Arc VII: Lonely River
It has been some time since this ordeal of humanity began.
To all of the citizens of the city of new motion,
A decade of sadness, fear, death and hopelessness has passed.
Yet they do not understand that this ordeal began centuries ago,
Brought about by the sins of their ancestors.
Those who came before committed despicable acts.
Yet those who came after have no need to atone.
I am the one who governs the inner self of humanity.
Thus, it is my goal to help mankind learn of it's own darkness,
Yet embrace their truth and grow as people.
This is not the first time I have aided those of potential.
And it will not be the last.
For each time, I will watch as humanity grows further,
No matter how many battles they face.
Yet there are worse things than fighting.
Those with potential have already lost many once dear to their hearts.
Family and Friends, those who provided solace to them.
Now they have lost another friend, her sound of sorrow echoing through the abyss.
Alas, there will be no reprieve for those in mourning.
The journey has one stop before all comes to an end…and I shall be watching.
Chapter 66: Rage, Rifts, Regret
|Secret Base|22:00 pm|
Amara was hysterical. She had sworn to her mother in Heaven that she'd bring her dad back safely, and she had failed miserably. And the last thing she saw of him was his body being transformed into something truly monstrous. Tomas, a friend since her childhood, had sent him down this path. How could they have descended into such madness? Was there anything she could have done to prevent this?
"Amara…" Seraphina said. Amara looked up, but she couldn't focus on anything else. Not after what happened. She started looking at the other Amara. She was in just as bad a way, wiping tears from her eyes. Not just her - everyone was shaken and disturbed. Tomas had utterly betrayed them, and now he was gone. The Divine Spark had destroyed him and Rudo.
"Seraphina, surely you realise she wants to be alone." Serena said, nudging Seraphina.
"I...apologise." Seraphina said. "Aimee, I think it would be for the best if our otherworldly comrades returned from whence they came. Do you not agree?"
"...You're right." Aimee said. "All of you, go on home. You might want to wait a while before you come back…"
"Come on, Amara." Nathan said, holding a sobbing Amara's hand. "We have to go home."
"That's right! Go!" Other Amara screamed. "Go back home! It's not your dad this happened to! It's mine! For real! Go away, all of you!"
Amara couldn't utter a word. She gasped, and ran through the NDD crying. Nathan, Serena and Blaine quietly followed, leaving everyone else to look at each other in silence.
|Saragel - Town Hall Museum Ruins|22:14 pm|
The entire museum had been engulfed by a mass of pure power. Nothing of it remained once it was gone. Part of Saragel's history had been erased, leaving nothing in it's wake. To the civilians who watched the nightmarish occurrence from their windows, it was an omen of worse things to come. Their screams echoed throughout the area, as their eyes gazed at the dark crater left behind. Now, only Legarte was left to endure the Divine Spark. And after that, no one could say what was to come.
Dan and Shirley had watched the whole thing before their very eyes. She was silent, unable to process what she had just seen. The screams of the people did not register for them both. For in their minds, they feared the worst. Death for all who were inside.
"What...the hell was that?" Shirley asked. "The Museum, it's…all gone!"
"They're called Divine Sparks. That was the fifth one…" Dan said, solemnly. "I just hope everyone got out in time."
"What do you mean 'everyone'?" Shirley asked. "How did you even know I was in there?"
"With a psychic girl helping us, we tend to know things in advance. Seems her power is a little selective." Dan said, gazing at the crater. "Look, we need to get away from this place. Not only are the Ornatu Legion going to show up, the Shadows are gonna start coming."
"What?" Shirley said. "But...I'm -"
"Listen to me. You trust me, don't you?" Dan asked. "If Aeternus are the ones who left you to die in that place, there's no way I'm letting you go back to them. Come on, stay with me. Please."
Shirley was quiet, and looked away. It dawned on Dan what she was really worried about. Lucy, of course. If she had to face Lucy in combat, it would be hell. And that hell was one Dan had been through himself…
"You there!"
Ornatu Legion soldiers came rushing through in every directions, pointing their weapons.
"Are you two the ones responsible for this explosion? You're coming with us! Now!"
Dan grabbed Shirley's arm, and before she could object, started running away, pushing several soldiers to the ground. Some of them started to run in pursuit, but behind him, Dan could hear many Shadows. Just as he feared…perhaps they could keep the Legion busy for a while.
"Dan! Where are we going?!" Shirley asked.
"I don't know, somewhere with an NDD!" Dan said. Then he saw a large hotel-like building. In his hurry, he only caught the word 'Vanguard'. "Here looks good! There's probably an NDD in here, too!"
"What?" Shirley asked. "But Dan, this is -"
Dan slammed the door open, and looked around. This place seemed familiar…it looked well-maintained. Perhaps a little too nice for a hotel, considering the city's situation. Suddenly, he heard footsteps from upstairs.
"Dan..." Shirley said. "Look...we've been followed."
"Fucking hell." Dan said. "Listen, punk, get out of my face - oh boy."
Dan gulped. Behind him in the doorway was no punk. Instead, a Shadow. It was a peculiar looking monster, to stay the least. It had taken the shape of a jet black motorcycle, with fearsome spikes on the wheels and flames coursing through the tyres. The machine had a Chariot mask instead of a number plate. The rider was a skeletal humanoid figure that had clothes in black leather, with a Emperor mask.
"Fuck!" Dan shouted. "Dammit, I don't stand a chance against that thing like this...come on!"
"What? Where are we going?" Shirley asked. Dan grabbed her hand again, and she sighed. Dan ran upstairs, shoving past panic-stricken Ornatu Legion Soldiers, and ran into an open room. He hurriedly locked the door, and drooped to the floor, sighing heavily.
"Dan." Shirley said. "You do realise what you've gotten us into, right?!"
"What?" Dan said. "I thought this place would be safe?"
"It would be if it wasn't an Ornatu Legion camp!" Shirley shouted. "I thought you got me out of trouble, but now we're stuck here! Those Ornatu guys can't beat those Shadows!"
"I know." Dan said. "Sorry. I wanted to get you somewhere safe, but...I can't even do that."
"This is ridiculous! Lucy's still out there! I know she is!" Shirley said. "And thanks to you, she could be killed before I find her!"
Dan was quiet. He got up, and looked outside the window. He gulped as he saw Ornatu Legion soldiers being flung outside the main entrance, amidst screams from nearby citizens.
"Fine. I screwed up." Dan said. "But it's not over yet. You're forgetting something. I've got a lot of friends like me. And they'll get the job done, trust me."
Shirley stared at him, confused, as he pulled out his mobile. He smiled - it helped to have friends in low places, so to speak.
|Secret Base|22:20 pm|
"I think we need to try and clear up what just happened. First of all…Tomas lied to us about his scheme to destroy the Divine Sparks. He merely wanted to defeat the Ater Vox so neither they or we would get involved with his own plans…" Aimee said.
"That's crazy!" Other Blaine said. "What was that stuff he was saying about doing inhuman stuff for progress, anyway?"
"His methods for creating his Personas were top secret." Aimee said. "Yet he took two men, injured from a fight, and he tortured them. He killed them! He turned their suffering into Belial and Nebiros! That's what he meant! Inhumane - that's the only word to describe it!"
"Aimee, please. Try and stay calm." Priscilla said.
"What was his real plan, then?" Other Nathan asked.
"Just as inhumane! He wanted to find the location of a Divine Spark and be right in the centre of it. With the sheer amount of energy a Divine Spark unleashes...he could use that to gain far greater power than he already had! Then he could gain control of the Eternal Road…and recreate the world!" Aimee said. "Yet Archibald has already put a stop to his insane dream -"
"No he didn't! Tomas and Rudo survived Archibald's assault. I saw them!" Other Amara said, still angry. "Don't you remember anything?! Keisha saw it too! She ran into the smoke, just as it happened..."
"Then Tomas and Rudo could still be alive?" Other Serena asked.
"Yeah..." Matthew said, sadly. "And now Keisha's either dead or in Inanis..."
Tara stared at him, and opened her mouth, about to say something. Then she thought on what she was going to say.
"I was never fond of Keisha, but...I hope she's not dead." Tara said. "Eight of us survived the Divine Spark of Farawell, after all. Keisha can survive this one."
"How come we survived, though? How do you explain that?" Bianca asked. "We were found in the crater caused by the Divine Spark, but our commander wound up in Clairdol Village."
"Who can say?" Priscilla said. "But either way, going to Inanis right now would be far too dangerous. You've seen how much a Divine Spark generates. The amount of Shadows there would be exponentially more than normal. And the Inanis version of the Museum - you can imagine how much more risky it would be to go inside, yes? Especially if we consider who would be inside it!"
"But that means Tomas will absorb all the power of the Divine Spark, and we'll have to face him in battle again. And he'll be far stronger than he was before." Kyle said. "We can't expect the Ater Vox to deal with him, either. I never thought we would end up having two enemies to worry about..."
"This is all your fault, Roger!" Karen screamed. "If you hadn't attacked those men that day, Tomas never would have taken them away! They never would have become Nebiros and Belial! This Divine Spark would have only destroyed the Museum, and not people's lives!"
"My fault?!" Roger shouted. "You think Tomas wouldn't have found some other people to experiment on? Maybe he'd have beaten them up first! You know he's a psycho! And how was I supposed to know Keisha knew them?"
"That's right..." Aimee said. "Keisha was planning to confront Roger about Nick and Brad. She dyed her hair purple so he wouldn't know it was her. If this Divine Spark hadn't happened, she might have kept waiting for a moment to strike Roger down..."
Suddenly, Matthew got up and punched Roger right in the face. Roger, stunned, was speechless.
"All of this is down to you! You stupid prick! Keisha could still be here! Maybe I could have convinced her to stop what she was planning to do! Maybe you two could even become friends! But how can that happen now? She's stuck in Inanis, with a crazy scientist!" Matthew shouted.
"You little asshole..." Roger muttered, standing up. He wiped blood from his cheek, glaring into Matthew's eyes. Matthew was quite a bit shorter, but he continued to snarl. "I was just waiting until I could sort things out with her. I had no clue this was gonna happen! So what, you and Karen are both calling me the monster here? Me? I was just defending myself against some punks! I got carried away, sure! But I wasn't the one who turned them into Personas! He's the one you ought to be mad about, not me!"
"It wasn't just Brad and Nick, was it?" Tara asked. "You said it yourself. You used your Persona to…kill! How could you?!"
"What other choice did I have?! I tried to use Kanaloa to make them back down. Most of the time, it worked, but sometimes…they thought it was a hallucination. In this world, only the strongest survive! And I sure as hell wasn't going to show any weakness. But - ah, what's the point? You people are two goody-goody to get it! You guys had your cosy basement to hide out in! Me, I had nothing! So I had to fight for food, shelter, warmth, everything!" Roger said.
"How can you say that?" Other Serena shouted. "We've all had to fight to survive! Thanks to Aeternus, everything's gone to hell! But we didn't go out and kill people!"
"You were a little kid!" Roger said. "You wouldn't have the guts to hurt anybody. Don't tell me I fucked up. I already know that! I get it. It's my fault Tomas found those boys and Keisha went crazy for revenge. That's it. So…if you want to tell me to get lost, don't bother. I'll go."
"Roger, wait!" Aimee said. "Please, don't go!"
"What?! Aimee, must you be so soft-hearted?!" Karen shouted. "You heard what this man did!"
"We're lucky we didn't have to kill anyone in self-defence!" Aimee said. "If he hadn't done so, he would have been killed, not random thugs on the street! I'm not saying what he did was right, but it's been done!"
"Oh yeah?" Matthew said. "So what about mass murderers? Rapists? Arsonists? They're free to go cause 'it's been done'? He has to realise his actions have consequences! Tonight, one of our own is probably dead beneath us!"
"Sorry, Aimee." Roger said, smiling weakly. "I know you don't like friends fighting amongst each other. Zao told me about him fighting with Karl over who got to play with you on your birthday…and you were crying because you wanted to play with them both. That was sweet."
"If you really gotta go, take care." Other Blaine said. "I mean it. I don't wanna hear Kyle reading about you dyin' online."
"He won't have to, I promise you that. Guess it's time I started flying solo again." Roger said. "But I'm not giving up the fight against Aeternus. Don't think I'll beg Archibald to take me in. Goodbye, Karen."
Karen gulped as Roger calmly typed in a code on the NDD. Without another word, he was gone.
Aimee looked at Tara, Karen and Matthew angrily, but said nothing. She sat down, eyes on the floor, whilst Priscilla tried to comfort her.
"Wait - where's Dan?" Matthew said, panicked.
"Shit." Other Blaine said. "Dan! He went downstairs to get someone! Oh god, what if he didn't make it in time-"
Before he could finish, Other Blaine's phone started to ring. Angry, he answered the call.
"Who the hell is this?" Blaine asked, furiously.
"That any way to talk to your best bud?" Dan's voice said. His hearty laughter could be heard throughout the base, and Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. Matthew smiled, cheerful again. "Sorry, dude. I couldn't call until now. You guys made it out okay, right?"
"Yeah, thanks to Aimee. But...for a moment, I thought you were -"
"You can't get rid of me that easily, Blaine. No matter how old you get, I'm gonna be there to keep an eye on ya. Someone has to. Hehe." Dan said. "Okay, enough talking. Two things I need you guys to do for me. Number 1: Me and Shirley had to run away from soldiers and Shadows and ended up inside that old Angelic Vanguard base in Saragel. You know, the one we fought Josephine at. There's some strong Shadows there. The Ornatu Legion are trying to fight it, but I think they're getting their asses handed to them. Most of them are running outside screaming for their mommies."
"So you want us to come rescue you?" Blaine said. "Fine, then I'm goin' -"
"Wait! I didn't tell you about Number 2! Okay, I'm with Shirley, yeah? She told me that Lucy's somewhere in the city lost. So you guys have to either help us or find Lucy. You got that?" Dan said.
"Lucy?" Blaine asked. "...Okay, we'll get going as soon as we can! You just stay safe, you got that? Keep you and Shirley out of trouble!"
"I will. See you guys soon!" Dan said, and he hung up.
"It seems we're launching into another battle..." Aimee said. "Seraphina, since we don't know precisely where Lucy is, I want you to be on the Lucy rescue team."
"Damn. Do I help out my best buddy or my girl...?" Blaine said, deep in thought.
"Leave my brother to me!" Matthew said. "I'll help him get out. Serena, Kyle, you two are with me!"
"Alright!" Serena said. "Come on, Kyle! We've got a job to do!"
Blaine looked to Matthew, and smiled. He proudly patted him on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.
"You've really grown up. Go on, help your sissy big brother." Blaine said. "You two, let Matthew lead. He won't let you down."
"I wasn't expecting him to." Kyle said. "But who's going with you and Seraphina?"
"Let me come." Kaman said. "Got nothing else going on tonight..."
"Thanks for all your love and support, man. You're always in my prayers." Blaine said. "Now come on, we're going! You guys hold the fort!"
"Hold on. Your team doesn't have anyone who can use healing spells. What if you run into trouble?" Tara said. "I'd better tag along."
The two teams got their weapons ready, and whilst Matthew went to Saragel, Blaine's team went to Legarte.
|Vanguard Hotel|22:34 pm|
A massive fight had come to a painful end. Entire walls had crumbled apart from what seemed like fierce attacks, and furniture had been destroyed by various means - fire, ice, etc. Matthew and the others looked around, and as they ventured into the foyer, they gasped.
Two fierce Shadows were blocking the entrance, and the Ornatu Legion soldiers who had foolishly stayed behind to fight it met a sad end. Their blood trickled onto the plush rug beneath them, and some soldiers could be seen outside running away, screaming for help.
"What are those things?" Serena asked.
"Shadows, Serena. You've seen 'em before." Matthew said.
"I knew that, dork! I meant what kind? Do we have a bestiary?" Serena said, looking at Kyle.
"If you mean a comprehensive digitised database on every Shadow we've encountered, not to mention ones discovered on Aeternus' servers, then yes." Kyle said, smugly. "They're the Macabre Rider and Ixion Stallion. The Rider is weak to Wind, whilst the Stallion is weak to Ice. The latter we lack, unfortunately..."
"Okay, then we're just gonna have to take them down fast!" Matthew said. "Hey, losers! My big brother's motorcycle beats the hell out of that piece of junk! What do you think of that?"
The Stallion revved up, and raced at the trio. Matthew readied his daggers, smiling.
"Demon Crag!" Kyle hollered, and Hephaestus got to work. With his blade, he struck the two Shadows and his blade pierced the ground, causing large, sharp rock formations to burst out from below, hitting the two Shadows with heavy force.
The Stallion, racing away from the others, cast Power Charge on itself. It's Rider blasted Serena with Zanma, who retaliated with Aquadyne - however, it hit the Stallion instead.
"What is it doing?" Matthew asked.
"It's charging up for a strong attack...you want to watch out." Serena said, anxious.
"Gotcha. See if you can handle this, then! Gale Claw!" Acolnahuacatl slashed both Shadows with his fierce claws, which were so sharp they managed to cut through a steel cabinet behind them.
"Nice move! Now then, Magnadyne!" Kyle shouted. His earth blast hit the Rider, causing him to nearly fall off his ride, but much to Kyle's irritation, he stayed on top.
"Here's something new I've been working on. Tranquil Sea!" Serena called. Artemis stood on the ground, and the entire area briefly became a beautiful, serene plain with the moon shimmering in the night sky. Then waves of water crashed into the Shadows to form a large sea, which spread a peculiar yet soothing aura around the room.
"Sea of Tranquillity. Moon. Artemis. It fits!" Kyle said, grinning. "What was that light, though?"
"Oh, that cures a lot of nasty side effects. I wanted to save it for when I had to cure those, but...hey, another time." Serena said.
"Eat THIS!" Matthew cried, slashing the Rider with his knives. The Rider, annoyed, cast Marakunda on the entire team. Then the Stallion made it's move. It went on a violent Rampage, racing around the room, colliding with all of its enemies. With their defences down...each hit was painful. It was a miracle they had Personas to save them from death - a normal person would have died upon the first hit.
"Ugh..." Kyle groaned. "That was...tough..."
The Stallion cast Power Charge on itself again, much to the shock of everyone else. Matthew painfully got to his feet, but when he saw the Rider's attention on him, he gulped.
"No! Mediarama!" Serena beckoned. The healing energy of Artemis mercifully spared Matthew from the defeat at the ends of the Rider's Zanma. Yet both Shadows were angered. Rage was building up in all involved.
Kyle blasted the Rider with Magnadyne again, whilst Serena swung her whip briskly at the same target. Whilst the Rider was being assaulted, Matthew called upon Acolnahuacatl's power.
"Hyper Strike!" Matthew demanded. The beast-like Persona pounced on the Rider, slashed with his claws with even more ferocity than before. Then he leapt up, swung down with his claws, and hit the Rider for one last painful strike.
By this point, the Rider was rather wounded. The three Persona fighters gazed at each other, and nodded. Now they could remove at least one of the threats, and then the Stallion would hopefully go down quickly afterwards.
"Agidyne!" Kyle shouted. Roaring flames burst at the Rider, whilst Serena's Aquadyne hit him at the same moment. The Rider cast Zanma once more, hitting Kyle, but it was almost out of energy. Now was the time to finish it off.
"Magarula!" Matthew's winds burst into the room, and collided with both Shadows. The damage was done - the Rider's mask fell off, and it cracked into endless pieces. The body of the Rider fell off his vehicle, and started convulsing. It desperately reached for the mask, only to find scraps of useless material. It cried out in pain - then the Ixion Stallion ran over it, and it's body finally dissolved into pure energy.
"That's...so cruel." Serena said. "Shadows can't even help their own allies..."
Suddenly, the Stallion revved it's 'engine', and black smoke was expelled via the 'exhaust'. More spikes emerged from it's wheels, and the tyres became purely made of fire.
"Now this behaviour I didn't expect." Kyle said. "It absorbed the energy that composed it's rider...and it looks berserk. Whoa!" He just barely managed to avoid the Stallion racing at him, as it crashed through a help desk.
"Damn!" Matthew said, rolling out of the Stallions' way. "How are we gonna stop this thing? You said it was weak to Ice, right? But we don't have that!"
"I know! Just keep trying!" Serena said. "Matthew, we've gotten this far - argh!" she yelped as she jumped out of the way. "Get off the road! Aquadyne!"
A burst of fierce water managed to slow the crazed vehicle, yet not enough for it to miss Matthew. He fell to the ground, hit with the full force of it's tyres.
"Magnadyne!" Kyle shouted. Hephaestus blasted the Stallion with the full force of earth, and while it did not topple over, it clearly was on it's last legs. Despite it's weakened body, it revved up again, and raced all over the room. By now, it had collided with most objects nearby, shattering a gaudy statue of an angel. Serena swung her whip repeatedly, and jumped away when it came hurtling towards her.
"I'll just have to finish this off, then." Matthew said. "Acolnahuacatl! Gimme your best shot!"
The tiger-esque Persona leapt into the air and onto a wall, and started pointing randomly in the air. Suddenly, fierce miniature tornadoes appeared, each bearing a green hue. They started to spin at insane speeds, and started colliding with the Stallion, knocking it back and forth - it was like a punching bag. Then the tornadoes combined into one, and moved between the Stallion and Acolnahuacatl. The Persona, claws out, pounced off the wall through the tornado - gathering more speed and energy than Matthew had ever used before.
"Primal Vortex!"
The entire tornado was now gone, its winds powered Acolnahuacatl's entire body. With two swift slashes of his claws, he cut the Stallion into pieces. The grotesque vehicle disintegrated, leaving behind a scene of carnage.
"Whoa..." Matthew said. "I never thought I could pull something like that off."
"You did great." Kyle said, smiling. "That was like my Sacred Forge skill...our strongest power. Perhaps we should term it...Personification."
"Sounds good to me." Serena said. "But what about what we came here to do? Dan and Shirley are still here, aren't they?"
Matthew gulped. Before he could voice his fears, however, he felt his hair being ruffled. He turned around, and gasped. Dan was there, with the proudest smile he had ever seen.
"Now that was the coolest thing I've seen yet!" Dan said, laughing. "Good job, Matthew. You showed that hunk of junk who's boss!"
"Dan...thank you!" Matthew said. He quickly hugged Dan, and whilst the two of them laughed, Kyle and Serena looked at each other, anxious.
"Uh..." Kyle said. "I think we ought to leave immediately. If the Ornatu Legion come back, there's a good chance one of the Ater Vox will be here."
"And we don't want to be arrested, do we?" Serena asked. "We've had some narrow escapes, and we don't want to make them narrower. Does that make sense?"
"Your friends really came through for you." Shirley said. She walked closer to the group, and smiled. "Dan, I should apologise. Looks like you did help me out after all. Without these teenagers -"
"I'm twenty years old!" Matthew interrupted.
"-two teenagers and a twenty year old, we could have been road kill." Shirley said. "Dan, I still don't get everything that's going on...and I still don't have a place I belong. But if I go with you and the others, I think I can find somewhere. And I never did like being at Aeternus, anyway. Everyone there's boring, the food is disgusting, and they never wanted to hear me play!"
Dan continued to smile, his eyes wide with glee. "Alright! Shirley, you're gonna love hanging out with us. But you'll have to leave the food to one of the girls. Matthew knows how bad my cooking gets."
"I do. Trust me, at all costs, avoid eating his meals. He put strawberry frosting in a chicken curry once." Matthew said, wincing.
"Seriously? Why would you think that would work?!" Shirley said, laughing. "Okay, strawberry chicken curry aside, I think I'm going to like being part of the 'rebels'."
"Hey, what about Lucy? Blaine's team are supposed to be looking for her!" Serena said.
"Should have known he'd rather help the girl than his best friend...typical." Dan said, smirking. "Not that he can resist helping damsels in distress, right?"
"Let's go back to base. Then we can contact him and find out what's happening." Kyle said. "Rest assured, Shirley, Lucy will be fine."
"I hope you're right..." Shirley said. "Let's find the NDD, then."
|Legarte - Motion Publishing|22:34 pm|
Seraphina's clairvoyance came in handy at times like these. Upon landing in Legarte, she discovered strange disturbances at the Motion Publishing building. So she and the others travelled to the place, hopeful - yet their hopes faded upon the sight that laid in wait.
Smoke seemed to be coming from every floor, and windows were shattered everywhere. Blaine's jaw dropped when he saw the flames coming from the fifth floor - but when he saw the Shadows rush through the halls, he screamed in anger.
"Those fucking things! Lucy's in there, isn't she?" He demanded, shaking Seraphina's shoulders.
"Y-Yes, Sir Blaine." Seraphina responded. Kaman prodded Blaine, making him stop. "She has been trapped here for hours! Her methods of escape end in failure, as the Shadows are relentless!"
"What? She couldn't get out of there?" Kaman said. "Why?"
"Sir Kyle would know more on the subject than I would, but the building most likely was fitted with a Shadow Power Generator before it was closed to the public. The device has most likely gone rogue! No wonder the Shadows are endless!"
"Then we need a plan. Where is this generator?" Tara asked.
"On the ground floor! And - Lucy is in there, too! We have to hurry!" Seraphina said. Blaine hastily ran down to the entrance, kicked the door open - knocking it off it's hinges - and looked around.
"Lucy! Where are you?" Blaine shouted. Suddenly, several Maya Shadows appeared out of nowhere. "Oh for the love of - get out of my way!"
He tried smiting them all with Mazionga, but it did nothing to them. Blaine swore, and staring firing his gun at them, which had some effect. Yet it would not be until Seraphina blasted them with Megidola that they perished.
"Blaine, can we please stick together?" Tara asked. "I don't want to get separated at a time like this! We are in a burning building, after all!"
"Sorry. But where's the generator?" Blaine asked. "Ground floor, right?"
"Go to the right." Seraphina said. "...Why does this feel familiar to me?"
"You been here before, maybe?" Kaman asked.
"No, Sir Kaman, I am sure I have not." Seraphina said. "Yet I feel as if I have entered this building many times. I...pay no heed to my thoughts! Venture to the east! You will see the room we need!"
"Gotcha!" Blaine said, and he ran to the east. The others had to sprint to keep up with him, only stopping to kill more rogue Shadows. Mayas, Hableries, Nyogos, Towers, Cupids, Scales, Pesces, Ravens, and Hand Shadows came out of nowhere, all with murderous intent. One Golden Hand, however, fled battle almost immediately - much to their confusion.
"Here it is!" Kaman said. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. "What the - why's this door locked?"
"Who's there?" a voice from inside said. "Can you hear me?"
"Oh thank god - Lucy!" Blaine shouted. "It's me! You're okay, right? I came looking for you!"
"Blaine!" The door suddenly opened, and out burst Lucy, hugging Blaine tightly. "Thank goodness...I thought I was going to die!"
"Easy, girl. You're going to be fine." Blaine said, gently. He stroked her hair, smiling. "Thank Seraphina. Without her psychic voodoo or whatever, well...never mind. We got here just in time."
"Lucy, right? What happened here?" Tara asked.
"That freak Tomas tried to blow me up with that lab!" Lucy screamed. "That bastard...he's gonna pay!"
"Tomas...tried to kill you?" Kaman said. "That creep really should work on his people skills."
"Um...well, when he blew the lab up, everything went white, and...I woke up in here! When I was wandering around, something about this place felt familiar. Like I knew where everything was." Lucy said.
"That, Lady Lucy, is exactly as I thought. We should get out of this building promptly, however. The fire on the upper floors may spread down here, and we lack Aimee's Traesto." Seraphina said.
"Great! As long as I'm not going back to Aeternus, I don't care where we go!" Lucy said. "Now then - huh?!"
A Shadow suddenly dropped from the ceiling. Seraphina gulped - this was a more fearsome one than the others. It resembled a clown - one with golden, gaudy clothes and spiked juggling balls.
"What the hell?" Kaman shouted. "Why's this thing all beaten up?"
"This Shadow...it has existed before. It was vanquished several moons ago, by fledgling warriors. Yet somehow, the energy that created it resurfaced to this location, and resurrected the beast in a new form. Now it is the Reformed Harlequin. We must eliminated it quickly." Seraphina said.
"You think that'll be hard?" Tara said. "This thing could be felled with a gust of wind! Here we go! Magnadyne!"
Maká attacked the Reformed Harlequin with her earthy power - however, it had little effect. "What the heck? Seraphina, why didn't you say Earth didn't work?"
"You did not give me a chance to analyse this foe!" Seraphina said. "Alas, Tara, you must instead focus on curative magic for this altercation."
"How about this, then? Deva Burst!" Kaman cried. Chandra charged at the Harlequin, hands out, and blasted it with a strange expulsion of power. The Harlequin fell over, and Tara immediately ran over and started wailing at it with her double-edged sword.
"Lucy..." Blaine said. "You look exhausted. Stay back, okay? It's our turn to fight now."
"What? No, I can still...nggh..." Lucy said, coughing. "I...I suppose you're right. Please, just...be careful, okay?"
"Oh, I will. Wouldn't want you worryin' about me! Come on, Tlaloc, buddy of mine! Brutality!"
Tlaloc wielded his hammer with both hands, and sized up his opponent. The Harlequin, having escaped from Tara's clutches, waited in anticipation. Then Tlaloc made the name of his attack rather apt - three absolutely brutal, violent hammer smashes, each one sending the Harlequin across the room. The final swing set it crashing into a wall, with Kaman near by. He decided to follow Tara's lead, and punched it rapidly several times.
"Kaman, where did you learn how to punch like that?" Tara asked.
"I took a few Karate classes back in the day. I still know a few things..." Kaman said, smirking.
"Hecate! Let me see through them!" Seraphina said. She begun to sense the aura of the Harlequin. "Light, Darkness and Earth elements will have absolutely no effect. Yet all else will work wonders!"
"No weaknesses...?" Lucy asked wearily. "Man..."
"Seraphina! Look out!" Tara suddenly shouted. The Harlequin bashed Seraphina with his juggling balls, each one pounding her like a battering ram. Seraphina groaned in pain, as she writhed in agony on the floor. "Oh, great! Diarama!"
Whilst Seraphina was being healed, Blaine let loose with a Ziodyne, hitting the Harlequin back into a wall. Angry, it darted at Kaman, but he was quick enough to call upon Chandra.
"Poison Mist!" Kaman shouted. As the name suggested, an infection mist gathered in the room - yet only the Harlequin was targeted. For a second, it seemed to have failed. Yet when the Harlequin started to cry out in pain, Kaman smiled evilly. "That's right! Go to hell - argh!"
Kaman was the next victim of the Shadow's juggling act. He was beaten by the juggling balls, and hit the wall. He moaned in pain, barely being able to stand up.
"You know, I wish I could make a good ball joke, but there's three women in the room so I'll pass." Blaine said, smirking.
"Since when were you a gentleman...?" Kaman wheezed.
"Behold! Zanma!" Seraphina cried. A burst of energy struck the Harlequin, it's power echoing throughout the room. Lucy gulped - it was still alive, despite the attacks it had been dealt with.
"Got a new one to show you guys! Stormy Ascent!" Blaine cried out. Storm clouds appeared in the air, despite the ceiling above them. These clouds grew darker and darker, and looked like they would burst any second. Then, they did - and ferocious lightning bolts came down with them, breaking through the sheet metal that covered the floor and exposing the floorboards beneath. The Harlequin suffered as well, and started to shake angrily.
"Hang on, Kaman...Diarama!" Tara healed Kaman this time round, and sighed. "I wish I didn't have to do this the entire time..."
"Thanks..." Kaman said. He looked at Blaine, and a smug smile appeared on his face. "Hey, you call that a move? Here's something for ya! Rajanipati!"
Chandra stood tall, and started to spin around on the floor. Everyone - including the Harlequin - stared at him in confusion. Then a sphere of water surrounded him, as he continued to spin, and Chandra flew above the Harlequin's head. Then Chandra crashed down, bursting the sphere and sending water everywhere. The Harlequin was enraged - yet Tara's ferocious sword swings aggravated him further. He chose her as his next victim, and now it was her turn to end up hitting the wall.
"Oh, god!" Blaine shouted. "Tara! Hang on!"
"Urgh...that thing...I hate it so much!" Tara moaned. "Guys, make him pay! Now...ugh..."
"Allow me to prepare, Lady Tara. Mind Charge!" The air in the room became filled with sheer magical energy, as Hecate summoned incredible power. Then all of that power flowed into Seraphina's body, shining bright.
Blaine started to fire at the Harlequin with his gun. Bullets pierced the Shadow's dark form, but they paled in comparison to the attack Kaman was about to perform.
"Kshuparaka!" Kaman shouted. Chandra stood still, raising his weapons, then swift gusts of wind came in all directions. The Harlequin was being buffeted by the wind, and started to cry in pain. During this assault, Tara got up and quickly healed herself.
"Now! Megidola!" Seraphina said. However, the Harlequin started to do something that didn't involve hitting enemies with his balls. It began to cast magic at the same time as Seraphina. Very soon, the entire room was drowned out in the light and power of the two Almighty attacks - yet Seraphina's Megidola was overshadowed by the Harlequin's Megidolaon.
"My...goodness..." Seraphina said, stunned. "I did not...realise it could...be so strong..."
"Damn! That...bastard! Is it still alive?" Blaine shouted, clutching his chest in pain. "Oww..."
The Harlequin remained motionless, without looking at any of its opponents. Then, it started convulsing, making high pitched sounds that while resembled no organic life, were clearly of pain. It started to pound it's head on the Generator, and eventually, it's mask fell off, disintegrating, and it's body crumbled into nothingness.
"We won..." Lucy said. "That was...freaky."
"What was it trying to do?" Kaman asked. "Banging it's head on the Generator like that isn't gonna help him.."
"Oh my goodness!" Seraphina said. "Everyone, we must get out! Now!"
"Why?" Tara asked.
"This Generator will explode imminently! Now run!" Seraphina shouted. No one wasted time asking for more details. They ran, faster than they had ever run before, and ran outside the building.
Within seconds after escaping, everyone heard a deafeningly loud blast. When they turned around to observe, they gasped. The entire building was now aflame, and the entire right hand side was quickly collapsing.
"Oh my god!" Tara shouted. "Seraphina, that..."
"We would not have survived if we had stayed any longer, I can assure you of that." Seraphina said. "...I am relieved. With my ability to sense the future, I could save all of us. It is...comforting."
"Hey, you should feel good. You saved our lives! So did you, Tara. Your healing was incredible." Kaman said, smiling. "Hey, we all ought to get back to the base. Hanging around this burning building isn't a good idea."
"Really? And here was me thinking we could sit back and have a nice picnic!" Blaine said. He started to laugh, and held Lucy's hand. "Lucy...you don't want to go back to Aeternus, do you?"
"Um, well...not really. I never liked it there. And, um...Tomas told me the truth about you. I should have know I could trust you...behind it all, you really are a sweet guy." Lucy said, blushing. "B-But that's not important! Shirley's out there, right?"
"She was..." Tara said, smirking. "Come back to the base. I think you're gonna be pleasantly surprised."
|Secret Base|23:07 pm|
"It's a little bland, don't you think?" Shirley said, staring at the light bulb. "Couldn't you steal a lampshade from somewhere?"
"Maybe I'll pick one up sometime." Dan said. "Although I've gotten to like this place. It's kind of weird, living in a basement."
"Basement? What's above us?" Shirley asked.
"A burnt out shell of a building." Kyle said. "If we operated in the open, we'd be sitting ducks. Yet for now, the Ater Vox haven't located us. Mostly since we never leave this base without using the NDD. That's sort of an unwritten rule."
"I apologise if we can't offer the level of comfort Aeternus provides." Aimee said.
"It's fine." Shirley said. "At least there's nice people here. But...what about Lucy? There's a group looking for her, right? Where are they -"
Suddenly, people entered the room via the NDD. Shirley turned around, and gasped. There Lucy was - alive and well. Lucy's face beamed, and the two girls stood there, both finding themselves unable to do anything but smile. They were alive, inside a place where they could truly fight against the Shadow menace.
"Lucy, I..." Shirley said. "It looks like it's over."
"Yeah. Now it feels like a real reunion." Lucy said. "Come here!"
The two of them wrapped their arms around each other, laughing. Blaine and Dan looked at each other, both with expressions of relief. Despite the devastation of the Divine Spark, all was not lost. Two members may have left them, but now two more had taken up the role as a rebel. Now they were fighting against Aeternus to preserve the universe, not cast it into the abyss.
While there were still feelings of doubt and hesitation over the next Divine Spark, Aimee and the others would not back down.