A Dark Cloud 2 Fanfic
Chapter 4: A Gift Beyond, A Will----By The Several
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The screeching got louder, and so did the panicked murmering by the frightened townsfolk. There, in the middle of Nothing, anything could lurk in the darkness. Their enemies were close, that much they were sure of.
Suddenly, the space-distorting demons crashed down from the time barrier Dr. Osmond set up. Unlike the first attackers, these ones were hardly invisible and took a bird-like form.
"A different type of those space-distortin' varmints," Donny commented as he sets up his Glacier Machinegun for action. "These will be easier to look for, that much for certain!"
"Well then we better hurry in doing that, lads, 'cause there's more coming this way!" Cedric exclaims as he poised his battle wrench for action and rushed into the fray.
Max and Monica did so as well as Mayor Need took the rest of the townsfolk into safety.
As she took down the flying demons with her father's gift sword, the holy Daedalus, she looks back to Need who was doing his best in leading his townspeople to safety. "Heh, I used to think that mayor of yours was a wimp."
"He's changed," Max replied to her at the same time he replied to the attackers with bullets from his transforming gun, Reguel, in its final machinegun form, Last Resort. "We've got to give the same effort too."
"Way ahead of you," Monica smirked as she aimed her arms to the sky and unleashed cyclone winds with her magic brassard, Sanctity. The whirling boomerangs cut through her flying opponents who dissipate in defeat.
"Whoa! What the darn cryin' cow is happenin'?" Donny suddenly erupted. He then shakingly points to the end of the train station, which to everyone's surprise, the landmass was increasing!
"What's going on? Is the land returning?"
"We'll worry about that later," Monica interrupted. "Watch out!"
Thanks to Monica's warning, Max evades, but only barely escaping fromvibrations the flying abominations sent through their "mouths" as they unleashed an earth-shaking quake on him. "Ahhh! That's loud!" Max exclaims as he covered his ears from hearing their banshee screams.
"That must be their attack," Monica figured as she slashed the attacker in half. "A focused sound wave with enough strength to pack a deadly punch."
"Evade those at all costs!" Donny shouted to everyone. "If your skin gets hit by their sound, you'll end up with only a wound. But if it hits your hard bones, there's enough vibration to get devastating results!"
"You mean we'll end up boneless?" Cedric questioned hysterically.
"Worse," Donny replied with a sweat, "or you could explode inside out!"
"Damn!" Monica cursed as she tore a few more of her enemies apart. "If these guys just keep coming like this... No! It has to end here now!" With that, she takes out another sword, Dark Cloud, and equips it in her other hand. She also takes out several more brassards and equips it one on each hand and on each leg. "Now we'll see who's cookin'!"
She jumps to the air as another of these nameless flying creatures go past. She lands on its back and does a sideways somersault. With her spin, she unleashes the full power of each of the brassards and blasts magic energy on all directions, creating a swirling vortex of destructive energy that even the toughest enemies would be sucked in its deadly typhoon. Thanks to her magic spin attack, she destroyed a miraculous number of the flying fiends.
"Awesome!" Max commented, but knowing that so much energy output will tire her out. He runs underneath to where she was, and as she fell down, was ready to catch her.
"Nice catch," Monica said exhaustingly. "But Max, I need to tell you something…"
Max looks around and sees that everyone has destroyed the remaining flying creatures that Monica didn't destroy. "Well, I guess it's okay now. What is it?"
Monica opened her mouth, but no words came out. "Maybe… It's better to tell it to everyone."
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The group gathered again near the Blackstone train, waiting for the speech Monica wanted to give. Max could see her reluctancy in telling her story, and it gave him a dark sense of forboding… an ominous foretelling.
"I think…" Monica started in a low tone but cautious tone so that the townsfolk around couldn't hear. "…These space-distortion demons we just fought… I think they're remnants of time that was destroyed by our enemy."
They all thought for a moment. With Monica's explanation, it made more sense. But what got them all thinking was why Monica was so reluctant to say so.
"It makes a bucket o' sense," Donny concluded. "When we destroyed them flyin' critters, a piece of the original landmass of this time period came back. That means if we destroy them all, we can get this time period back to the way it was!"
"It's not easy to restore a whole world piece by piece, lad," Cedric grumblingly replied to Donny's enthusiastic answer. He then looked to Monica with a serious tone and said, "But that's not all, is it?"
"No…" Monica replied, her voice choking to spell out what she wanted to say. She looks at Max, saying to all of them, "They might also be the people in this time as well."
Everyone gasped. Monica didn't take her eyes out of Max's, her eyes ready to take tears. "That last one I killed… I somehow sensed your father was inside its shell…"
Max swallowed. She killed him. She killed his father. Monica killed his father. It sounded neither like good news nor bad news.But whenever there was a time for things to turn for the worst, then this must have been it. "B-But that means… he'll turn back into human, right? L-Like the landscape did?"
Osmond patted his shaking shoulder. "I'm sorry, Max… But since wherever he turns back into human is not protected by my shield, the only two things that could have happened to him is he turned back into one of those space-anomalies. Or…"
"…Or died right there where Monica killed his abominated body," Max interrupted, looking at the ground. He didn't want to look at Monica, for fear of hating her for finishing of what was left of his dear father. He wanted revenge. He thought he could control it, but it was a rage so far off, the point of no return vanished before it appeared. Although he knew it wasn't her fault, his anger could only think of pointing the blame at someone. Anyone. Even if it was Monica.
But he couldn't. That wasn't Max. He would have rathered blame himself for his own father's death than blame it on Monica, or rather, than blame it on anyone else. His anger took the form of tears that fell like an echo to the floor.
"Um, Max…" Monica stutteringly said. At that time, it would have been better to have left him alone to let him recollect his thoughts. But time was something they could not afford, and what she had to show might bring him back to light.
Max looked to her first with tears… and then with sudden surprise and amazement. "W… What's that in your hand?"
Everyone stared wonderously at the piece of silver crystal glowing in Monica's hand as she reach out to show it to Max. "It fell from the creature whose presence I felt your father in… I think it's a gift from him…"
"What do you mean?" Max asked, trying to find both answers and comfort in her words.
Monica then held the crystal close to her heart. "This is a fragment of your father's will. If I hold it close to my thoughts, I feel like I can hear his voice…" She then looks to Max with a smile. "With this, I can transform into one of those flying creatures, enabling me to leave the safety of the shield to search for theanswers we're looking for."
"Max... there's still hope."
To be continued…---------------------------
NEXT CHAPTER: Gerald's will to protect his only son enable the duo to search for the inerasable tablet with a badge of transformation. With a way to get the stone tablet within their grasp, will they be able to finally find the name of their undefeatable enemy – and with that, a way to destroy it forever?
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The Several: I've powered up Monica's arsenal, as you have read so far. A magic brassard on all limbs and two-sword fighting! Plus, she has her own space-distortion monster transformation! Now, she's even more kick-ass than ever! I wonder what Max is going to learn this time to catch up to her kick-assiness? Certainly no less than what she's gotten!
Also, I'd like to take this time to congratulate everyone for keeping Dark Cloud alive. You know, when I made my first story, there were only at least 50 DC stories. Now when I checked, there's more than double of that! Thanks to everyone who makes and reads the Dark Cloud fanfics!