【78 - Doom! Self-Sacrifice is what Epitomises a Hero...!】
On the flat, dusty landscape of Dahron there wasn't much to look at. Amidst the emptyness there was the tube of the particle accelerator that stretched over twenty kilometres, a few smaller buildings and the huge rocket poised to launch. It'd been powering up for some time and then finally the engines fired - blasting smoke that smothered the terrain. The rocket disconnected from a third of its body, the internal engines forcing its way up against gravity. There were three cones beneath and since one wasn't firing, the trajectory was slightly diagonal instead of straight. Nevertheless, it had enough power for its voyage.
"Left. Right. Right, again. Second door on the left…" Inside and moments before launch, the water chosen was guiding Jayden and Kanoa as they ran. They'd left the soldier locked in that storage room, which was probably a death sentence but what else could they do? Both boys were trying not to think about him as they ran. They had a whole world to save, and that knowledge was utterly compelling. "Alright, it's a clear path for you guys now."
"Clear path to what-?" Kanoa gasped.
Hillary screamed but when she realised it was only her comrades she bent forward and calmed herself down. Beside her, Sinan rested a hand on his beating heart. Jayden leant his back against the wall and the four of them all started to catch their breath.
"Sorry, I was leading you guys together."
"Good job taking out one of the engines," Kanoa smiled at them.
"Too bad it wasn't enough," Hillary frowned then asked the water chosen, "I thought you said we'd be too big a target if we didn't stay in pairs?"
"Hillary and Sinan both used their charges on the first engine. Now you need to swap partners to maximise your chances of getting through to another one."
"Sinan," Kanoa tried another smile. "Being a chosen here doesn't make us more valuable than anyone anymore. So let's go together."
They'd not become very close. When they first met, Kanoa had duelled Sinan in Solvus City then defeated him prior to his kidnapping. Afterwards Kanoa had failed to understand how his own struggles with worthiness, and his selfless efforts could mean nothing. There he was, just as worthy as Sinan who was selfish and rude, holding onto delusional beliefs to justify his actions. And then Sinan had finally been convinced, they could sense that their phoenixes were in harmony, but in all the moving around and planning that'd occurred in the past few days they'd not made any progress as friends.
Kanoa wasn't talkative nor was Sinan outgoing, but the latter had turned over a new leaf.
Sinan was surprised at the suggestion but agreed, "Fine."
"Then that leaves us," Jayden smiled flirtily at Hillary.
"Jayden go forward with Hillary. Sinan go forward with Kanoa."
Hillary turned around and jogged back, "Is this exciting enough for you yet?"
"You bet," Jayden laughed, running to keep up with her.
The two chosen boys turned back and ran the other way, down a different guided path.
Heidi had done her best to loosen the grate from the inside and was then kicking with all her might. Finally it came loose and fell. They listened for several seconds before hearing the clang echo in the big engine room. Nobody was down there because the rocket was just seconds from lift-off and everyone would've strapped themselves into seats somewhere. Heidi crawled backwards and peered down.
"Shit, we're high up…"
"Can you land it right?" Tsukumo asked.
"I can. Can you?"
"Of course."
Heidi smirked a little at their play of confidence. She lowered herself down and gripped the edge so her legs swung free. She chewed her tongue and concentrated, swaying a little. After swinging forward just a bit she let go and dropped. She didn't take the brunt of the impact on her feet, but rolled her body, over her shoulder, tumbling a few times and managing not to break anything. She ended up on her back and facing up at the ceiling. Tsukumo followed after her and used the same technique to spare himself injury. Nobody else in their group would probably be able to do that.
Tsukumo was back up faster and crouching over, "You alright?"
"Of course," Heidi pushed his hands away and quickly sat up. She was just a little sore, but pushed herself vertical.
"Don't strain yourself."
"Oh, ha ha."
Suddenly they felt an incredible strain on their legs. A groaning and popping came from various equipment around the room.
"You've launched. There's no time to set the charges. You guys need to sit yourselves down and hold on to something if you're not tied down."
The room shook and there were more metallic crunches. Heidi and Tsukumo barely reached the wall before the incredible pressure forced them to take a seated position. There were some pipes nearby but even raising their arms was too difficult. Heidi could remember at some time in her life seeing astronauts launching and getting squished back into their skyward-facing seats. This was just like that only against a flat, metal, right-angle. They both clenched their teeth and resisted the pressure for the next several minutes as they shot their way into the sky.
Rather abruptly, the pressure against their bodies was gone.
Heidi sat forward, "We're not floating?"
Tsukumo was massaging his sore shoulder, feeling the dizziness from their incredible acceleration.
"You're in the stratosphere. Gravity is almost the same. There's probably more work to be done before the rocket's ready for its next separation."
"You seem pretty calm," Tsukumo said to Heidi as they stood. They were both a little clumsy and testing their muscles.
"I didn't fancy our chances of getting away after even before we launched," Heidi replied. "You seem calm too."
"Time is ticking, guys."
"Right," Tsukumo jogged for the stairs.
After bounding down they ran to the wiry cylinder and Heidi helped Tsukumo set up his explosives.
"All Urobach needs is a strong push from one engine, and that will send the nose of the rocket toward the moon. Velocity stays constant in space. He can still manipulate his direction somewhat, but he needs an engine push and we can't let him get it."
Heidi flicked the last charge on, they were all live.
They heard a muffled boom.
Urobach's forces weren't there yet, but they were working their way through the doors toward them.
"We gotta go, now." Tsukumo took off up the stairs and Heidi ran after him.
When a blast door shut behind them, Tsukumo thumbed the detonator and they heard another boom from the other side of it. Tremors shook under their feet.
"That's another one down, you bastard…" Heidi mumbled.
"One engine left-" Tsukumo was saying before a loud explosion clouded their space - BOOM.
Smoke blew in and they lost their hearing, staggering and choking in muted silence. They couldn't hear the water chosen, but they could see a nearby door opening for them. Soldiers were spewing in from one side of the sectioned corridor. Heidi pulled Tsukumo with her and they got through the door before it closed. The smoke was gone and their hearing returned after a few seconds. They looked at each other and wiped some of the ash from their bodies before running along further.
It seemed they'd succeeded in the knick of time. Hopefully the next group would too.
Jayden and Hillary were running along with heightened urgency. Troops were converging in multiple paths all around them and the water chosen was doing his best to keep them from getting surrounded. Up ahead the doorway sealed shut and the two skidded to a stop.
"What…?" Jayden reached up to touch it, confused. There was no other open door.
"It's my rival. The thirteenth lieutenant. He's getting through my blockades…" The door opened a little and jammed, not big enough for them to fit through. "Shit… wait a second here. Got it!" The door opened and the two continued running through.
Then to their left a security door opened and they curved, running down an adjoining corridor.
"Wait!" the water chosen sounded horrified, "That wasn't the right way!"
The two slowed uncertainly before - BOOM.
The door ahead was blown through.
A smoky cloud filled the space. The dented metal door lay warped, half-covering Jayden and Hillary who lay strewn and unmoving. Soldiers climbed in and pointed their weapons but the pair wouldn't rouse.
The water chosen's voice was staticy through their damaged equipment, "...damn it."
Heidi and Tsukumo slowed as they heard the water chosen's voice, "I don't know what to do… Jayden and Hillary have been caught. We only have Kanoa and Sinan who can use their charges but there's no path to get to the last engine room. There's just no way through!"
"Relax," Tsukumo soothed and found it odd that he had to calm their usually cool-headed guide. "We just have to think of something."
"There's nothing! And what's worse, I'm losing control at my end. The thirteenth lieutenant got through my cyber blocks faster than I expected."
Heidi and Tsukumo looked at each other. They were walking through the corridors now instead of running.
"Well, perhaps we have to be a decoy somehow?" Heidi suggested.
"More likely we're just gonna have to fight our way through," Tsukumo said. "That would be our last option…"
It wasn't a good option, both of them were aware. They found laddering and climbed up into what had to be a connecting zone due to its sheer size. It spanned the width of the rocket. There were some blinking lights illuminating the space. They both heard the sound of flickering fire before they noticed Urobach appearing.
"As plans go, yours was even more desperate than mine," Urobach smiled.
"No backup?" Tsukumo tensed. He and Heidi glared hatefully.
"Against pups like you? I don't need it. But you're not gonna try running when I know what you want, right? A chance to avenge your useless mentor…" Urobach wagged his deck.
"Go on ahead, Heidi," Tsukumo growled, immediately rising to the challenge.
"I'm not leaving you!" She replied.
"I'll handle it!"
"I want to see him die too! If Urobach just dies, maybe this insane plan will be over as well!" Heidi looked at the back of Tsukumo's head and he said nothing.
Tsukumo didn't fight her on it. He took out his deck which shone white while Urobach's rippled the black of Outer Path darkness.
Tables manifested, only visible under the glow of kaijudo energy or the rhythmic flashing of emergency lights some distances away on the ground or far above. The game began.
Urobach charged fire-light, then Tsukumo charged water.
"I expand FORBIDDEN SUNRISE ~Dawn of Forbidden~!" The maroon star swirled and the four gold tablets swung up on all sides around it. "I hope you're ready for this duel to go exactly how it did against your mentor."
"Sure I am," Tsukumo answered back, "But this time you won't be able to win with dirty tricks." That remark made a scowl crumple his enemy's scars. "I summon Mixel, Strange Stone!" The bronze flyer with the drill-top nose flew out.
Any creature he plays that costs more than his mana goes to the bottom of his deck. Heidi looked over as Urobach made his next move.
"I cast Bone Dance Charger!" Two cards from his deck were spat onto his graveyard pile and then the spell became mana. "Turn end."
Tsukumo charged something fire-light-water, the three civilizations of his deck, "I summon Sagrada Familia, Vizier of Instant Seal! That's a double lockdown, when it's tapped you can't use the shield trigger abilities of spells!" The gold construct hovered up, aiming its laser eye across the zones.
Urobach frowned, "I cast Oniyose's Jutsu! I take a shield to my hand and decrease the cost of this next creature by four!" One panel dissolved prettily. "Then I remove a seal from FORBIDDEN SUNRISE to reduce its cost by a further two." A tablet exploded and a card flew into the graveyard. Urobach sniggered as he looked at Tsukumo who stared back defiantly.
Heidi murmured to herself, "But Mixel will bounce it? Is this another misplay…?"
"I summon Dark Masters, Demon Dragon!" The skeletal dragon did appear, and though Mixel shone in response the card wouldn't be bounced until it finished its on-entry effects. "You must send the three cards you're holding to the graveyard!" Urobach laughed as Tsukumo scowled then tossed them out. No hand - that wasn't good. At least the dragon was blasted off the field right after in a wave of light; Urobach's deck hovered up and the card spun beneath it before it was set back down.
Tsukumo drew a card and turned it over, cutting Urobach's enjoyment short. "I won't back down." He played the card without charging, "I cast The Triple Three and draw three cards again."
"You're petulant," Urobach spat.
Tsukumo organised his new cards, then raised his arm, "Sagrada Familia, ike!" It hummed and fired, scattering glass. "Mixel, ike!" The ship flew in next and Urobach cowered against the flinging glass. "Get any new scars?"
It was Urobach's turn and he drew with forceful anger, "I remove another seal from FORBIDDEN SUNRISE to reduce the cost of Borof, Final Dragon Edge! I mill and recover Evil Heat, Screaming Demon Dragon. I'll equip him with Diabolos, Prison Dragon Edge to recover a second Evil Heat." As soon as the effects were finished, the wolf plushie was blasted by light and the scythe was sucked back into hyperspace. Urobach's deck floated up then back down on the banished card once more.
Tsukumo went, "I summon Izanagiterasu, Great King of Blue Wolves!" The water dragon and rider emerged as a blocker on 3000. Five cards from his deck floated up for him, "I add The Triple Three to my hand and cast it for free to draw another three cards! Sagrada Familia, shield break!" It fired its laser. "Mixel, you too!" The glass of Urobach's final shield broke and Tsukumo's expression was daring to be hopeful.
When his turn started, Urobach's frustration melted away, "I remove the third seal and summon Evil Heat, Screaming Demon Dragon!" The same creature that took the life of Tsukumo's mentor snarled, grizzly. Those dreadful skull flowers bloomed on its bony exoskeleton. "Then I cast Oniyose's Jutsu! Then I break the last seal: Forbidden Big Bang! I return Oniyose's Jutsu to my hand." The maroon star spun faster as it extinguished, "I summon Borof, Final Dragon Edge and equip it with Gaial, Leader Dragon Sword to force battle Mixel." This time the sniggering plushie slashed apart the metallica ship before it could be removed. "Then, Evil Heat attacks and invasion! Redzone X, Temporal Forbidden!" His new finisher was back, the dark robot with glowing violet blades. It was huge, had 11,000 power and made the air in the room circulate in eerie currents.
Urobach's new deck was simple, in a way. It worked to reduce play costs so he could attack and invade his new finisher quickly. Heidi analysed this as she watched.
Urobach was enjoying their dismay, "I discard and Izanagiterasu takes -9000 power and then Redzone X attacks Sagrada Familia, ike!" It blasted off and cut downward, clearing Tsukumo's final creature. "And now… nothing left between you and me."
"Nothing except my shields. Too bad you don't have any," Tsukumo drew.
Heidi bit her lip with agitation. Something was wrong. Her and Tsukumo were under too much pressure to think at their best. Urobach didn't seem as concerned about losing as he should be. Is this a mistake? But what else could they do at this point?
Tsukumo wanted to win with his Still Justice Till The End (Kira Star). While he had two copies in his hand he needed Evo Lupia to bring it out. After drawing… he came up disappointed.
"...I summon Shuff, Eureka!" The robot casino man blew a deck of cards between his hands, "I choose number twelve. You can't cast spells that cost twelve, and your creatures that cost twelve can't attack or block next turn." The robot flicked out and presented a twelve of hearts from its sleeve, despite the fact the suits didn't go that high. It resembled a masterful card-tricking swindler.
"Shuff, Eureka can't stop new creatures from attacking!" Heidi warned in a higher pitch. Urobach too looked like he was about to break into a smile.
"Relax," Tsukumo didn't turn to look at her, "Shuff's power will still work on evolved creatures and psychic awakenings, because it's technically the same creature."
Heidi relaxed. Of course like his mentor, Tsukumo was brilliant enough to have a good grasp on all the technicalities of this game.
"Hm, smart," Urobach admitted before starting his turn, "Meteorburn awaken: Redzone X becomes Redzone Basara, Final Awakened!" It expanded into its final form. Its mechanical body became jagged and raced with blue and purple electricity. A 15,000 triple breaker that, as Tsukumo explained, was unable to attack this turn. "I summon… Sonic Boom, Sonic! All but two of your shields are destroyed, and then I attack them!" A red motorcyclist fired laser guns that hit three shields at once - no triggers. Then it drove itself right through the others, the wheel flying just a foot above Tsukumo's head before it landed and sped around, back into place. It reminded Heidi of the humans she used in her first OCG deck. Urobach moved to finish the game but Tsukumo turned over his trigger.
"Arcadia Spark. Borof is tapped." A blue and yellow light shined over the zones.
Urobach glared and clenched his fists. Tsukumo still had Shuff, so all he needed to do was order an attack to win. With this certainty, Urobach already began to flicker with black fire. Tsukumo couldn't move fast enough.
Tsukumo checked his draw and after getting what he'd been waiting for, he couldn't resist ending the game with an attack strong enough to guarantee death, "I summon Evo Lupia!" The triple-civilization bird sang out, spreading its wings. "I evolve on top for free, Still Justice Till The End (Kira Star)!" It shone and became the gold fighter with an ornate sword. Its diamond shield was shaped like a musical note, and rainbows sparkled off its armour design. It was Tsukumo's new finisher. Most importantly, it had a lethal 8500 power.
Urobach wasn't as fast as Amira, but in the seconds that had passed he was already fully engulfed in blackness. Tsukumo pointed and cried, "Just die! Todomeda!" The sword crashed down and dented the floor, black embers scattered.
Tsukumo and Heidi just stood and did nothing for several seconds. They held their breath, and the creatures and tables began to vanish. Tsukumo had won, but… was Urobach killed?
Next moment, Urobach reappeared a few paces behind Tsukumo with a submachine gun. He took aim and fired several bullets into his jolting figure before Tsukumo collapsed forward. Heidi screamed.
"As fun as it is to entertain myself with you no hopers, I do have a ship to pilot and need to make sure your two remaining friends are dealt with," Urobach looked at Heidi boredly. "I'll be back to finish this soon. Don't go too far, now." He ignited in black again and in a few seconds was gone.
Heidi took a single step toward Tsukumo and felt everything shift, like she was going to overbalance. Tsukumo's chest was taking in frantic, shallow breaths. Then Heidi pushed through and she ran to him, utterly horrified. He was staring up with blood pooling from his mouth, and she watched just as he took his final, frightened breath.
Tsukumo was dead. So soon, he'd followed his mentor to the other side.
Heidi collapsed to her knees. She reached out and touched his face, to provide some manner of comfort to someone who could no longer be comforted. Somebody no longer here. Heidi lurched over like she'd been shot and cried more.
This truly was like the end of days. They were all dying, just like they thought they would, to protect the world. It was a desperate plan born of necessity, but could they pull it off or was everything already over? When Heidi finally got a hold of herself she felt resolved to the fact that soon it would be her time as well. But so long as they accomplished what they came here to do. They had to. They'd given so much. They had to.
"You were a chosen at heart," Heidi leant forward to plant a single kiss on Tsukumo's cheek.
Then she stood, resolved to her duty, and started jogging to the ladder. She began her miserable climb to the next segment of the rocket. Urobach was likely to send soldiers to her location. She needed to get away. It felt wrong to leave Tsukumo, and that urge to bring him with her kept tugging. But she had to keep reminding herself that he was no longer here. And all that mattered was the success of this mission.
Heidi unscrewed the hatch and forced herself up, climbing up and over. She ran to the next ladder and kept climbing. At times she heard running footsteps, but no soldiers found her. They were all probably guarding the last working engine. Heidi wondered if she'd travelled too far when she slid open a metal opening into a glowing room. She popped her head in and looked around. Enormous pipes shone an eerie shade of lime, they were wide enough to go from the floor to the high ceiling. Heidi crawled her way in and realised this was level twelve, and the quark matter which was perfectly dense but smaller than an atom, was whizzing around in this circle that ran along the circumference of the rocket.
She stepped in and looked around, unable to fathom why nobody was here.
The water chosen could tell what she was thinking, "No crew is meant to be on board after the next separation. It will fire on radio command - Urobach's…"
"There you are," Heidi spoke idly and found a blinking security camera in the room. "You were silent for a while."
"Heidi… I…"
"Don't…" she looked down. "Don't worry about it…"
"All paths to the next level are heavily guarded and there's another separation zone in-between."
"The last engine isn't this high anyway, right?"
"If you damaged the integrity of level three, that should force Urobach to not go along with the rest of the flight. He'd need repairs. But with that said…"
"It looks impossible. And I don't even have any more C2 on me. God… what was I doing? I should've been asking you how to get to the others. And then… I don't know… die with them? Hope we could somehow get through a squadron of armed soldiers and kaijudo-bots?"
"I'm sorry, Heidi…"
"...Tsukumo would've made a great chosen. I was always driven, but he was smarter. He probably would've been a better chosen than all of us, so why wasn't he?"
"I don't know how exactly we factored into the phoenixes' planning. But you and Tsukumo used to not get along... maybe it was the decision to not choose him that set him on the path of being a great hero anyway?"
"He was chosen by not being chosen. So kinda like a shadow chosen?"
"It's possible. Hard to say how much our phoenixes see and know."
"Well... back to us. We actually did better than I could've imagined… but still Urobach was ready for us…" She started walking through the enormous space, like it was pulling on her, bathing her in alien green. "I'm not sure if we ever really had a chance…" Heidi stopped in the dead centre of the room and was quiet for a moment. "But… I told Amira that if we were going to die anyway, I was still going to die trying… so," before she could ask for directions, despite not being sure the water chosen would even give them, she heard somebody else speak.
"You did say that, back then," Amira's voice echoed and Heidi whirled around and saw Amira sitting atop a metal band on the tube.
Amira!? Heidi noticed her at a high edge of the room in a dim patch amidst the glow. Heidi's eyes blazed fiercely.
Amira's eyes were closed and she opened them gently, just a fraction while peering downward, "I thought you were crazy when you said that. But, now I think we've all gone crazy in our own ways." She sighed wistfully and stared up, an uptick in her voice, "But that's just how screwed everything is…"
Heidi couldn't speak, only glare.
Amira burnt up. In no time at all it seemed, she was straightening up in front of her.
Amira sounded exasperated when she next spoke, "Why are you here?"
Heidi took a step forward which became a walk and then a run. Amira's expression changed as she realised but then Heidi dived and Amira couldn't teleport fast enough. The tackle landed and Heidi felt biting cold on her skin but refused to let go, wrestling Amira who grunted and wriggled while their surroundings changed. They went from a few metres across the room to a dark shed of some kind, to then a park at night-time, to then an underground sewer, to then a different park at day-time.
Heidi felt a hand squishing her nose, pushing at her. She felt elbows and slaps, but she held on. The two of them turned and kept appearing in new locations. They were in the coal province, rolling along a dirty roof in disrepair that was riddled with deep cracks. Then they were on Kanoa's island, rolling through ferns while tropical birds called in this distance. Then they were in grass, breathing air so fresh and unpolluted that Heidi felt sure it was her home continent of Duextra. The position of the sun, the time of day kept changing as they zipped between different parts of the world. Amira was getting all the more frantic as Heidi refused to let go.
Finally, they appeared atop a brilliant skyscraper of Solvus City at night. Amira got her foot between them and finally kicked them apart. Heidi unravelled and lay flat on her back, Amira rolled a few more times and was on her stomach.
Even at night the super-clean city was gorgeous. Bright lights like casinos were everywhere, and there were glass towers of modern designs, looking like they were composed of sapphire or emerald. It was impossible to see the stars, but far below car lights lit up as they moved in perfect synchronicity. Heidi stood up and Amira did too, both aiming level glares at each other.
"You wanted to duel for real, Amira?" Heidi lifted her arms, the high altitude air billowing their hair. "Well here we are."
『AN: This took me three days. Can't be helped, I guess. When I wrote the ending of nature arc I was by myself, but being here with family makes it hard to not be distracted, or to walk around Brisbane to go watch a movie or look at various things. Thanks to Shuriken for expressing his excitement at these chapters. And thanks to Convergence who has already reviewed the first five chapters of this fic. Perhaps he will continue to surprise me and get to this point sooner than I expect. Interesting to see some assumptions going on in the reviews, making me wonder how readers are going to feel about the actual end of this arc...』
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