg over the other, biting her lip.
"How's Alpha 2?" Maya asked, irritated by the loss.
"Alpha 2, report." Boot Hill personnel asked through their headsets.
There was no need to report, however, as whatever was left of the second Hornet collided with the building that the four agents were standing upon. Nega Filgaia let out a bellow as it began to sink, presumably moving.
Irvin suddenly came in through the cell again. "Marivel! Send out Asgard01!"
Marivel nodded and narrowed her eyes. "Right!" She then looked at her watch and pressed a button. "ASGARD! IT'S SHOW TIME!"
A building collapsed as the giant robot rose from the depths of the blue liquid, brandishing its might and power. Marivel nodded and looked to the others, who gave a thumbs up. She began shouting commands into the watch, and Asgard01 followed, hovering above the liquid sea like a giant beetle, the blue engines roared as the robot flew towards the Nega Filgaia. Krukmar, Oricoflagamus, Matricaria, and Vanda (the four tentacles) shot out towards the robot. Vanda snapped like a whip, sending a fiery breeze towards Asgard01. Krukmar next, sending a shower of lightning and holy energy, with Oricoflagamus sending a tidal wave of dark energy and water across the narrow strait between the ruins of buildings. All the forces struck Asgard01 dead on, halting the robot to a dead stop. Matricaria snapped last, dealing a shock of earth and ice to the Asgard01, finally doing in the giant robot. Asgard01 exploded, demolishing the buildings and sending waves of Glaive Le Gable in all directions. Not even a single hit in. Nega Filgaia once again began to descend.
"Damnit! Irvin, Rudy's voice is moving!" Marivel shouted into the cell.
"Well we've sent out planes at it! What do you want us to do?!" Irvin shouted back.
"Something! Isn't there anything else you got!?" Marivel screamed.
"Missiles bounce off of it as if it were coated in some kind of anti-missile gel or something! What do you want besides that?" Irvin scowled.
"Anti-missile gel?" Marivel repeated the words. For some reason, they stuck in her blonde head. She then turned to Gallows. "Gallows! What's with all this blue junk?!"
"Wait! I know this one! Granny talked about this once!" Gallows closed his eyes so he could think. "…Ah! The blue junk is the master guardian, Glaive Le Gable, guardian of the origin! It resides at the core of Filgaia, but the laser must have let it come out!"
"I don't get it though! What does that have to do with Rudy's voice over there?" Jack shrugged.
"Glaive Le Gable is the guardian of origins which means… That it has the ability to create anything!" Gallows smiled like he just got an A on a report card.
"So you think that maybe, Rudy somehow encoded the laser so that when it struck Glaive Le Gable, Glaive Le Gable would create Nega Filgaia?" Marivel theorized.
"Wait… how do you encode a laser?" Lilka asked, confused.
"Leave out the technicalities! We need to know how to stop it!" Jack demanded.
"Right, so if Glaive Le Gable can create based on one's intentions…" Marivel thought.
"Then it should work for us, right?!" Gallows finished.
"No!" Lilka interrupted, tears in her eyes. "Who knows what will happen!? If we all go, and if something goes wrong, then all hope is lost!"
Jack rubbed the back of his neck, which was wet with the drizzling fog. "She has a point."
Marivel sighed and look to them. "But what choice do we have?"
"I'll go." Gallows answered. "And only me." He said very seriously.
"Gallows…" Lilka whispered.
"Why just you?" Jack asked.
"Because…" He looked to Marivel. "I don't want to see any of my good friends get hurt. If I don't make it, then you guys can try something else."
Jack shrugged. "O.K, if that's what you want to do, then I won't stop you. Just be sure to come back!"
Gallows smirked. "Sure will."
Lilka then leaped onto Gallows, almost making them both fall into the Glaive Le Gable. "Gallows! Don't!" She sobbed.
"I have to Lilka. It's part of being the super agent that I am! 001 and 002 never faced anything like this, so I'll be going down into the history books either way. You can say, 'yea! I knew him'."
Gallows slid Lilka off him and patted the top of her head as she tried to keep herself from crying any further. She nodded in agreement and Gallows looked to Marivel. A look of concern was in her eyes. Concern wasn't usually in her eyes. In fact, there was ever hardly ANY emotion in those crimson eyes. Gallows smiled. "Marivel, take care."
Gallows then began to step towards the edge. That Glaive Le Gable sure was blue, and deep. Marivel closed her eyes and shook her head. "LISTEN MORON!" Marivel shouted, frustration seething within her. Gallows turned to face her. "DON'T DIE OUT THERE! YOU AND ME, WE'RE WAR BUDDIES, EVER SINCE THAT BOAT RIDE, WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER! SO DON'T GO PLAY HERO AND GET YOURSELF KILLED!" Tears were forming at the corners of Marivel's eyes. Gallows stepped back from the ledge and gave Marivel a big hug. Without a word, he nodded and stepped over the edge into Glaive Le Gable…
** *
It was rather strange, Glaive Le Gable. Gallows had held his breath as he sank to the bottom, watching the stories of buildings and the ruins of other signs of civilization. The blue faded into darkness as he sank, and time went by. It was thicker then water, and Gallows sank slower. His breath ran out, and Gallows expected to drown within the body of a guardian. However, much to Gallows surprise, he could breathe the strange mixture. Destroyed windows led to destroyed offices, were destroyed people sat in destroyed cubicles. Objects of all kinds floated within, as Gallows could see from outside. Pencils, papers, paper clips, keyboards… all kinds of things. It was hard to believe that this ruin was actually once the thriving city of Jolly Roger this morning. A strange feeling ran through Gallows' veins. It was one of fear, and one of peace. The guardian of the origin had a very calm aura to it, yet it's destructive potential was very unsettling, as seen by this submerged Metropolis. It happened to be a while of such contemplating before Gallows feet finally reached something. He was standing on top of a highway, right before a truck, with it's lights still on. Cars were still on the highway, as if they were stuck in some kind of film and were paused. Very freaky.
"What do you want?" A feminine voice called out.
Gallows turned around to see a small girl, probably in her early teens, dressed in blue sitting atop the back of a car. He hair was a soft brown and her eyes were as blue as the Glaive Le Gable surrounding her.
Gallows was a bit surprised first. "W-who are you?"
"Who do I look like?" The girl asked, playing mind games. "I am she who gives birth to all, Glaive Le Gable."
"Your Glaive Le Gable?" Gallows asked. It was very strange that a guardian take on the persona of a little girl. Besides, Glaive Le Gable was just a bunch of blue liquid-y stuff, right?
"I am she, the origin of all. I am swayed be neither good nor darkness, light or evil. I am she who exists simply to exist. Glaive Le Gable am I."
She sure liked to make a lot of metaphorical nonsense, thought Gallows. "So, why'd you create Rudy's voice, Nega Filgaia?"
"From destruction comes a new. The origin is where everything comes from, including Nega Filgaia. I create." The girl replied.
"I can see you're a lot of help…" Gallows moaned. "Can you stop it?"
The brunette shook her head and smiled. "It is not my decision weather I destroy or not. I simply created the universe and wait for it to end. I am not what you call an active Guardian."
"I wouldn't even call you a guardian. Listen, do you think you could create something to combat it?" Gallows asked.
"I could create, but it would have no intentions. It would be existing simply because it could."
"So why does Nega Filgaia destroy?... Wait a minute! Rudy's laser must have beamed Rudy's intentions!" Gallows grinned. "So can I give my intentions to whatever you create?"
Glaive Le Gable smiled. "Your existence would be renewed as another. Your origins would be another. You would cease to be, and then be reborn…"
"You don't have to say it twenty times. If I do this though, I lose who I am and become someone else, but with my original intentions…"
"Exactly."
Gallows thought for a few minutes. He would lose himself, but then, if he didn't, everyone on Filgaia would soon join Jolly Roger. He wouldn't accept that! Not in a million years! "You know, before I took this crazy mission, I wouldn't do it and just continue being me, but ever since I've met my friends Lilka, Jack, …and Marivel… I've got to save them. Do what you need to Glaive Le Gable –God I hate saying that all the time!- Give me a way to defeat Nega Filgaia: Rudy's Voice!"
** *
"Where the hell is he?" Marivel kicked a rock off the roof top into the Glaive Le Gable. "He should have been back a long time ago!"
"Maybe he…" Jack took off his hat., allowing the rain to wet his long blonde hair.
Marivel instantly grabbed Jack by the collar. "Don't even think it!"
"LOOK!" Lilka shouted. Marivel dropped Jack and looked in the direction she was pointing. She narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the blurry object rising from the Glaive Le Gable.
"Gallows?" Marivel asked herself.
From the Glaive Le Gable rose a humanoid figure, draped his golden robes decorated with Baskar signs. It was a tall figure, with a large bronze helmet with a spine jutting from the forehead and curving so that it's tip was over the top of his head. The robes formed a large, brilliant cape, where ancient Baskar armor (resembling Aztec) shone magnificently, and into the tanned hand of the being was a shining sword made of golden fire. The face of the figure was draped in darkness, but two eyes of golden energy glowered from it. Like a beacon in a fog, the being with a tiny light in a gray fog sitting atop the ruins of Jolly Roger. Nega Filgaia roared in defiance of the light clad Gallows Carradine.
"Let's finish this!" Gallows roared and began flying at top speed towards the monstrous voice.
Save Yourself – Stabbing Westward
~ know your life is empty
And you hate to face this world alone
So you're searching for an angel
Someone who can make you whole
I can not save you
I can't even save myself
So just save yourself
I know that you've been damaged
Your soul has suffered such abuse
But I am not your savior
I am just as fucked as you
I am just as fucked as you
I can not save you
I can't even save myself
So just save yourself
Please don't take pity on me
Please don't take pity on me
Please don't take pity on me
Please don't take pity on me
My life has been a nightmare
My soul is fractured to the bone
And if I must be lonely, I think I'd rather be alone
I think I'd rather be alone
You can not save me
You can't even save yourself
I can not save you
I can't even save myself
Save yourself
So just save yourself~
Gallows clashed head on with Krukmer, tearing the tentacle to bit with little effort. The three other tentacles snapped forward, knocking Gallows around with whip like stings. Each element the three possessed was blown into the physical realm, demolishing sky scrapers and infuriating Carradine even more. With one hand, he grasped Vanda and tore it into two pieces, and with the sword, he slashed through Matriacria in a clean arc. Oricoflagmus snapped forward, knocking Gallows into the rain a few yards back, but not before Gallows caught hold of the whip like end. Using his new superior strength, Gallows dug into the scale like flesh, ripping the tendril apart and letting the pieces fall to Glaive Le Gable.
"It's Just you an me Rudy!" Gallows roared.
Nega Filgaia bellowed back and the several eyes all flickered. The area was growing rather tense. Literally. The city exploded into a void of darkness: Seyfert Microcosm. Gallows could feel the pressure increasing as buildings imploded on themselves. Nega Filgaia would laugh if it had the ability. The pressure was just too immense. Gallows was forced to the top of a crumbling building, where the weight was being brought down upon him like a giant weight. His arms bulging, Gallows pushed himself up, feeling bones breaking. The blazing eye caught sight of Rudy's Voice. Gallows launched himself at Nega Filgaia with the last of his strength, pushing the sword into one of the massive eyes. The void was instantly destroyed, and the two titans were once again in the flooded Jolly Roger. Gallows slashed his way into the beast, diving deeper into Nega Filgaia. With sheer brilliance, the light tore through the darkness, emerging in the drizzle. Nega Filgaia bellowed a sorrowful cry as it collapsed on itself, its internal structure completely decimated.
Gallows collapsed right before Marivel on the corner of the building, breathing what could be his last breaths. Marivel instantly knelt down to see to him, as Lilka and Jack stood over.
"Gallows! Is that you?! Oh Gallows!" Marivel, for the first time, actually cared about someone, and seeing him dying was hard. Very hard.
"Did I.. get him?" Gallows asked as he coughed up blood.
"You sure did…" Jack managed a fake smile as Lilka burst into tears.
"Don't Gallows! Don't you die!" Marivel sobbed.
Gallows face appeared through the darkness of the helmet, green eyes restored where blazing gold once was. He smiled. "Heh. Didn't know you cared that much, Marivel?"
"Well I do you idiot!" Marivel cried. "I do! I'm sorry for all the things I said to you since we met! I'm sorry!"
"Don't be. That's your charm… sort of…" Gallows coughed again. "Marivel…"
Marivel took the hand of the golden warrior in her own, her tears falling upon his ankles as his helmet fell to the concrete ground once more, eyes not looking back.
Jack shook his head and sniffed as Lilka balled her eyes out. Marivel silently wept. Jack looked up from the ground after a minute of silence, something catching his eye. He raised a hand over his eyes to try and make it out. The remains of Nega Filgaia were glowing! Jack reached for a gun, not that it would help, but then noticed that it was dissolving. The Glaive Le Gable began to glow a wonderful green in the approaching nightfall as well. The drizzle stopped and both Nega Filgaia and Glaive Le Gable began rising into the air as trails of glowing water. Jack stood breathless as the city began to appear again as the trails weaved and turned amongst each other, all returning out into the desert, presumably to the crater from whence it came.
Gallows' body began to glow as well and Marivel stepped back, as Lilka and Jack watched. The golden draped figure became a glowing silhouette and began to rise into the air as tiny trails. Marivel stepped forward, calling out to the trial's trying to catch them, but was to no avail. However, a dark, worn out body lied on the ground after the beautiful trails had gone. The agents rushed towards it, inspecting it. It was Gallows as himself, and he was alive!
"GALLOWS!" Marivel embraced the figure, waking Gallows up. Lilka leaped up and down with joy and Jack smiled the biggest smile a man could possibly have.
"Through destruction, creation forms…" Gallows uttered. The words Glaive Le Gable had said to him now made sense… somehow.
The sound of an approaching helicopter was heard as the four agents- no, friends- united once more…