Chapter 45

"Hah... hah..."

Shulk placed the Monado on his back, looking down.

"Is everybody alright?" he spoke, turning around.

In an instant his eyes flashed with fear. "GUYS RUN!" he shouted.

"What is problem, Shulk?" asked Riki as he waddled through the snow.

"We have to get out of here now!" Shulk gasped. "Oh no."

I looked back. "Wait a second... isn't that the... Avalaunche Abossay? Or something...?"

"It's the Avalanche Abaasy!" snapped Shulk. "There's no way we can fight it right now! We have... to... go!"

"That... that's a monster," breathed Sharla.

"So don't stand there and stare at it!" yelled Shulk. "C'mon, let's go!"

There was a large cave before us, and the dragon howled as it let out silver claws with a lunge.

"Andrew!" With a dive, Shulk tackled me, and the dragon slammed into the top of the entrance, crashing to the ground.

"It... Toppled itself?!" spoke Shulk.

"Then let it stay down a little longer!" declared Dunban. "Steel Strike!"

As soon as he struck, he went flying backwards. "UGH..."

Didn't it have an Instant Death thing? I thought. "But it was Toppled, so..."

"We have to get out! GUYS!" roared Shulk. "GO!" He ran forward, and I followed him.

"How about a little something..." Sharla loaded her rifle. "Head Shot!"

The dragon hissed, rising as the shot connected. It screamed.

"Damn!" cursed Shulk, grabbing the Monado. "Andrew! We gotta push it back so we can escape!"

I drew my own sword. "Alright... but doesn't it-"

"It can repel any attacks with so much extra added force you could go flying!" he spoke. "So what we have to do is attack without making direct contact, then run like hell!"

"Oh, okay. Let's do it then."

The Avalanche Abaasy took to the air, and ascended.

"It's preparing to charge," grunted Shulk. "Andrew, we just have to divert its path so it doesn't get through this cave, you get it?!"

"So it hits the part just above and then the cave will collapse in itself due to the lack of stability?" I asked, sensing the slight shaking within the cave.

"Yeah," nodded Shulk. "Sharla, Dunban, Melia, Riki! You guys go! Andrew and I will catch up in a second!"

"You are sure this is the best plan?" spoke Melia.

"There's no time! Dunban, everyone, just... GO!" roared Shulk.

At the raised voice, everyone flinched before starting to move away.

"Let's do this," spoke Shulk, as a purple aura surrounded the Monado. "MONADO PURGE!"

The Soul Demon appeared. "SOUL STAB STRIKE!" I shouted.

The combined force of the attacks caused the best to hiss as its path shifted, hitting the side of the cave.

At the same time, I felt my arm snap back, dislocating the limb as I staggered backwards. "ARGH!"

"Andrew, we have to go!" shouted Shulk.

There was a loud rumbling, as rocks and other debris started to fall.

The sudden smell of rock and dust assaulted my senses, and I coughed as I started to run.

A roar rang out and fire shot through any holes in between the still falling rubble, expanding once inside the cave somehow.

"Oh no..." I heard Shulk say, before the dragon charged through the entrance, fire already streaming outwards.

And all of us were gone.

...

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

"Ugh..."

I opened my eyes and managed to use my heavy arms to pick myself off the ground.

"Damn... the hell happened...?"

I shook my head and looked around myself.

"Wait a sec... agh..."

I held my head.

"Crap... this is... Sword Valley..." I spat out blood. "But where exactly...?"

It felt like focusing too much was impossible, due to the constant pounding on my head,

I looked behind me to see a large chasm.

"What the..."

There was a faint glow present there, radiant with Ether.

"It... kinda... it's like... the glow of the Monado..." I mumbled aloud.

I grunted, holding a hand to my side. "Ugh... UGH!"

I forced my hand away. My hand was burnt, though not to the extent of my torso and such, judging by the almost excessive heat.

"Ow..." With another groan I started to wander off, and picked my sword off the ground nearby.

A loud mechanical hissing burst out and a Mechon descended down a cliff, glaring at me.

"Great." I willed the gauntlets and greaves to form, ignoring the burning sensation as I forced both charred hands into fists. "Fantastic, in fact."

It doesn't have a face, though, so I should be alright...

I dodged a laser, and an aura concentrated around my gauntlet as I started to run closer.

The machine growled and a boxing glove popped out to deflect my punch.

"Geez!" I grunted, doing a push-up under a second punching glove. "Why punching gloves, they're-WHOA!"

I rolled away as something slashed down with a... something, cutting the Mechon in half.

I grunted, settling into a fighting stance.

This thing... it's not a Mechon, I thought. Not... completely Mechon, anyways...

But this feels way too familiar...

The being, clad in metal armour, turned towards me.

"Aw shit," I muttered. "Of course this has to happen."

"Hey, Andrew!" grinned Reyn. "It's been a while." He placed what looked like a massive, heavy Driver on his back with one hand.

"Uh... yeah," I replied. "Uh... shoot, why'd we have to get separated now?" I groaned, letting both gauntlets and greaves return to rings.

"What do you mean?" The Homs tilted his head.

Though that was no longer correct, actually. It was clear he had become...

"A Machina, if I remember right...?" I mumbled. "No, it's... faced Mechon or...?"

"Hey, what happened? What happened to Sharla, Shulk, Dunban and all the rest?"

"Oh, um..." I scratched the back of my head. "We... all got totally wrecked by this super dragon."

"A super dragon, huh...?" Reyn looked thoughtful.

His pupils dilated, before returning to normal.

"Sorry, man... but you have to die."

"Wait, what? I do?" I took a half step back with my right foot.

"Must obey Egil..." Reyn breathed. "And Egil demands... that those by the name of Shulk, Sharla, Dunban, Melia and Andrew must perish."

"You're missing Riki, mate," I told him. Dammit... I have to fight a Mechon Reyn now?!

At this rate I'm gonna end up killing Shulk in the fight against Zanza or some stupid crap like that!

"Sorry, Andrew... don't hold it against me!" he shouted, charging forward.

"Yeah..." I slammed my fists together as the gauntlets formed. "That's my line."

...

"Good... so those Homs have all scattered," spoke Egil, inside his control room.. "And that one... Reyn has encountered that "Andrew"... hmph."

He sat back.

"It would appear that it's the end of the road, Homs..."

"UGH!" A Homs with a red blade slammed onto the ground.

"And there's one of them." Egil stood.

"You shall make for a good Mechon..."