I figured it would be easier to give this round it's own chapter, as two pivotal battles play out here. It might seem like the end for two characters we care about, but all I have to say is all is not as it seems. Keep this round in mind, but remember that justice will eventually be served. Just as there are still characters left on the island of Perfidia, fire and hope still burns in their hearts. But will it be enough to shake the growing darkness?
Round 35 – Lynx (S), Steena(K)
"I am not a doll to be thrown to the wild," said Steena. "I can fight you just well enough on my own. And I will beat you."
"Brave words for one about to die," teased Lynx.
"What you have done to Serge is wrong and unjust," she said, eyes narrowing at the feline demi-human.
"Yes, but is it not fun?" laughed Lynx.
"Eidolons, come forth and aid me," whispered Steena, as she attempted to call on her guardians.
"We won't be having any of that!" Lynx thundered. He quickly cast his black element, as energy surrounded the two of them. Try as she might, Steena found that none of her magical power would come forth.
"This is going to be a physical battle, my dear," said Lynx. "Let's see you put that sword of yours to use."
"I may not be able to match you in strength," admitted Steena, as she drew her blade. "But I more than make up for that in skill." She then rushed at the cat-man.
"Now, where were we in this little battle? Oh yeah, I was about to knock you into next Tuesday," Atikon reminded himself. "How could I be so forgetful?" He then began to march over toward Serge.
'Gotta...keep...fighting,' Serge thought to himself. He then slowly rose to his feet. 'My techs are mostly useless. He knocks back my physical attacks. What else do I have left? Maybe my elements...?'
"Ding, dong, the Arni boy is dead..." whistled Atikon to himself, as he walked ever closer to the extremely weakened Serge.
'Here goes nothing,' Serge told himself. He held up his hand, which glowed a faint yellow. The ground around Atikon began to rumble slightly. Suddenly a big stone formation burst out of the ground, knocking Atikon flat on his back. A faint chime was heard off in the distance.
"Damn, you never do give up, do you?" asked Atikon, as he brushed himself off. "Stubborn ass that you are. But I guess I should have known that being you and all." He then got up and began to trot over to Serge once more.
"This should heat things up," said Serge. His hand glowed red now. The air around Atikon became very hot. A huge pillar of fire suddenly encased the double. It then dissipated, leaving the blistered duplicate very uncomfortable. Another chime was heard far away.
"T-t-time to p-p-pull out all th-th-the stops then," trembled Atikon. He held his swallow out in front of him and concentrated. It glowed green and he twirled around very fast. He then vanished from sight.
"Where'd you run off to?!" shouted Serge. "Show yourself, coward!"
Serge's request was finally answered as Atikon erupted from the ground right underneath the normally quiet boy. He brought his swallow around in an uppercut-like fashion, catching Serge right on the underside of his chin. Serge went sailing into the air and then came crashing down as the wind was knocked out from him. A third chime now played from a far off place.
'What is that music?' Serge asked himself. 'It sounds so familiar, while at the same time, different.' He stole a glance at his grid to see what elements he still had remaining. 'Damn, I'm starting to run low.'
"Hey, wimp. Check out what I just learned!" Atikon smiled. He held his weapon out in front of him as he shone with a freakish blue aura. The doppelganger then charged straight at Serge. The villager tried to move out of the way, but his strength was just not up to the task.
Lynx drew out his own hooked weapon and parried her attack away. He then chopped low, but she was ready for it and hopped over his blade. As she landed on her feet again, she stabbed Lynx in the shoulder. He winced in pain and then rammed into her, knocking her down.
"You witch! You will pay for that!" Lynx then tried to drive his hook into Steena's abdomen, but the chieftain managed to roll away in time. Once again on her feet, she waved her sword around in her unique fighting stance.
"Come at me, swine," Steena scathed.
With a growl, Lynx took off running. As soon as he reached the priestess, he brought his hook around in a downward chop. Steena dodged his blade to the side and then slashed with her sword diagonally across Lynx's side. She let her momentum carry her into a crouch, but she did not stop there. With an outstretched foot, she knocked the feline's feet out from under him. Steena smiled in satisfaction as Lynx hit the ground hard.
Down, but not out, Lynx wrapped his legs around Steena's. He jerked his legs toward him, causing Steena to lose her balance. She toppled to the ground not far from Lynx. With a start, he brought his hook down on top of her. 'I have her now,' he laughed to himself.
Not missing a beat, Steena brought her sword up to deflect the blade. She then kicked Lynx hard in the face with one of her boots. As he tried to recover from the shock, she followed her onslaught up with a kick from her other leg. Lynx shrank away from the shaman's feet, now lapping up the blood that was dripping from his face.
"I have underestimated you, witch," he chuckled. "This fight is going to be much more interesting than I thought."
"Just do not be surprised when you end up the loser," Steena warned him.
The two combatants then circled each other, neither one wanting to make the next move. Steena waved her sword back and forth while Lynx tested the air with his hook. Finally, Steena could not take the lull any longer and she dashed at the feline.
Atikon slashed Serge across his midline. He then brought his swallow around and made a diagonal cut across Serge's upper chest. Atikon then followed his second cut up with a jagged slash across the legs. Finally, he finished off his onslaught by impaling Serge right through the stomach.
"Not so nice to be on the receiving end of this, is it?" whispered Atikon into Serge's ear. He then brought his foot up and kicked Serge off his weapon. As the mime hit the ground he saw wispy strands of white smoke exiting his body. He knew he didn't have much time left. If he was going to make a move to stop this monstrosity he better act now. Again the chiming resonated throughout the air.
'Wait...I know I've heard that sound before..." Serge thought, trying to jog his memory. As he got up, something tumbled out of his shirt. With wobbly legs, he bent down to pick it up. 'The Chrono Cross! That's what's been making those sounds! It helped Schala before. Maybe it could help me too...?'
"Stop dawdling," ordered Atikon. "I need control of this body now. Places to go, people to kill, nations to conquer. You know how it is."
"Count me out then," Serge said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Show me what else you've learned."
"Well, if you insist," assented Atikon. He then threw his swallow, now shining black, into the air. It settled right above Serge as thunderclouds began to gather around it. Lightning churned within the storm.
'He's done what I hoped he would,' Serge congratulated himself. 'Now I just hope this kicks in as planned...'
Black lightning then rolled down into the swallow suspended above Serge's head. The mute collapsed to the ground, his energy reserves almost totally spent. Atikon recalled his weapon back into his waiting hands. A fifth chime rang from all around the two combatants.
"So this is how it all ends, hmmmm?" the double laughed. "The mighty Serge beaten by a twisted version of himself? You're pathetic. I'm sickened just looking at you. Good thing I'll be the one in control now."
'Have...to...,' thought Serge as he struggled against the blackness. 'Not...done...but...still...try...' He then touched the Chrono Cross. The five elements then resonated with the healing power, as both Serge and Atikon were surrounded with a rainbow light.
"Wha...?" wondered Atikon, as two flames then leapt out from the Chrono Cross.
"AAAAHHHHHH!" both Serge and Atikon screamed in unison.
Steena lunged forward with her sword. Lynx blocked the blow and then raked his claws across her face. This action startled her somewhat, but not enough to make a big difference. She then reared her sword back as if she was going to attempt another strike. Lynx moved down into a blocking position to intercept the blow. Instead, she surprised him by delivering a solid kick to his gut.
Clutching his stomach, Lynx backed off a few steps. Steena didn't stop there, though. Her sword bit into the flesh of his weapon-hand with a backhand slash. As pain shot up through Lynx's wrist, he dropped his hook and applied pressure to stem the flow of blood. Although not detached, his dominant hand was now very badly injured and practically useless for the rest of this fight.
Seeing no other options, Lynx slammed into Steena, trying to dislodge her sword. The two fell onto the granite floor, still entangled with one another. Steena managed to wiggle both her legs free. Calling on all her strength reserves, she snapped her legs out and into the chin of the feline. Lynx collapsed onto the ground.
"You have lost," Steena said, pointing the tip of her sword at Lynx's exposed throat. "Any final words?"
"Yes..." Lynx whispered. "Looks can be deceiving..." His fist suddenly glowed an eerie black, as he slammed it into the ground. Black holes, celestial space, and all the darkness of the universe whizzed by Steena. Assaulted on all fronts, she cried out and fell to the ground.
When the power of the Chrono Cross subsided, one figure was still on his knees. The other was not moving. Using his swallow to push himself to his feet, he looked back at his fallen foe. He walked over to the limp body. And then he craned his head back and laughed long and hard.
"You almost found my weak spot!" cackled Atikon. "But the melody was not complete! The gamble drained you instead!"
He then approached the unmoving body. The doppelganger gave it one last look before kicking it hard in the side. Atikon stretched his hands out and let them shine with his inner darkness.
Black goo began to pour out from the ground around Serge. It flowed all around him until Serge was encased in a dark sphere. Two tiny holes then opened up before the vanquished counterpart was totally trapped within the ball.
"Now you'll feel the same torture I did all those years," Atikon said, hatred in his voice. "You'll be able to hear everything, but unable to do anything. Ta-ta, loser!" Atikon then took off into the blackness, to finally reanimate the dormant body.
Leena was just catching a quick nap when Serge suddenly opened his eyes. He coughed a few times and struggled to his feet. Leena rushed over to help.
"You're still weak from your coma," Leena said to him, putting her hand on top of his. "I'm just happy you're..." Something then caught Leena's eye. Serge's hair had changed. It was now streaked with red and becoming more crimson by the second.
"Thanks babe," chuckled a deep voice. Atikon stared right at Leena with his fiery eyes.
"What have you done with him?" Leena pleaded.
"He's history! And if I were you I would stay out of my way!" Atikon snarled. He then rummaged around his person until he found what he was looking for. In his hand he now held the Chrono Cross.
"Can't let this fall into the wrong hands," Atikon observed. "That could be bad for yours truly." He then let the relic fall to the ground. With a resounding stomp, he broke the Chrono Cross into a myriad of pieces. Looking up into the sky, he took to the air, leaving behind a hole in the tent.
"Toodles!" Atikon called out to a shocked Leena, as he flew to another section of the island.
"H-h-how...?" the shaman tried to ask, shivering with the cold of unspeakable horrors.
"Don't you know anything about strategy?" Lynx asked, feigning shock. He then unbuttoned the top portion of his shirt to reveal a medallion. Suspended by a fine silver chain was a disk with a gruesome caricature on it. The face had two horns on its head, many rows of teeth, and appeared to be laughing at her. Lynx then tucked his daemon charm away. "Always come prepared."
Steena clutched the Dragon Emblem close to her as she tried to use its power against Lynx. It was no use though, as it still resonated with Atikon's evil. Lynx was walking over to his hook and smiling at the shaman the whole way. 'If I can't use it against him, at least I can warn the others,' she thought.
The chieftain concentrated the last of her mental energy and attempted to make contact with the first person she could. Norris was close, but his mind was not open enough. Leena was in a state of shock and not very receptive. Finally, she was able to tune in to someone.
'Harle...' Steena called out.
'Oui, mademoiselle Steena,' said Harle, establishing a mindlink with the shaman. 'What iz it? Where are you?'
'No time to explain,' answered Steena. 'All I can tell you is you have to stop Lynx and Atikon. Gather up the others and take whatever action necessary. If they emerge victorious, it could mean more than just us missing out on a wish. It might spell doom for many others.'
'Tell me where you are,' the jester prodded. 'Per'aps moi can..."
"Have a nice chat?" Lynx questioned, as he snatched the Dragon Emblem from Steena's hand, breaking the connection. His once-injured hand was now adequately healed. And in it he held his wicked hooked blade.
"They will stop you," Steena whispered.
"Maybe. But it doesn't matter if I live or die anymore. The wheels of motion are already set in place. No one can stop them. All I need to do now is wait." Lynx then brought his hook back for the killing blow.
'I pray the others are strong enough,' was the last thought Steena had, before the darkness of death claimed the shaman.
By: Daredevil3181