Fighting scenes, fighting scenes, fighting scenes. Around 1300 words I was seriously questioning whether or not I'd be able to finish.
This chapter clocks in at 3400. I write best at night. Therein lies the problem: When I look up from writing and see that it's a quarter to midnight and I have to do some reading before going to sleep. But I got it done! And it's a good'un!
Chapter 8: Finally Free
Babi roared viciously and expelled another blast of flame at the Adepts below. Felix used Clay Spire to block the fires and whipped around to face Isaac.
"You, Mia, and Ivan get to higher grounds," he ordered. "Attack him from above. My sister, Piers, Sheba and I will stay here and wear it down."
"You're the one who needs to live, Isaac," Jenna added when the boy opened his mouth to protest. "You're the one with the Star of Venus. And we all know that you're going to be the one to bring Babi down. Now go!"
Mia and Ivan, approving of the plan, took Isaac by either arm and persuaded him to follow them.
Piers chuckled. "I'm not sure that was the best move, Felix," he commented. "You just sent off our best chance at beating this thing."
"We can't beat it," Sheba said dismally. "We can only weaken it for Isaac and the others. Shall we get to work?"
The child called upon the power of Shine Plasma. The bolts of liquid energy impaled Babi, ripping holes through the delicate skin of his wings. The dragon bellowed in pain and rage and swiped a massive clawed hand at his foe. Sheba cast High Impact as Felix used Meld to double-team with Piers and hold the attack off. Their blades were repelled by the tough hide acting as Babi's only armor. It was more than enough, however, to protect him from the meager assault.
Felix growled and readied himself for a second try. His blade sang, and the brunette warrior recognized this as an opportunity to perform Megiddo. He leapt into the air as a meteor was called forth and batted the blazing orb down with his sword.
The dragon swept his great wings, causing a blast of air that slowed the meteor's rapid approach. When it appeared this alone would not completely parry it, he breathed a gust of flames to propel it back. Felix, still descending, could do little more than watch as his own attack hurled towards him.
Piers summoned an immense ball of ice which, in its plummet, directed the meteor away from Felix. Slicing through them both with all the power and agility of Diamond Berg, Piers created thousands of dagger-like shards of ice which Sheba coupled with Tornado to hurl at their foe. Babi swatted many of the ice spears away, but the raging whirlwinds struck him full force. Distracted by the storm, the remainder of Piers' arsenal of ice managed to pierce Babi's flesh.
Blood issued forth from the wounds, and while the injuries in themselves were minute, the mere notion that his defenses had been thwarted infuriated the dragon. He soared up into the sky, now black between the dead of night and the clouds, and dove down upon his former minions. The Adepts hurried out of the way, but the floor shuddered upon impact and threatened to give way. Babi found the chamber too small and took to the skies once again, his wing beats producing blasts of air that had Felix and his companions staggering to regain their footing. Jenna cried out as she slipped, an action that only attracted the dragon's attention.
He breathed another blast of flame and Jenna was hit. Felix brought forth Flower, who expended his power by restoring health to the warriors. Jenna called upon the power of Reflux. The crimson Djinni launched a powerful counterattack, but it did little to harm the dragon.
Piers noticed Babi's resistance to the fire element and used Sour to weaken it. His foe appeared unfazed, though his wrath had been rekindled. He dealt a mighty blow to the already-crumbling floor with his tail. The floor yielded and collapsed, sending the four Adepts plummeting down with it.
Sheba, the first to emerge from the rubble, summoned Waft to calm Babi into submission. A gently breeze blew, carrying with it the soothing scent of flowers. The aroma penetrated the dragon's mind and pacified his rage, if only for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, the young Jupiter Adept focused her psynergy into her most powerful attack: Spark Plasma. Babi, lulled by Sheba's Djinni, could do little more than take the hit.
"Felix! Attack now!" the girl shouted. Felix nodded in understanding and raised his sword as two more of light appeared beside him. As the conjured swords struck the dragon, the brunette completed the Odyssey with his own strike. Immediately he cast Grand Gaia to solidify their lead.
A fiery blast broke free of the golden light of Grand Gaia and struck Felix and Sheba down. Jenna screamed as her brother fell. She hadn't thought to bring Water of Life. Piers called forth Balm, who revived them both, greatly relieving the Mars Adept.
"Ugh… How many other reviving Djinn do we have?" Felix asked, noting the deep lacerations and painful burns all over his body.
"Just one," Jenna said grimly, pointing to the Mars Djinni Tinder that had found his way to her shoulder.
"We just have to make sure Felix doesn't go down; he can use Revive," Piers reminded. Sheba and Jenna nodded in understanding, but the Earth Adept clearly wouldn't stand for it.
"No, we all give everything we have," he commanded. "Isaac's counting on us. We have to deal as much damage as possible."
He returned his attention to the dragon. Oddly enough, he had spent all this time merely hovering in midair with his eyes closed where he had just been given the perfect chance to attack and possibly kill another of his traitorous soldiers. Felix didn't waste time questioning this behavior and used another Odyssey. Babi took it unflinchingly, further confusing the Adepts.
Piers invoked the power of Violent Cool, and Jenna attacked with Fume Dragon. Sheba contributed with a second Spark Plasma. Still the great dragon made no move in response.
Suddenly his crimson eyes flashed open and he opened his gaping mouth, exposing the many rows of razor-tipped fangs. A small orb a light gathered before that mouth, and even as more light gathered unto it, it grew no larger than Felix's fist. When the orb glowed with brilliance unimaginable, it slowly floated down towards the Adepts. They watched anxiously as the globe of fiery splendor halted three feet above the ground in the middle of the area. So captivating was its luminance that they lowered their weapons to behold it.
The earth trembled and the sphere began to spin rapidly. It grew larger, the massive power within it giving it its own gravity which hungrily pulled Felix and his companions towards it. Desperately the Earth Adept summoned Moloch. Sour, Balm, and Waft emerged, a red glow engulfing them, and danced around each other. They produced a white radiance from which stepped forth a massive beast of ice weighted with thick, white fur. The dog-like being breathed a gust of frigid air through the ball of fire and at Babi. The dragon roared, shaking away the sheets of ice that had formed upon his skin. However, the attack did little to undo what the fire orb was vying to accomplish.
As Felix, Jenna, Sheba, and Piers were drawn closer to the intense heat and pressure radiating from the sphere's core and the sphere itself swelled to the size of a house, all motion suddenly ceased. An ominous rumbling soon became audible, then the orb erupted in a horrifically magnificent explosion. Its inferno consumed the struggling Adepts, and the pressure it had gathered threatened to crush them.
When the booming vibrations ended, the ground stopped its quaking, and the fires died away, Felix and the other warriors lay still upon the ground. Not one of them moved so much as a twitch.
Babi grinned at his deed and cackled loudly, a truly dreadful sound for a dragon to produce. With a few beats of his tattered wings he swooped away from the ravaged chamber in search of Isaac.
Felix clenched his fist and groaned. "Isaac… you'd better not screw this up," he remarked, his voice strained.
"Come on! We have to hurry!" Mia said urgently as she rushed her two friends up the spiraling staircase. Isaac was in front of her, and Ivan had the lead. The trio dashed along the unending stairs, taking the steps two or something three at a time in a frantic attempt to reach the peak of the watchtower, the tallest spire in Babilon. From there, they would not only have a decent view of the battle, but they could aid in the effort.
Isaac glanced at the glimmering topaz in his hand. The Star of Venus was a mystical gem of immense power, but would it really be enough? Babi knew Alchemy inside and out; it was his gravest weapon in conquest. Surely he had also devised methods of countering it. Would the Elemental Star, containing naught but the essence of Alchemy, be any good at all?
"We're almost there!" Ivan announced as the dim light of the moon escaped into the passage through an approaching door. They found said door left wide open, swinging quietly upon its hinges. Outside, all was silent. The three Adepts emerged with nary a sound, watching their surroundings vigilantly for any sign of movement.
What was most disturbing about the stillness was that Felix and the others should have been fighting the dragon. The sound of their psynergy would be enough to wake the dead, not taking into account their raw attacks and Babi countering.
"You don't think they've been defeated, do you?" Mia asked worriedly. Isaac hushed her and approached the center of the circular stone platform. He held his sword lightly at the hilt, resting the blade delicately in his opposite hand. When he reached his destination, he turned his gaze to the sky.
The clouds were parting to reveal the full moon in all its glory. To the east, a fray of pink stained the heavens. Isaac took a deep breath. The many flights of stairs had been less than kind to his fleeting strength. He questioned whether or not he had the vigor to defeat Babi, but such thoughts only distracted and disheartened him.
"Babi!" he called. "I know you're out there, you sorry excuse for a life form! Show yourself and fight!"
A sudden wind kicked up from behind. Isaac whipped around and gripped his sword tightly as the ashen, mud-colored beast rose from behind the tower. Mia and Ivan did the same when they noticed the change in their companion's disposition. Immediately they readied themselves for battle. Babi chuckled at this.
"I've no interest in you, peons," he commented casually. "Just let me have your friend there and you two can leave with your lives."
"That's never going to happen," Ivan viciously swore, Mia nodding her agreement. The dragon narrowed is eyes.
"So be it."
Almost simultaneously the group found themselves facing a blast of flame. Ivan quickly cast Spark Plasma to deflect the attack and was successful. Mia, eager to help, called on her Djinni Serac. The tiny blue creature appeared in flurry of snow and conjured an ice horn which skewered the dragon from below. Mia pounded the ice with her Meditation Rod, splitting it into pieces.
Babi shivered with cold and puffed flame around himself to keep warm. He climbed into the sky, eclipsing the pale moon, and came diving down with an aura of fire radiating an unbearable heat.
Isaac ran ahead of his endangered friends and held up Excalibur. Babi's fearsome claws collided with the Orihalcon blade, pushing the Adept back. The boy dug his feet into the ground, but they continued to slip on the heated stone. The warmth was growing insufferable, and Isaac's strength was failing. As he nearly lost his grip on the sword, his power seemed to increase by tenfold. Effortlessly he swung his sword around and delivered a severe blow.
A Mars Djinni, Forge, appeared before Isaac. It was basked in red light, indicating its power had recently been employed. The Venus Adept sighed in relief. If Jenna was sending her Djinn to help, that meant the others made out okay.
Something about this train of thought, albeit believable, wasn't right. Isaac gasped when he realized the error of his assumption.
Forge was Garet's Djinni.
The moment Isaac grasped this knowledge, eight more of the red being appeared in a flash. His own nine Venus Djinn came forth as well, Flint holding the Star of Venus. The eighteen creatures circled around Isaac and the Elemental Star floated before him. Having witnessed more than his fair share of strange and mythical events, the boy gave little thought to this and raised Excalibur.
Babi growled menacingly and spewed a stream of flame at the companions. The Djinn produced a barrier that protected Isaac, but Ivan and Mia were left vulnerable. As if sensing this, their own Djinn emerged and revolved around the Star of Venus. The shield expanded, leaving the dragon striking furiously and repetitiously in a failing attempt to reach his foes. Or, at least, what appeared to be a failing attempt.
The projection of light soon cracked and threatened to shatter. The Djinn themselves were exhausted. Isaac gritted his teeth. They weren't going to win like this.
"Give him everything you've got!" he shouted to his companions. He unleashed the might of Grand Gaia which Ivan and Mia accompanied with Spark Plasma and Ice Missile. Babi roared and continue his barrage against the defensive wall.
"Again!" Isaac ordered when it appeared their assault had no effect. The watchtower swayed and pivoted under the force of the psynergy. Babi's bloodied body glowed crimson under the moonlight, though by now Luna was but a faint disk in the sky and the light of the sun climbed forth from its slumber. Once more he slammed his jagged claws against the barrier, and finally it shattered, the Star of Venus falling to the stone floor.
Isaac's eyes grew wide in dread. He ran forward with a brief cry and slashed a deep laceration into Babi's face only to be batted away by the dragon's tail. He skidded backwards, half crouching and half lying on the floor. He had moved with such agility that the Star had not yet struck the ground. He watched with morbid fascination as the small gem collided with the stone, producing a glorious chime that resonated throughout the vicinity.
As the topaz bounced back into the air, the moon and sun aligned with one another and light from them both refracted through the jewel. The tiny orb erupted in a burst of gorgeous blue, violet, and gold. The thirty-six wearied Djinn rotated around the Star with newfound energy. Their dance hastened until they were but a blur. The eastern sky grew bright and glorious under the light of the sun, and the moon and stars of the western heavens stretched its twilight-tipped fingers back across the sky. Where they met, a dazzling aurora formed.
The Star of Venus gleamed with an intensity that drove Babi back. The light began to take shape, gaining the form of what appeared to be a human woman. Robes dyed bright hues of sapphire, amethyst, ruby, and gold cascaded from her figure, and four ochroid wings adorned her back. Her lush blonde hair glistened upon her head, and her creamy skin glowed a golden light. The Star levitated before her, and she reached out, taking hold of a breath-taking staff the moment it formed. The Elemental Star rested at its base, burning in its own beautiful light.
Isaac, Ivan, and Mia stood a distance away, their mouths agape. Was this amazing woman really no more than another Djinn summon?
"I," she began, her voice ethereal and crystalline like the tone of the Star of Venus, "am Sol. I am the Goddess of the Sun and Moon, Master of Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter."
Babi snarled maliciously. "You're a pretty lady with a pretty stick," he sneered. "Hopefully those rainbow-colored rags of yours are fireproof." No sooner than he had uttered the words did the malevolent dragon breath his inferno upon Sol. She raised a hand delicately and flicked her wrist, and the fire turned upon Babi.
"I am the Keeper of all Elements," she reminded. Her eyes, more magnificent and lustrous than any gem, glistened languidly. "Babi, self-proclaimed Lord of Weyard, you are a vile man. You will be duly punished."
Sol stepped forward, her elegant staff raised slightly. A beam of blue energy streaked through the air, striking Babi with incredible force. One of violet did the same, followed by a bolt of scarlet. The goddess turned on her heal and pointed her staff at Isaac. The boy flinched, expecting he too was to be reprimanded for the horrible things he had done. A golden light whirled around him, imbuing him with a divine power. Sol stepped aside and gestured to the dragon, lying crippled upon the ground.
"Isaac of Vale, am I correct to presume that this is your fight to finish?" she said with a frail smile. A specter of flaming red hair appeared beside her for as long as it took for him to display and energetic grin and a thumbs-up. Mia placed a hand on Isaac's shoulder, a wistful smile upon her own lips. Ivan stood at his side and nodded in encouragement.
Isaac sighed and approached Babi. He raised Excalibur slowly and paused when it had reached its height. After nine hundred and fifteen years, he was finally going to accomplish what he'd dreamed of doing from the day he had been sucked into the madman's fiendish plot. Many lives had been lost, and many more betrayed. Weyard was on its last legs, struggling to overcome the plagues and hardships let loose upon the land. People were suffering and dying. No longer, he thought. In one swift motion, Isaac speared the dragon between his eyes. The beast thrashed his tail and gurgled, then fell still.
"Farewell, my lord," Isaac muttered. Sol faded and dissolved into the Djinn that her form had been borne from. The creatures, now enveloped in a faint yellow light, disappeared.
The young Venus Adept heaved a sigh as his knees buckled and his strength decayed. Mia and Ivan took him by either arm to support him.
"Isaac! Are you okay?" Ivan inquired worriedly. The addressed nodded in reply. "We have to get to the medical room… have to alert Felix… The plan's not finished… We need to destroy Babilon…"
"Hang on, Isaac," Mia whispered, casting Pure Ply. There was no improvement in her young friend's condition.
The Earth Adept sighed and fell into a frighteningly deep sleep.
"Isaac?"
The boy opened his eyes to find the faces of each of his friends staring back at him. Their concerned expressions softened to relief as he sat up.
"Do you feel okay?" Piers inquired. "You look awfully pale."
Isaac nodded, though it was a lie. His life was leaving him, and he could tell he wouldn't last the hour. The sun was bright above him, and the sky was clear and blue. He studied his surroundings and decided they were in Vale, but the city had changed from when he saw it in his dreams. Grass fringed the otherwise barren ground, and the trees that appeared long dead were putting out leaves and buds. Butterflies and birds and other wildlife scurried or fluttered past. If not for its utter desertion, it could have passed for the Vale of old.
"Mia told us," Sheba said grimly. "I don't understand why you didn't say anything."
Isaac chuckled. "Did I really need to? You're the psychic. Couldn't you tell?"
Ivan nodded, answering for both the Jupiter Adepts. "Still, you could have told us instead of hiding it like some deadly secret," he remarked.
"I knew it would come out this way," the young warrior sighed. "I just didn't think it would happen so soon… Any way you slice it, this story can't have a happy ending."
Felix shook his head in disagreement. "The other Adepts are all free. The people of Babilon got away safely. That floating eyesore is gone. And, most importantly, Babi is no more. You've done a world of good, Isaac. And in the end, no ending is really happy. People will always suffer. They will always die. We can't turn back time. You did all you could, and Weyard is indebted to you."
"No," Isaac said, smiling wistfully. "Now we're even." He closed his eyes and leaned back against a nearby tree. Jenna gasped.
"Isaac, no! You can't die now… You're finally free… After all that time, Isaac, you're free!" she cried.
"That's right," the young hero said, his voice little more than a whisper. "I'm finally… finally free…"
The end!
I like that I managed to work in the whole "this story can't have a happy ending" into the story itself. It has that much meaning than just saying it in an author's note. For those of you that are interested, I have a few pictures posted in my devART gallery, accessable from the website button in my profile.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. To all of you who reviewed. To all of you who read and didn't review. To all of you who only read to see what the schmuck was going on. I do, honestly and for truly, appreciate your support.
And I finished the story before the contest deadline! YAY! XD Review as ya see fit, folks! Spoonz out!