Chapter 26: Further Engagements

Snake: It's over… brother…

He whispered under his breath, more to himself than to Oceliquid. He then turns around quickly as Albedo walks by him towards Oceliquid. Albedo kneels down beside him, ready to carry him off.

Snake: Hey! Don't move him! You could kill him!

Albedo: There are no medics around to do it.

Albedo lifts him up in both arms before Snake could protest any further. All Oceliquid could do was moan further. Albedo carries him off to the far left of the room, where Albedo places him on the ground. Jr was surprised to see how careful Albedo had been with Liquid. Was it possible that they had become friends? He discarded the possibility. He couldn't believe Albedo knew anything other than destruction.

Albedo: I guess that's one for you, zero for us.

He said, as he began walking towards the center of the room while Snake walked towards the party. Albedo seemed to be a bit more serious since Oceliquid was defeated moments ago, but he didn't want to show any weakness, so his mocking tone returned.

Albedo: Now it's our turn, Rubedo.

He said as he extended his arms out to his side.

Albedo: Aren't you exited?

Jr began walking towards Albedo, his head tilted forward a bit. Anger and hatred could be seen in his eyes as he stared at Albedo.

MOMO: Jr…

Jr's eyes widen. They soften as he turns around to face her.

MOMO: You don't have to fight alone, Jr.

Chaos: Yeah, we can fight alongside you.

Jr: Thanks… but I can do it alone. I want to do it…

MOMO: But…

Snake: Let him. Believe in him. That is the best that you can do for him now.

MOMO: O… okay…

Jr: MOMO… thank you.

Albedo: Are you done yet? C'mon!

Jr turns around and continues walking towards Albedo. He was more composed now. He stops a few feet away from him. They were ready to fight.

Albedo: Are you ready to finish this, Rubedo?

Jr: I'm ready to finish YOU!

Albedo: Oooooh! Such confidence! Well, let's see if you have the power to back up your words!

With a quick motion of his hand, he unleashes a blast of dark energy at Jr. Jr simply catches it by stretching out his left hand. He then transfers his own flame energy into it, and sends it back at Albedo. He tries to catch it, but underestimates its power. It strikes his entire body and blasts him down to the floor a few feet back. His entire chest was missing, purple energy seeping out of the wound like blood. It slowly stopped and he began go regenerate his body back.

Albedo: I- impossible!

He said, as he sat up. He was completely bewildered.

Jr: I'm taking you down. My weakness was what led to your madness. Now my strength will lead me to end it.

Albedo: How did you gain such strength!

He said, as he stood up.

Jr: …The Zohar…

Albedo: The…

Albedo then witnesses the flashback of when Jr and the rest collapsed on Old Miltia.

Albedo: …Zohar… So that's why Snake was far more powerful than before as well… Well, it seems you have been contaminated by power like me, as you yourself put it.

Jr: I still have my sanity!

Albedo: Oh really? And is that really such a great thing? Ha ha haa! Well, I guess there's no holding back. I was going to play with you a bit before finishing you, but I guess this way will be much more interesting.

A sinister smile spreads across his face.

Jr: Shut up! This isn't some game!

Albedo: I know, it's a fan fiction.

Jr: What?

Albedo: Uh… forget it.

Jr: You see, you are insane.

Albedo: Say what you want, but you're going down, Rubedo!

Albedo dives into the air and comes down like a meteor on Jr with a powerful punch. Jr holds up his hands and creates a protective barrier in front of himself. The impact of both their powers results in a blinding light that subsides moments later.

Albedo: Arrghh!

Jr: Ahhhhhgh!

Albedo was still trying to go through Jr's defenses, but Jr held on strong. There were waves of energy flying from them. Their power was immense. If one where to stop countering the other, the massive wave of power could destroy the entire room, possibly launching them into space. But neither would yield. Jr then gathers all of his strength and pushes against Albedo, sending him skidding across the floor. They both then jump high into the air. What happens next are a series of explosions as they collide into each other with all of their energy blasting at the other at an attempt to knock the other down. Everything was happening so quickly. The team was shocked at the power of the two. They could no longer be seen. The air above them was filled with an amazing aura of power. Albedo and Jr were lost within it as they continued to zoom about, fighting each other. Suddenly, the clouds of energy began to clear. Everyone waited in anticipation. Once it cleared, both Albedo and Jr could be seen in the air, facing each other. They both looked exhausted.

Albedo: Not bad… for a little guy.

Jr: This little guy is taking you down…

He manages to say between breaths.

Albedo: No, I think we've had our fun. It's time for me to go.

Jr: What!

Albedo: Don't worry, we'll see each other soon enough.

Jr: We end this now!

Albedo: We have…

With that, he flies to the exit behind Margulis. He moved so fast, Jr couldn't do anything to stop him.

Margulis: Albedo! What are you up too!

His call remained unanswered.

Jr: Damn it Albedo!

He began to pursue him, but Ziggy stopped him.

Ziggy: Jr! We're not done here yet. We shouldn't become separated.

Jr: Rrghh…

He hesitates, but flies back to where the team is.

Margulis: It does not matter. You will not get past me. I do not know how it is that you've gained such power, but it does not matter. Jin, I wish to fight you first!

He begins moving towards the center of the room.

Jin: As do I.

He says, as he approaches the center of the room where Margulis was now waiting. They both had their hand on the handle of their swords.

Margulis: I assume you don't fall behind the others and have also gained greater power.

Jin: You are correct. You should just step aside.

Margulis: Hmph.

There was a sly mile on his face.

Margulis: I was holding back in our last encounter. My power is far greater than what you witnessed.

Jin: And so is mine.

They perform their ritual once more. This was to be their last.

Margulis: Come!

Jin swings his sword in a wide, horizontal arc at waist height. Margulis brings his sword up vertically to block the attack, the tip of the blade pointing to the ground. Sparks fly as both their swords meet. Margulis quickly follows up with an upward slash. Jin spins to his left to evade it and brings his sword forward in a thrusting motion. Margulis moves to the side, but Jin was fast enough to cut his left shoulder. Margulis jumped back and raised his sword. There were droplets of blood running down his arm.

Margulis: Not bad.

Jin: You've seen nothing yet.

Jin brings his sword up to his face vertically. It looked as if his sword was dividing his face in two. The blade began to glow and eerie blue. Without warning, he lunges at Margulis with a series of slashes. Margulis meets each with a swift defensive strike, but he was getting pushed back. The continuous attack continued and Margulis saw no other way out of it. Jin continues to slash, but when Margulis sees an opening, he teleports, leaving two remnants of himself, one on each side of Jin. He had no clue where Margulis had moved to. Jin then ducks with great speed as a sword from behind zooms by where his neck was. He springs in the air, spinning horizontally with his blade, striking at Margulis' who was now standing behind him. Margulis loses his hold on his sword, as it flings into the air. Jin quickly dashes as Margulis, intending to finish the fight. He swings his blade downward but hits nothing but another remnant. Margulis had jumped high in the air. He catches his sword as it came down, and lands gracefully a few feet away from Jin, his back turned to him. Margulis turns his head and looks at Jin over his shoulder. Jin was no facing him, ready to continue the fight.

Margulis: Not bad.

He turns around.

Margulis: I have never lost hold of my sword before.

Jin: You'll be loosing your head soon enough.

(Note to my readers, this is the spot where I stopped writing almost 2 years ago. I know, weird place to stop, right in the middle of a fight. And the worse thing is, I hardly remember anything I had planned! And I'm an even worse writer than I used to be back then, so I hope I don't ruin it, but I feel I must finish it, so I'm gonna give it a go. I'm just letting you know, in case you notice something different with the writing. Those 2 years were the reason.)

His left arm begins to glow with blue energy. He dashes at Margulis a few steps then leaps high into the air and unleashes a powerful blast of energy down at Margulis. He slices the blast in half with a quick upward slash, sending two rays of blue energy blazing past him. He quickly jumps up at Jin as he was coming down. Margulis dives at him, thrusting his word at him. Jin's own attack blinds him as the two blasts that Margulis had deflected hit a wall and cause a bright explosion. Just as Margulis is about to strike him, Jin slashes with his sword, hitting Margulis' and deflecting the attack. Margulis' body is forced to his left from the impact of their swords, but he uses this momentum to spin in the air and kick Jin in the stomach with his left leg. Jin is thrown away from the strong kick. He lands on his back with a loud thud as Margulis graciously lands on his feet.

Margulis: Is that it?

Jin gets up. He didn't seem hurt.

Jin: You wish.

Margulis: Good, because I want to enjoy this! I will show you how much stronger I've become!

He shifts his sword in his hands and stabs the ground with it. Then an enormous wall of flames over ten feet tall appears and careens towards Jin.

MOMO: That…

Ziggy: If he had used that much power against us we would have fried… Wait, what is he doing!

Jin starts dashing towards the flame. He raises his sword and slashes at the wall of flames just as it is about to strike him. He tears a hole with a quick slash and jumps through and continues dashing towards Margulis.

Margulis: Impossible!

He quickly takes his sword out of the ground and guards himself just as Jin thrusts his sword at him. Margulis manages to divert the sword away from his chest, but he still gets cut on his right side. Margulis tries to raise his sword to knock Jin's sword away, but Jin is faster and pulls it back before their swords make contact. Margulis loses a bit of his balance and stagers a bit to his left. Jin takes this opportunity and attacks again, slashing downward towards Margulis' head. Margulis manages to pull his body even further left, but he can't dodge fully and Jin's sword comes down on his right shoulder. His sword goes right through and completely cuts off Margulis' arm.

Margulis: Graaarrrhh!

He screams and falls on his side as his blood gushes out of the enormous wound. Jin takes a step back but keeps his sword ready.

Margulis: Arrrggh! This- this can't be! How- could you be this strong! I- I can't be defeated. I won't!

Margulis starts getting up. He struggles using only one arm, but manages to get on his feet. Jin braces himself, but does not attack. He was unarmed, not because one got sliced off, but because his sword was still being held by the severed limb.

Jin: You can't fight with a wound like that! You need to get treated!

Margulis: There is no going back… That woman, Shion, must become the body, the body of Deus. Only then can it lead us back to Lost Jerusalem. Anyone who gets in our way must perish. You will not allow Shion to become the sacrifice, will you?

Jin: No, I would not.

Margulis: Then that is why I must remove you and any other obstacle in our way.

He staggers over to where his arm is. He had lost a lot of blood, and continued to lose it. But his resolve would not let him pass out. He bends down and takes his sword from his severed limb. He stands back up and looks at Jin, as he wobbles a little from the blood loss.

Jin: There is nothing else you can do. Look at you. You can hardly stand up.

Margulis: Shut up and die!

He quickly moves towards Jin and wildly slashes downward at him. Jin quickly steps forward and thrusts his blade at him, sending his sword right through his stomach. Margulis' arm goes over Jin's shoulder and loses grip of his sword, sending it towards the ground, striking right behind Jin. The sword went through the ground several inches. Margulis still had much strength left. But he was now dying, coughing out his blood over Jin's shoulder.

Margulis: Why…? Why do you refuse the light…

Jin: You've sacrificed so many lives to reach this… light. Nothing is worth the life of so many people.

Margulis: People…? They weren't people… They were nothing. Cough!

He continued to cough out blood. He didn't have much longer to live.

Margulis: They had lost their light… their will to create. They were nothing.

Jin: They were living beings!

Margulis: They were… living things… caught in a cycle of consumption… they were nothing… You were different… I trained you for it… But you refused the light… and joined the worthless masses…

Jin: Master… I wish it didn't have to end this way.

Margulis raises his head to look at Shion. She and the others were looking at this in silence. They could not hear their conversation for they were too far away. Margulis manages to raise his arm and points at Shion.

Margulis: You…

He says to her. He was struggling to talk loud enough for her to hear.

Shion: Me…?

Margulis: You must… become the vessel… Help… humanity… You… mu…st…

Those were his final words. His head falls on Jin's shoulder and becomes limb. Jin tilts him forward, putting his arm on Margulis' back and carefully retracts his sword. He thrusts it into the ground next to Margulis' sword. He then carries Margulis in his arms and starts walking to where Oceliquid had been placed. He sets Margulis' lifeless body next to Oceliquid. He crosses his arms and closes his eyes. Jin stands up and starts walking towards the two swords thrust in the ground near the center of the room. The rest of the party goes to join him.

Shion: Jin…

Jin says nothing and takes out his sword and puts it in his sheath. He then takes out Margulis' and walks over to his body. He set's down Margulis' sword right beside him.

Jin: Rest in peace… master.

He turns around and meets the rest of the team near the entrance of the next room.

Snake: You alright kid?

Jin: Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Let's move on, there is much to do.

Snake: I don't think there is much of a hurry. Without Shion, it doesn't seem like they can do anything.

Shion brings her hands to her chest and looks down.

Ziggy: Yes, you're right. But aren't we just bringing her to them?

Chaos: They would come after her eventually. We couldn't hide her forever.

Shion: What if… what if I died?

Everyone: What!

Allen: Chief, what are you saying!

Shion: If I weren't alive, they wouldn't be able to make that weapon. Perhaps it would just be best if… one of you killed me…

Snake: Perhaps that would be the easiest solution.

Allen: H-hey!

Snake: BUT there is no need to sacrifice any more lives. I say we go and take out Wilhelm himself. I don't mind sacrificing his life.

Shion: But…

Chaos: I agree. Besides, if we don't do anything now, I'm sure he will create another one like us both. He now has the Y data and the Zohar. It shouldn't be too difficult for him to manipulate other's lives to achieve his goals. We have to stop him now.

Shion: I… I see…

Jr: Yeah, so don't worry about it Shion. Let's just get going. I'm aching to finish things off with Albedo.

Shion. O-okay. Let's go.