Disclaimer: See chapter one

chero666- Ha!

Aki Kisune- Yeah. But all good things…

Chap. 27

The slash ripped hard across his body. The blade itself may have been dull, but the power was more than enough. Anubis's scream nearly shattered my ears as he flew backward into the gate stream. As he spun around in the void helpless, Metatron flew out of his body like a spring. I was engulfed with it briefly before I looked over and back. There, still floating in the stream was Vic Viper as well as the Anubis clone. With newfound energy, I swooped at them and grabbed hold. At that moment, I felt the energy around beginning to change.

'The gate is closing.'

True enough, the orange streaks began to fade away and soon I was left in the darkness of space. Well, not complete darkness. Looking forward, my body pulsed with various emotions as I saw the massive grey structure before me. Points of technology were scattered across a massive rocky structure. But I didn't need to guess to know what I was looking at. It was the moon of Phobos. 'No, not Phobos anymore. Aumaan.'

Fear seized at me for but a moment before I moved closer to the rocky moon. I saw an empty spot and decided to settle down there. Tentatively, I placed the unconscious, injured body of Vic Viper down and then lowered down the second Anubis just as well. And it was then that I took notice of my arms. They were completely white, with my veins of Metatron still flowing through them. I then stood up straight and saw my entire body. It was void of all my usual sapphire armor, leaving a pale white under-armor of sort. It a way, I was...well...naked. That thought was soon cancelled when I heard Dingo speaking with someone. According to my senses, it was coming from far away in space. But I paid little attention at the moment. Mostly because my senses also picked up a not-so-distant whine coming from above. Gazing up, I noticed a dark object flying straight down and suddenly crash heavily on the rocky plain. The object trench through the ground and finally stopped, creating a large crater. Looking over, I saw a sight I had wished for a long while.

'Well look who decided to drop in.'

It was Anubis. Or at least what was left of him. His body was horrendously torn, twisted and battered. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for him. He was after all my flesh and metatron. Given his current condition, he wasn't much of a threat any longer.

"You're through Anubis. It's all over."

Despite his injuries, he managed to grin, "You're right about that part, Jehuty."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. On impulse, I backed away and the ground cracked open underneath him. Anubis's body floated down into the crack, which shone with bright light.

"Aumaan! Hear my call!"

His body soon disappeared into the light. I could feel the sheer force and power emanating from the opening. Something was down there. Something that felt more powerful than I've ever sensed before. I was about to enter in pursuit, but my senses alerted me once again. Dingo...

-"Space constriction...It can destroy the entire solar system. Please stop it."-

My focus on my runner conversation was a little off, but I felt his emotions clearly. He was very determined about something.

-"Free Mars."-

-"I swear."-

His conversation then switched over to Ken, who was still within the second Anubis.

-"If I die, please revive me again."-

Heh. He seems lighthearted about it. But not as much so as Ken.

-"You're not going to die."-

More than the emotions I heard from her voice, I can feel the emotions of my runner. It confirmed what I suspected all along. I suppose...it would make since...considered the frame warrior she was a part of. But that had to be put to the side. Largely because I heard something else coming. Looking off to the left now, I saw several objects fly toward me. They were all identical and all bearing the resemblance of someone I was not in the mood of seeing.

"Nephtis?"

Indeed it was her, or rather seven of her. 'Seven Nephtis? What kind of nightmare is this?!' I flew up in the space above as they continued their approach. Each one of them let their arms out wide in attack formation and began to shimmer and glow.

"Jehuty..."

They all shot at me like a stream of flaming comets. I sidestepped the first two and dodged the remaining five. The last two quickly turned and charged to attack. The first one sliced her arm forward, but I managed to dodge. The second came up from behind soon after, but I dodged it again. The other five managed to turn around and attack, but I dodged all of their attacks. 'What the heck?' Even in my second form, I was never this fast. It was as though the Nephtises were all moving in slow motion. One managed to finally lock in a direct blow, but she missed. How you may ask? Zero Shift. I had warped a second before the slash could even connect. I had warped out of the group and came out behind them. The Nephtis clones all turned at me and came in to attack again.

"....."

Rather than move away, I shot right into the advancing throng. My blade, now an ivory-white blade, unlatched and I slashed at the first one. Nephtis shot off to the side to dodge, but her speed was far too slow and my blade connected. But what surprised me was that the blade didn't just injure her, it went right through her and out on the other end. I still flew across as Nephtis exploded behind. I looked at my blade. 'What...? One slice?' I knew I was powerful, but this was far beyond what I even believed. What kind of power would destroy a creature like Nephtis in on single stroke? Apparently, it was power I now possessed. Shaking away my thoughts, I focused on the remaining six who were charging at me once again. Two of them split off to the side and fired energy bolts. I almost raised my shied, but for some reason, I felt compelled not to. It was strange. It was as though something was telling me that their attacks weren't a threat. And my feeling was soon justify as the beam came and suddenly stopped. They had hit some sort of secondary shield that was around my body.

'What has happened to me?'

The lead four shot at me in a fierce attack. The first one attack, but as before, it was far too slow and I evaded it easily. The other three attacked simultaneously, but they hit dead space as I warped once again. Raising my hand, I summoned my Metatron Sphere. It grew faster than ever before and was now glowing in pure white energy. The Nephtises turned just as I let it fly at the group. They all scattered, but not soon enough for one as it was obliterated. But that's not all. The resulting shockwave was intense enough to rip across the two nearest retreating Nephtises and destroy them too. I was stunned.

'Incredible. Three in one shot.'

Unfortunately, my expression let the last two close in on me. I automatically began to charge my body, readying for the Crescent Slash. But the power of my charge alone struck the last two and wiped them out in an instant. I merely blinked. I didn't even attack. My very energy alone was a weapon now. 'How did this happen? Is it...because I'm on Aumaan.' Has the fortress somehow enhanced my powers beyond anything that even exists? It didn't sound so farfetched, considering that Aumaan was initially design for either him or...

'Anubis!'

I quickly turned to the crack were Anubis had fallen in. I stood briefly before the lit entrance before I dove right it. Light was everywhere. It reflected of my pale body and covered the entire cavern. But it was more than light. The energy of Metatron was literally in the air. My senses were flooded with the incredible power that filled my very veins. The cavern finally ended and I found myself in the core of the moon. It was a gigantic spherical shape. Hexagons cracked off the surrounding walls and flew out. In the center, several beams of energy swarmed from top to bottom, meeting in the middle in a small ball of concentrated energy. It was here where I sensed the greatest surge of Metatron. It almost seemed like a living being. But that was nothing compared to what was hovering before it.

'Anubis...'

Anubis floated before the sphere with his arms outstretched. His body had both regenerated and transformed. He was bleached in white, much like me except that he seemed paler. His body itself had thinned down like a skeleton. His usual wings were gone, replaced with jittering hexagons that floated behind him like a white cape. And finally, his eyes were glowing in deadly green.  All of this made look just as he had always been described as.

He had become Death incarnate...

"You are too late, Jehuty." he spoke in a shadowy voice. He looked up at me with a death glare and smiled. "Aumaan has chosen me. We are now one body...one voice...one purpose." His smile broadened, "Do you see, Jehuty? I have become Metatron in its purest form."

I could indeed feel it. His power could be felt even by me in overwhelming waves. If what he said was true, then this was going to be the fight of my life.

"Destruction! Soon all will drink in the sweet taste of oblivion!!!!!"

Now that I was in Aumaan, the curse that was placed upon me could awaken at any moment. Either my curse or this new incarnation of Anubis could destroy me.

-"I'm not dying yet."-

Dingo is right. I've come too far to stop now. Ken, Vic, Leo, Ardjet...they were all relying on me to bring Anubis and Aumaan down. And I won't fail them now. If the curse does come into effect, then at least I can destroy Aumaan. Only I had the power to stop this insanity. With this certainty, I charged myself for my final battle.

"I'm not dying yet."