Unmei Force Shattered Heroes: Creative Power

Chapter 7: The Stronghold of the Arikans


The group moved into the first area of the zone, as they found themselves before the entrance of the castle, which was covered by a moat that had a lowered drawbridge for them to enter through.

"You've arrived at one of the Cybers' older bases, just as I suspected. It's probably been hidden in this dimensional nexus for centuries!" Savant remarked.

"We're chasing the signal from the big laser bot, right? Why would it go to some old castle?" Boki asked Savant.

"There must be a reason this base has stayed operational for so long." Savant explained. "We'll have to see what kind of secret this castle holds…"

"And I bet it will have something to do with the other guy who just greeted us." Popol agreed.

The three immediately noticed that there were a bipedal robot clad in knightly armor and a checkered shield, as it threw a flail at them, causing the group to dodge from it, before Heiwa flipped behind it, and attacked it from the back, destroying the robot, and dropping a power-up with the symbol of the flail.

Boki picked it up, as her colors turned grey, and she tested the new power, throwing her flail out several times, as it seemed to get past walls like a Wave shot would, as she used it to hit several targets that opened the path forwards, as they encountered more of the same kind of robot, as Boki used the flail to get the weapon behind the shields of the robots, and destroy them on the return trip of the weapon, easily taking care of them.

They then reached the next area, which seemed to be the courtyard of the castle, as they were patrolled by Exchikkes that were clad in the same armor as Exchikkalibur, and even having large floating weapons of their own, and likewise immune to the standard weaponry of the group.

The group prioritized wrenching control of the floating weapons from their owners, before using them to destroyed the armored Exchikkes quickly, which got them to the next area easily.

"How have my comrades been treating you?" The voice returned, fairly intrigued at the group's progress through the stronghold. "I'm certain that they are far better-trained and programmed than any foe you've faced before."

"Pfft, yeah right! They're just a bunch of… outdated pieces of junk, meow!" Boki boasted before Popol jostled Boki with the side of his spear, causing her to flinch. "Hey, what was that for?"

"I fight mostly like them, and I'm not some outdated warrior. I'm really powerful!" Popol pouted, as Boki grumbled slightly, although she didn't hold much annoyance towards the young warrior. "Speaking of which, whoever you are, I hope you're prepared for when we face each other. Your minions might be trained well, but I bet you that you won't be able to beat either of us!"

"Your feigned confidence, however passionate it is, does not give me pause." The voice responded back coolly. "We shall all see what you all are truly made of."

Popol huffed, as the group fought their way through the area, encountering ninja rabbit robots, and fighter-like versions of the small AC robots from before, which threw energy blasts and launched fiery uppercuts at the group.

"Hey wait, they kind of fight like Akuma!" Popol remarked at the resemblance of the robots' fighting style. "Huh, I guess that's interesting to see that they can even be able to do that… but I bet they can pull most of the moves that he's infamous for!"

Popol took care of the fighter robots, using his spear to block the blasts and parry the blows, while Heiwa picked up Remote, Explode and Bounce, to have the power to launch explosive shuriken that clung to the walls and exploded whenever Heiwa detonated them, as the explosions took out most of the other enemies.

The next area seemed to be a narrow passage, as the group spawned on the center of it, as there was black and white blade-wielding robots on both sides, with flail wielding robots on the ends of both sides. As soon as the group took care of them, a slew of knight Exchikkes appeared, with a mix of shield drones, as one of them was an elite variant with blue colors, as the group took the Exchikke weapons, and used them to take care of the new group.

"The stone walls of this fortress have weathered the ravages of time. Can you possibly hope to succeed where others have failed?" The voice asked the group.

"I'm a Kitera! Do you think a pile of rocks is going to get in my way!?" Boki retorted back.

The group appeared right before a cannon, as Boki and Popol helped to push it ahead, before Heiwa ignited it with a fireball, as the fuse burned away, and launched a fiery penguin-ball that exploded spectacularly like a cannonball, causing the path ahead to be cleared by hitting a target behind a wall they couldn't jump over.

"Cool…" Boki remarked, as Heiwa and Popol were equally dazzled.

The group proceeded through the area, using the cannons to blast away enemies in their path, as they found that there was a line of cannons at the end, pointed towards a swarm of Exchikkes floating above. With a single throw of a flaming flail, Boki lit the cannons up in one strike, as they blasted their ordinance onto the Exchikke horde, blowing them up with glorious synchronization.

"Something's bugging me about the Tasbehts here…" Boki remarked. "I know in the real world they display data and stuff for the enemy, instead of just bullseyes for me to hit. But in this castle, the targets are drawn on with actual paint. Why do they exist!?"

"Oh, so that was what those targets were back there. They were robots as well!" Heiwa realized, pounding a fist into her open hand as a gesture of recognition. "That explains why they dropped some power-ups when they were destroyed."

"Silence! These Tasbehts bravely show us vital battle plans in the head of combat, using magical shifting paint!" The voice rebuked Boki.

"Magical shifting paint, huh, 'magical' is right on point." Popol agreed.

"Woah, jeez, sorry for insulting your dumb wooden discs…" Boki grumbled.

The group moved through the next area, as it was the entrance to the actual castle itself, as the group fought their way through it, encountering more enemies along the way, as they acquire some invincibility power-ups in order to help protect them against the onslaught of enemy attacks that they were struck by as soon as they reached the next room in the area.

The next area was filled with cannons and plenty of enemies to fire upon, as the group began to circle around the area, blasting the enemies by igniting the cannons and avoiding getting dragged into the blast themselves, and using the acquired power-ups to deal with any stragglers, as it was a quick run through the area, due to how the floating weapons were potent for their offensive.

"Your powers are admirable. You fight your foes on even terms, using only their own powers against them. I respect that." The voice greeted them. "But you shall not succeed! Only my strongest soldiers remain, and we will hold nothing back!"

"I was about to ask the same! Let's do this!" Popol roared with spirit, as he jumped into the fray as soon as the group moved into the next area, as it was filled with a large amount of enemies, as Popol was cutting his way through them, acquiring some floating weapons to use as extra weaponry against his foes, as Heiwa and Boki assisted from afar using their power-ups.

At the end of the fight, Popol let out a victory cry, standing atop the defeated scraps of the enemy horde, just as they moved onto the next stage.

The next area seemed to be a straightforward run to the end of a passage, with so few enemies that the group easily took care of them with little problems, standing before iron gates which blocked their way to the next area.

"Indeed, even our finest troops fall in your wake." The voice declared with respect. "Nothing stands between you and us now. 'Tis time for us to draw arms."

"Bring it on!" Popol roared.

"We're ready for whatever you have against us!" Heiwa joined in with a hardened look in her eyes.

Boki looked at Popol and Heiwa, fairly surprised at the amount of passion they had for the fight ahead, before she then nodded, as the iron gates raised themselves, and the group passed through them.

When they entered the next area, it seemed to be a empty arena, as there was nothing but darkness around them, except for the platforms they could see, and on top of one of them, was a trio of cat-like robots with robotic black eyes that had coloured dots for irises, a pair of horns on their heads, and spindly legs, as well as capes on their back. They each had different colors on their irises, armour pads and cape. One had red irises, a broken left horn that was sparking electricity, blue coloring, wielding a blade made of disjoint crystals that were a gradient of color from red to yellow, with a blue cape, another had yellow irises, red coloring and cape, wielding a long-spear made from the same crystals in blue colors, while the last one had blue irises with a yellow coloring to its armor and cape, wielding a halberd made from the crystals with a green-purple tint.

"We finally meet, Boki Lamira and companions." The blue and damaged robot spoke first, with the same voice they heard through the zone.

"There you are! Stop wasting- Wait, why are there three of you here!?" Boki exclaimed, when she realized the situation.

"Is it not expected that we would even the odds?" The red robot spoke, with a feminine voice that seemed stern. "Three intruders, three of us. It is a fitting duel between two trios."

"So that's how it is, huh?" Popol remarked, raising his spear. "Before we start this then, tell us where that leader of yours has gone."

"I'm afraid that the one you seek is in a much grander castle." The yellow robot answered back with a male voice also. "But you shall not leave this place so easily. Your opponents this time…"

Suddenly, a trio of weapons descended down, as they impaled themselves into the ground, all of them being exact replicas to the weapons that the robots were wielding, except they were uncolored.

"...is us!" The three robots declared in unison, pointing at the group with their weapons.

"Come and face us…" The blue robot declared.

"Sword to sword, spear to spear, blade to blade…" The red robot continued.

"...And you shall be given a fight that none of you will forget." The yellow robot responded back. "In respect of your prowess, we will lend you copies of the Astral weapon. You may choose to forfeit that right, but Astral or no, we will still hold nothing back."

The trio eyed the weapons for a moment, as Boki picked up the sword, as there was a rainbow flash of light, as her body turned into the same colour as well. Popol and Heiwa looked at her for a moment, before they placed their own weapons on their backs, and took the remaining weapons, with Popol using the spear and Heiwa the halberd, as power flowed into the weapons, allowing them to use them as if they were their own.

Suddenly, a quintet of shapes began to circle around all of the combatants, which consisted of a red diamond, a yellow triangle, a blue five-point star, a green square, and a purple 4-pointed star. Popol and Heiwa gave their weapons a few test swings as it held well in their hands, as it did in Boki's hands, when she repeated the action also.

"Excellent, now that you have been given your weapons to this duel…." The blue robot declared, as they jumped off the platform. "...HAVE AT YOU!"

The Three Musketeers

Arikan x3

The robots immediately engaged their opponents in battle, each honing on the opponent who bears the same weapon type as they did. Popol barely managed to block the thrusting blow from his opponent, before he was blown back by a blast of blue energy that turned into a vortex of energy that hit him several times.

Heiwa managed to evade her opponents blow, as she then swung her weapon with a sweeping motion, as she dashed right through her opponent, leaving behind spiraling traces of purple crystals that twisted into her enemy. Heiwa didn't let her attack stop there, as she launched a series of rapid strikes that turned into fire waves that pelted her enemy.

Boki managed to dodge a downwards strike from her opponent, which created a burst of wind energy that she stayed away from, before she countered by launching a rising strike that exploded into thunder orbs that hit her enemy for further damage. At the same time, Popol evaded her opponent's thrust, before he then launched a vortex of his own at his enemy, dealing continuous damage on them.

As the group began to fight, they began to grasp the multiple abilities that their weapons had, as they needed time to let each and every attack that their weapons had charge on themselves for extra effect, as they quickly switched up their fighting style to alternate between moves, ensuring that their attacks became more and more effective against their opponents, evading their moves in turn.

Eventually, the robots were damaged enough, to show visible damage, before they charged up their power, causing auras of energy to emanate from them, as the attack potency of both sides were boosted severely, causing their attacks to start to deal severe damage, as fiery strikes were being thrown far across the field, vortexes of energy were closing both sides onto each other, lightning orbs that were thrown in the midst of the fighting shocked both sides, as well as blades of wind shearing against both flesh and metal.

At the end though, Boki, Popol and Heiwa managed to triumph over their opponents, as they launched an all-out attack, as they launched every attack they had in quick succession, as the robots exploded, although it merely knocked them kneeling to the ground.

"...Truly impressive. You are as powerful as you were expected to be… if not more by besting us so." The yellow robot admitted.

"Alright, like Popol said, tell us where your leader is! And don't be vague this time!" Boki demanded.

"Your victory was well-earned with fairness and honor, but we are not privy to the information you three seek." The blue damaged robot answered back.

"...I suppose there is one thing we do know. Our leader did visit this castle, prior to your arrival." The red robot explained. "He demanded control of a most fearsome ancient weapon that was being kept is an impenetrable machine, lasting entire centuries without suffering the smallest wound. For him to need such a device, I imagine his next course of action is total warfare."

"Wait, that's what they're doing!?" Heiwa exclaimed with surprise, before she then grabbed Popol and Boki forcefully. "Then we can't let them get away with this! We have to stop them from making that work, we have to defeat them after all!"

As the group sprinted through the gates on the other side of the area, the robots looked amongst themselves.

"Prepare thyselves, Boki Lamira and company. Your next victories shall not come easily." The blue robot warned the group, who were long gone.

"Truly… unknown variables are indeed a thorn to all of our sides." The red robot huffed.

"And yet… from that unknown… comes potential for greater strength… I can still see it still, even after trading blows with that girl…" The yellow one added.