Clash of the Elements Part 5 (R): The Lover From the Lost Aura

by mewmaster93

Called in to assist an old friend of the original Elemental Overlord, his successor Mew finds himself wrapped up in a battle for control of the ancient city of Sancturia, home to the Aurians and the secrets of their powers. With the friend's daughter Kairi tagging along, Mew shall combat his way through the legendary Planetary Aurians and their leader to liberate this city, or...

28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Gravitus III: Echoes of Darkness

Mew and Gravitus tackle each other and wrestled their hands together. Mew then quickly headbutts Gravitus to stagger him, followed by ramming his feet into his metallic gut.

Gravitus digs his feet into the air and swings his hand out to call his scythe to him. The moment it touched the blade extended to twice its normal length and churned with his chaotic energy.

Gravitus swung with all his might, leaving the air twisting in its wake. Mew slipped past the blade and thrust his hands out. The black mass, made of liquefied darkness, stretched out to wrap around Gravitus' waist.

Mew began spinning him around, turning into a black whirlwind that sucked some of the clouds in. Gravitus firmly grasped his scythe and slashed through Mew's arms, detaching the goop from his body. Momentum sent him twirling away like a top, where he forced himself to stop looking towards Mew.

But he was no longer there. Gravitus' eyes darted around, but he'd never find him. Mew hovered over his head like a gargoyle, thankful for the cover the stormy skies provided. His inability to restrain a snicker, however, foiled his secrecy.

Gravitus jerked his body around and back-handed the air above his head. Mew flipped away, watching as a mile-wide hole was punctured through the clouds. Mew picked at his ear as the sound of the man's punch lingered.

Gravitus lowered his hand to his chest and lobbed balls of highly compressed air forward. Mew slipped right in the blink of an eye then left to avoid another. For the third, he clapped his hands twice then caught it between his hands.

The pressure rammed into his gut and he pretended to sound winded. He raised the bullet, tinged it with darkness, and thrust it back out with both hands. Gravitus sliced it with his scythe and the high concentration of his swing shoved Mew a few feet back.

"This power gives you plenty of ways to screw with him...Shall I tell you some?" "D." interjected with an eager grin.

"Maybe in a bit." Mew responded. He then thrust his hands out so fast that he shot dozens of dark balls in the blink of an eye.

Gravitus got nothing but specks of dust in his eyes for Mew's troubles. He started pushing forward against the tide slowly. Then, he shoved forward, his girth alone shoving the darkness away around him. He swung his hand down and grabbed Mew by the scalp, tightening his grip like a lug nut around a screw.

Mew's grin was a mix of pain and happiness as he pointed a finger downward. Gravitus deigned to look and caught Mew's right foot stuck inside a small rift. Another rift opened above Gravitus and Mew's foot dropped out. A kick to the head knocked Gravitus back to the Pyramid a few feet away from Kairi.

After he got a brief look at her Mew stretched one of his hands down and scooped Gravitus off his feet by grabbing his face. He was rammed into the still intact pillar and dragged up evenly with Mew. There he latched his sharp fingers into Mew's limbs and ripped it apart with a frustrated grunt.

The excess darkness snapped back to Mew. He dangled his hand before his chest and wiggled his fingers to taunt Gravitus. The man's bruised ego coerced him to lunge forth and take a swing with his scythe.

Mew ducked back in place then dropped his palms down. He used a break dance maneuver to knock Gravitus off his stance and followed up by thrusting his feet into the gut. It wasn't enough to slow the man down. Gravitus thrust his palm down to Mew's head and blasted him with pure gravity.

Mew's head was rattled a little. He shook the dizziness off while opening a rift inches over the Pyramid. Gravitus stood, a rift opening behind him. Mew barreled out and Gravitus tilted his head to avoid it.

Mew spun around and slid towards another rift, volleying a few dark balls to throw Gravitus off his trail. The whisper of the air opening per rift kept Gravitus' gaze firm as steel regardless of all the smoke and mirrors.

He turned right and prepared to swing his scythe. Mid-swing Mew's hands fired out and forcibly bent the arm to Gravitus' neck. The rest of Mew pounced on him and dragged him down. Gravitus shoved back and the two locked in a stalemate. Mew's claws scraped through Gravitus' armor and scratched at the wiring within.

Gravitus' body pulsated, throbbing like a heartbeat. He tightened his arm up and a bubble of gravity expanded around him. It stalled against Mew's might, managing only to push back the skin around his facial features. Mew kept clawing away, gritting his teeth as the pressure built up.

"Get...Off!" Gravitus growled as the bubble suddenly doubled in size. Mew was sent tumbling away, landing fifty feet off.

Mew swiped a hand under his chin and felt only a slight crick in his neck. Gravitus meanwhile squeezed his hand and the metal around his scars started to bubble. Then it moved like a liquid to seal his wounds up.

"How's it feel to be knocked off your high horse?" Mew boasted with a bit of glee in his voice, "Cause once the bad guy starts showing anger its all downhill from there!"

Gravitus stared at Mew and then thrust his hand up. Mew dodged the massive bubble of gravity and flew clockwise around Gravitus, sticking to a fifty foot diameter away.

Mew lobbed and lowered a punch into Gravitus' face faster than a bullet. The man tried to raise his defenses but couldn't beat back every fist. He was surrounded by dozens of Mews from how fast he was flying. And so too was his voice copied and echoed into his ears.

"You've gone sooooo long without being challenged that it must grind your gears to have someone call you out on your bullshit!"

Gravitus swung his scythe behind his head then lashed it around his body. A shockwaved forced Mew to jump but that was quite alright. Gravitus opened himself by using that much force.

He tumbled forth and slashed his claws down Gravitus' chest. Then he pummeled him with some lightning fast blows and backed away when Gravitus grabbed at his head. Gravitus opened his hand and struck Mew's face with a compressed air bubble.

Mew staggered back a tiny bit and gasped when his foe smashed a fist into his gut. Then he spread his fingertips and penetrated the space between Mew's chest and abdomen.

Easily hoisting him up, Gravitus remarked in an irritated manner of speaking, "You continue to try and villainize me just so you can feel some sense of purpose. All that effort could have gone towards serving a greater purpose. But there is no peace in your little world, is there?"

Mew grunted and grinned as he grumbled in turn, "I-I gotta be real...I didn't think you'd keep talking like this. Y-You really have deluded yourself into believing your bullshit haven't you Damascus?"

"I am Gravitus!" The man yelled as he dug his fingers in deeper. The rage flickered in and out like an ember. He turned his scowl into a smile and let out a slow, deep chuckle.

"It doesn't matter what form you take boy. In the end you will and die a short-sighted fool."

Mew raised his hands above his head and grunted in pain, "A-And no matter how much you go on about peace...You'll always be nothing more than a megalomaniac."

Suddenly Mew perked up his eyes and beamed with a painless smile. Gravitus took notice and glanced down at Mew's chest, where a thick, solid mass of darkness was holding his claws at bay. The sky crackled around him. Crimson electricity tickled his metallic skin. The moment Gravitus looked up, a black sphere with a red core was ready between Mew's hands.

"Syke! Made you look!" Mew dunked the ball into Gravitus' body and dashed right out of his grasp. The chaotic explosion tossed Gravitus away and sent his scythe flying. Dark electricity slowed Gravitus' responses and gave Mew sufficient time to skate past his retaliatory blast.

Mew slid past Gravitus and clawed him straight down and to the left. He used a series of rifts to quickly slash and advance, slash and advance, and slash and advance some more. Gravitus squeezed his fists down to his hips and exploded with energy. Mew was repelled, the skies crackling with thunder.

Gravitus ripped millions of volts of electricity from the clouds to strike at Mew. Mew went "Whoa!" and was shaken violently even after he dodged it.

Gravitus charged forth and smashed his fist across Mew's face, turning his whole body around. Gravitus then grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled out.

Clever use of his stretchy limbs allowed Mew to grab Gravitus by the neck and throw him overhead before he became a double amputee. Mew had to keep the pressure going if not physically then verbally.

"You talk and talk and talk about peace but what your 'comrades'? Where's Mercury, Venus and Uranus' peace? Huh?!"

Gravitus turned upright and punched the air twice. Mew snapped his limbs back into place and caught the high-pressured bullets from the front. Gravitus increased the gravity and the bullets began scraping down the darkness in Mew's hands.

"Once I have the Neo Drive they will get what they want the most." Gravitus firmly remarked.

Mew exerted his muscles to slam the bullets together, shoving him further back once they popped. He then grit his teeth and hissed, "Bullshit!"

He thrust a limb towards Gravitus and put a rift in the way to feint him. A second rift emerged beside Gravitus and Mew clocked him in the face.

"In two-thousand years you're telling me you couldn't find a solution? I doubt you even tried!" As Mew pulled his fist back he grabbed Gravitus' face and turned him around. This provided the prime opportunity to run in and bash his skull from behind.

Mew felt a bone crack against his knuckles and spiced up the pain with a heaping helping of critique on Gravitus' character, "And you know why that is? Because deep-down you enjoy having control over others! You feed them what they want to hear so they won't doubt you!"

Mew burrowed his knuckles in deeper and gave the man a furrowed glare, "From being oppressed to becoming the oppressor. You're utterly pathetic Damascus."

"Grrr...!" Gravitus turned around and bashed Mew point-blank with his fists. After five punches that'd crumble the largest mountains out there Mew caught both his hands and only had bloody gently dripping out of his nose.

"I have given them hope. What have you ever given anyone but a headache?" Gravitus locked his hands around Mew's in a vice and started to shove his arms towards his shoulder.

"There you go, pinning the blame on others and ignoring the biggest problem!" Mew started pushing back with great force, "This isn't about me or your shitty father or the Ten Sages! You're responsible for your own problems...Now accept them like a man!"

Mew rammed his head into Gravitus' nose and drew blood. He rammed his head in two more times to make him let go, then thrust his palms into his chest. As Gravitus was blown away Mew coiled darkness around his arm like a serpent. With a punch it sprang out, drilling into the man's gut.

"People like you...Are truly hypocrites!" Gravitus thrust his hand out and ripped large chunks of debris up to smash Mew between.

Mew threw his arms up. Gravitus was almost making it feel like he was squished between two moons. Mew's arms pushed together at the elbows and he started shoving forward one large step at a time.

"I-I got a pretty good scapegoat...Why...Why don't you try having a demon in your head?!" Mew lurched out of the center of the debris and declared, "Though somehow I feel like that'd make you less crazy then you already are!"

Mew burst free and hammered Gravitus down his face with his fist, nailing the point in harder with his words, "Someone like you can't be entrusted with the world, let alone the universe!"

Gravitus retaliated with a staggering punch to Mew's gut, his gravelly voice ignoring the temptations of madness, "If not me then who?! You? Auris?!"

Gravitus' second punch was evaded by Mew simply sliding back, though the aftershock shook him up a bit. Mew rubbed the bottom of his chin and chuckled.

"Auris has got a lot of problems but she's sure as hell made of tougher stuff than you."

Gravitus curled a fist and propped a pointer finger near his chest, "You know nothing about how monstrous that 'woman' is."

"I know that nobody deserves to be raped!" Mew exclaimed.

"The greater the crime the greater the punishment." Gravitus replied softly, but his voice was dripping with callousness.

Mew narrowed his eyes and even "D." started to growl in his head, "Is this feeling what you humans call...disgust?"

"Hey congrats Gravitus! You made the demon sick to his stomach!" Mew boasted merrily while tapping the side of his head.

"I do not care what you or the parasite think. My destiny cannot be deterred." Gravitus replied, though his narrowed glare sure said differently about how he felt.

"And what about your people? I bet they'd be singing a different tune if they found out their 'leader' was a megalomaniac rapist."

"They know what I am. And what I am is their savior." Gravitus said firmly.

"Oh really now?" Mew let out a big laugh and rolled his eyes, "Cause it sounds to me like you're sort of an urban legend in your own town! Without that big monument to your ego I doubt they'd even know what you look like!"

"Enough of this..." Gravitus hands started to be supercharged with energy and the air trembled.

Mew put on a wild smile and swung his hand back through a rift, "Awww come on now..."

Gravitus looked back and Mew grabbed him by the face. He then pulled his own body through the rift and slammed Gravitus down towards the side of the Pyramid.

"Don't be shy!" Mew ground him across the surface, dragging down a small avalanche of stone to the bottom.

An audience of Aurians had gathered around to observe the disturbance. Naturally their survival instincts sent them packing before they were buried under rubble.

Mew let go the moment Gravitus was on the ground then stretched his arms out to catch all the rubble. Gravitus skid away and quickly stood with a huge scowl. The notice and murmurs of his people stilled his anger for a moment.

"It is alright," He gently waved his hand down, "I shall have this threat dealt with soon enough."

Mew punched Gravitus square in the face from far away and it sent him tumbling between the crowd and into the city.

"Same, actually." Mew retorted as he stood up and slowly started walking through the hundreds of bewildered gazes. He darted his eyes around and took in a deep breath.

"Ok he should be somewhere nearby..." Gravitus punched an air bullet into his gut and sent him crashing back into the side of the Pyramid. The audience groaned, feeling the ache that Mew suffered in his bones.

Gravitus began to raise his head with the intent of sending Mew back into the sky. But then Mew shoved his foot through a rift and kicked Gravitus under his chin.

With his foe knocked off his feet Mew ran out, grabbed Gravitus by the face, and dragged him along the ground. He swerved around the onlookers and stopped when he was about to hit a building. He pulled Gravitus up to the wall then flung him overhead.

Gravitus spun around stiffly in mid-air and swung his right arm straight out. The wall behind Mew was peeled off and curled towards him. Mew dashed forward and snatched Gravitus out of the air before the whole wall was undone.

Gravitus firmly planted his feet on the ground and defied Mew's punch with one of his own. Then he charged his other fist and smashed Mew in the gut.

The shockwave of his hit slanted some of the nearby houses and knocked over some people. Mew pinned his feet to the coiled wall and launched himself out at Gravitus.

The man projected a bubble of gravity to force Mew back. Mew shoved his arms out and black flames spurted out the palms, giving him the push needed to prevail. Gravitus grit his teeth and shoved harder, the force of his blow caving the center of the building wall inward.

"Not...gonna...happen!" Mew grunted one last time and Gravitus' feet began to slant back. From there, it was effortless to knock him on his back.

Gravitus wrenched his hands around Mew's wrist but the boy merely stretched his arms out to get away from him. He then sprung back down, diving his feet into Gravitus' face.

The man let go, and Mew started riding him like a snowboard throughout Sancturia. He turned his head around, carefully evading the panicking populace as he bit his lower lip and murmured aloud, "Come on, where are you...?"

Mew suddenly felt a rise of energy behind him and turned around. Gravitus' scythe went flying straight for his head at ludicrous speeds, stopped only by Mew clamping the blade between his hands.

Gravitus himself then exploded with energy and blew Mew off of him. He snagged his scythe back into his hand and levitated to his feet. He lashed his weapon back, throwing it straight up and making it spin.

Mew collected solid darkness to the front of his chest to shield himself. But it spun so hard, so fast, that it was quickly tearing through the darkness like a paper shredder. Gravitus held his palm up and fired another air bullet into the scythe, doubling its speed.

Mew however, smirked and opened a dark rift from behind the moment before he escaped Sancturia's protection, taking the scythe with him. Gravitus quickly darted his eyes around, unknowing of where his foe would strike him from next.

A thin rift began to slide open to his right, and he thrust his hand out to blast Mew prematurely. But instead he only managed to slow his still whirling scythe. He widened his eyes and snagged the scythe in his hand, the force of its return dragging his arm down to the ground.

Mew then leaped out of a rift behind him and stamped one foot down on the back of Gravitus' hand, forcing the scythe out. Having compromised the man's posture, Mew hopped off his hand and let the fear of the inevitable pain fester in Gravitus' expression for a few seconds.

Then, when satisfied with it, Mew plunged his right claw down and thousands of strings of solid darkness smashed into Gravitus' body. He was dragged and pinned onto his back, his chest penetrated a few times over.

Mew's eyes then jolted back to the right, as he felt a familiar energy coming a little ways South. Cracking a brief but mild grin, Mew then told himself, "Alright, just got to play around a little bit now..."

Gravitus squeezed his fists and bellowed out a titanic roar of irritation. Black electricity shot out of his body and threw the gravity around him out of whack. A couple houses were crushed down flat, another few flipped on their sides. Some of the people suffered from floatiness, the others forced onto their knees.

Gravitus then turned this maelstrom of energy from his body onto Mew's darkness, shattering it with a wild, flashy burst. The energy traveled up to Mew and blew him out of the air, where he landed roughly five-hundred feet away.

There he watched Gravitus rise from the ground, suspended by the raw power he exerted. His gravitational energies bolted across Sancturia for thousands of feet around, throwing off the balance of the people around. Gravitus' hands crackled with energy the most as he dragged them up by his shoulders. Metal was torn asunder from under the ground and quickly thrown at Mew faster than he could blink.

"Shoot!" Mew went at the metal projectiles and snagged them in his hands. His feet were ripped off the ground and he went spiraling away. He opened up a dark rift or two to keep his body from colliding with any houses and discarded the metal into the dimension along the way.

Mew used the cover of darkness to slip behind Gravitus and grab him by the shoulders. He then pressed his feet against his back and dragged him straight down to the ground before he could cause anymore damage.

Upon landing Gravitus clocked Mew in the chin with his elbow and forced him off with a burst of energy. He turned his body around, rising to smash both his fists into Mew's face when his descent proved too quick for his liking. Mew coughed a little and staggered back, then propped a claw up to his face to hide a smirk.

"Ok Mew...sell it!"

Gravitus charged in and with one thundering roar of irritation he thrust both his supercharged palms into Mew's gut. The energy collapsed in a bubble and burst apart with the sound of an ion bomb. Mew was tossed onto his back and he tumbled around a few times like a ragdoll until he hit the side of a house. He forced his eyes open and let out a big gasp, then fell flat on his side.

He flattened his hands on the ground and slowly rose to his feet, starting with his knees. All the while he grumbled to himself, "...O-Okay...Maybe I shouldn't consider a career in theatrics..."

Mew hunched over and hung his hands towards the ground. He kept an eye on Gravitus as the man approached him, his head high and the massive energy surge whittling down. Gravitus clenched his fists and his voice was rife with annoyance towards the boy.

"I told you from the start didn't I boy? I am the future. And you...are simply the lingering memory of a bygone era."

Mew put a hand to his chest and glanced to the left. He subtly cracked a smirk and chuckle then looked Gravitus in the eyes, "If I'm such a rat then why are you having so much trouble exterminating me huh?"

"Plagues are usually difficult to wipe out..." Gravitus raised his hand out towards him and energy began to stir.

"Killing me isn't going to change what you are..." Mew scowled in defiance and glanced his head around, "Cause as this battle's shown you're already one stint of insanity away from breaking that mask of yours for good."

Gravitus paused and followed Mew's gaze towards his city and people. Many made themselves scarce, others lingered with a curious gaze. Their homes and facilities were damaged or broken beyond repair. Gravitus' eyes grew heavy, and his lips sank into a small frown.

"...It seems its nothing enough for me to break you physically," Gravitus narrowed his gaze towards Mew and remarked, "I shall shatter your stubborn resolve and make you submit to the truth."

Mew hung his head out of sight and smirked as wide as his cheeks would allow, then asked in a deceptively tired sounding voice, "A-And how do you plan to do that?"

"By showing you that my words are no lies. And that the loyalty of my people has been earned, not deceived..." Gravitus took a couple steps back and swung his arms out in a kingly fashion.

"My fellow Aurians! There is no need for alarm! You may find yourselves frightened, confused, or otherwise lost...But I am here to provide you with answers..." Gravitus thrust a finger at the "lowly" Mew so that all remaining eyes were on him, "This troublemaker is an assassin hired by the witch Auris to kill me. And once his life is snuffed out, I shall personally rebuild the damage he has inflicted upon our great city!"

Mew let out a loud laugh and proclaimed, "That's it?! Tell me you're joking..."

All these words he spoke prodded Gravitus into letting his guard down and continue to speak. Continuing from where his first speech ended, the man raised his fists towards the sky, his presence dominating the minds of all who stood near him.

"And that is not all...I have great news to deliver to you all as your leader. For on this day...! I shall finally claim the power of the Neo Drive as my own. And with it, I shall guide our race back to the stars!" He then lowered his hands and remarked in a valiant sounding tone of voice, "For you see, there is unrest in the cosmos...False idols plague the worlds beyond our own and mislead the common masses with lies. I have fought to bring peace back to these people's lives, but it is not a task I can perform alone. Yet with the Neo Drive's power, you shall all be able to join me, and together we will create a peaceful universe free of misleading heretics!"

Gravitus lowered his arms fully to his hips. He looked around and saw how there was no response from any of his people. Many of them turned to look at each other, others just stared with eyes the size of silver dollars. The silence was broken by one man clapping, and to Gravitus' chagrin that man was Mew.

Mew lifted his body up slightly and pressed his hands together, grinning from ear-to-ear, "Woooow, nice speech. It left them speechless."

Gravitus furrowed his brows and spoke on the optimistic side of things, "They are processing all this information. I had planned to deliver a more...appropriate speech, to give them time to digest things."

"Or maybe they're scared shitless after seeing what kind of mechanical monster their leader truly is!" Mew parted his hands and pointed around the area with them both, "You see all this damage you caused Gravitus? I had NOTHING to do with that. Your reckless use of your power did it! And all because you couldn't kill a dumb, stupid rat."

Gravitus' eyes slanted and he raised his voice a couple decibels, "This is merely a small group of Aurians. Hardly proof of anything."

"Oh really now? What if I told you that your message just got broadcasted all over Sancturia?" The moment Mew said that Gravitus' eyes widened and Mew took advantage of that to nudge his head left and yell, "Isn't that right Bobby?!"

Gravitus swung his head right and saw an adolescent boy who looked like nothing special standing between a couple of houses in plain sight. Against his chest was Mew's notebook from yesterday, and his bracelet laid before it.

"You know, if this gets me killed I'm going to haunt you Mew!" He yelled with a mild fright in his voice.

"What is the meaning of..." Gravitus' growl was interrupted by Mew striking up a conversation with the seemingly innocuous boy.

"I'm just glad you knew where to show up! So did you...?"

"Yeah!" Bobby held his bracelet up near his face and proclaimed, "My Drive bounced Gravitus' message all across Sancturia! There shouldn't be a single Aurian who missed it now!"

"Kick-ass! You did great!" Mew shone a thumbs-up at the guy then turned his full attention to the flabbergasted tyrant. He stood tall and shook off the "pain" he had, and enjoyed watching Gravitus' face turn completely pale.

"I bet right now you're wanting to growl angrily at me 'Grrr, what did you do?!'" Mew suddenly stretched his left hand out to snag the notebook from Bobby, complete with a "Thank you!", then took and slapped Gravitus across the face with it. The impact broke all the pages off and left the papers and the words inked onto them fluttering around the man's field of vision.

"See this? Its a consensus from your own people about their opinions on you. They're super grateful for what you've done for their well-being..." Mew started off soft before laying the negativity on thick with a grin, "But they're completely at odds about how to feel about you as a person. You've been such an enigma to them all this time that when questioned on whether or not they'd follow you to the ends of the earth, a vast majority of them didn't know how to respond whatsoever!"

The papers formed a judgmental ring around the man's feet, giving him no choice but to glare and take in the voice of his people through their text. He raised his head and his eyes trembled, struggling against his enraged urges.

"These are nothing but lies...! I have given my people everything they could ever want!"

"Yeah. You did," Mew firmly agreed but stated the obvious to him, "And that's why your plan was a failure from the start."

"If I've learned anything from being a human its that the more we have the less likely we are to want to risk losing it. Why would Aurians risk losing everything they have to fight and potentially die in some madman's dumb war?"

"People don't just want a leader who helps them. They want a leader they can trust. And you couldn't give them both because that's just not the kind of man you are Gravitus..." Mew wagged a pointer finger out at Gravitus and told him, "You think you get people but you don't get people. Loyalty and trust can't be built on bribery and lies. It may start fragile but with time and effort it'll become something irreplaceable."

"But that's not what you wanted. You wanted what you wanted, and you wanted it NOW," Mew smiled a lot like "D." would and squeezed his fists tightly before his face, "And because of that you're going to lose everything. The loyalty of your people, the trust of the Planetary Aurians, the empire you built on a throne of lies...And your life."

Gravitus' eyes were as wide as could be, burrowing into Mew's with a stare hotter than the sun. Energy was overloading his body, electricity splashing out from all across his limbs. And Mew just stood there, grinning with so much pleasure.

"You were the instrument of your own demise Damascus...And this 'idiot' just played you like a goddamn fiddle."

"DIE!" Gravitus erupted with rage and smashed his fists into Mew's body with all his might. Mew went hurtling all the way across Sancturia in a matter of seconds and was laughing his ass off the whole time.

"What's the matter?!" He exclaimed to one who could not hear it. As he escaped the edge of Sancturia he snagged it tightly on his claws and stretched his arms out for thousands of feet. Gravitus forced two titanic icebergs from the waters with the intent to squish Mew between them.

Mew sprang forth before he was flattened like roadkill and crossed the distance he was fired in half the time, ramming both his feet square into Gravitus' chest.

"CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH?!" He threw Gravitus off his feet and barreled straight back towards the Pyramid. Along the way Gravitus tried to resist, so Mew swerved just a tiny bit to the right and rammed him head first through his statue. Needless to say it shattered to itty bitty pieces, but that wasn't all. For suddenly, a bunch of electricity discharged into Gravitus' body and paralyzed himself long enough for Mew to reach his destination.

He slammed and carved a scar into the side of the Pyramid with Gravitus' body all the way back to the top. He flew on past Kairi and carried Gravitus back to where their battle had begun.

Mew then grit his teeth and sharpened his claws, dragging them down Gravitus' face to scar it up something fierce. Then he kept going to the body, grabbing the top of his chest and tearing down towards the waist.

"Face it Gravitus...Your heart is as empty as your words!" Mew proclaimed as he was about to thrust his fist into the core of Gravitus' mechanical body. But behind the man's shell was nothing resembling a heart. Instead his insides were hollow. Mew paused and floated back a little bit, staying cautious all the while.

On further inspection there was something strange about the way Gravitus' innards were shaped. It looked like, with a little bit of fidgeting, a human could fit inside. Mew's heart skipped a beat and he glared the man in his now scarred face.

"What the hell is this?" He growled.

Gravitus panted in exhaustion and suddenly thrust a hand up to his bleeding face. He slid his metallic palm down, wiping his blood across his head. He then stared down at his opened body and started to laugh.

"...This...this is meant to be a last resort," Gravitus stuttered but his voice was ripe with pride towards himself, "If my daughter and I do not see eye-to-eye...Then at the very least I can plug her into this body and draw on the Neo Drive's power that way."

He grinned and murmured with a mouth dripping with blood, "For I CAN and WILL make the choices necessary to see my destiny through, while-"

Mew smashed his fist into the right side of Gravitus' jaw and nearly broke it off. He slowly drew his fist back, his teeth bit down in an utterly foul scowl as he growled at the tyrant, "You make me sick."

Gravitus wobbled in the air and slowly cocked his head back into place. He rubbed his sore jaw and started to rise upright. He used his powers to fix his body right up, then started to laugh slow and methodically.

"...You have been more of a thorn in my side than I could have possibly predicted. If only I had been more thorough these past few years..." Blood trickled past Gravitus' nose and made the whites of his eyes look truly maddening.

Mew curled his fists up to his chest and cautiously murmured, "And what's that supposed to mean...?"

"It does not matter now...You are prematurely assuming that you have bested me...B-But I still have one more ace up my sleeve..."

Mew rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Figures you're a sore loser. Give it up! You can't possibly have another Drive."

"Who said anything...about a Drive?" Gravitus slowly raised his right hand to his chest and it was set aglow with black light, "I did not want to do this yet...But you've left me no other choice. 'The first key' shall now be turned..."

Next Time: Whatever it Takes