Chapter 66 - Fallen From Perfection
[Riis Perfected, Underbelly]
"Tekton, pillar!" Valstrax ushered as a long road expanded under her feet, flinging the hero forward into a halo of scarlet, rending the floating machines that utilized the same weaponry as Dregs to scrap. They weren't necessarily tough just annoying. Sucking in another long breath, Valstrax extinguished the draconic energy in her vents. "Nice work." She praised with her thumb up.
Jura mirrored the gesture. "Just doing my part, Miss," He scanned the dark, twisted hallway shaped like a diamond, again, their pathway diverged. One heading left, another to the right only downward. "Those red machines came from the right, maybe security patrols?"
Valstrax hummed in agreement, tapping her left wing to the wall. "It's not easy tracking with my nose, everything smells like metal and dew."
"|Fall|," Drevis revealed her ploy, dropping Valstrax before she had a chance to slash the Vandal to ribbons. Plummeting through the dark chasm, she tried to reach for her daughter and her friends. Unfortunately, Yuki appeared to be suffering from a spasm of some kind and fell out of reach behind a wall, while to the left Hana attempted to use her sword to break her fall, though the sheet of metal jutting from the thorny wall broke, sending her sprawling down another shoot.
"Tekton!" Managing with the last of her mobility given how cramped it was for her to even attempt to use her wings, she curled them around herself and his body, bracing for the tumbling moments later.
She sighed, running her hand down her helmet's beak. "Without much open-air, I can't properly utilize my mobility," This further worried her. "Yuki's struggling to access the systems before means Dren's ensured she can't hack her way forward, Yu - Velkhana is somewhere alone, and with all this metal there's not much earth for you to work with."
Jura's hazel and green eyes respectively, glowed through his visor, curving encouragingly with his fist pumped. "Not much I can do but I know Yuki would fight regardless of the circumstances, she learned that from you!" That did at least bring back Valstraxs sharp smile, patting his head.
"Aren't you a sweet-talker," Patting her own cheeks, she slid down the right-hand slope with Jura in toe. "Then let's put those words into action and tear this place apart!"
Traversing this hollowed shell was ominous for the pair, landing on a lower level than previously expecting. The many intricate pathways were unlike anything a villain had conjured before, then again, their enemy was from another world, and an alien at that. Akame kept her wits about her, utilizing her hearing over her smell to track movement.
Chilling blue spotlights emanating from the SIVA nodes aided their way, scaffold and walls held up by suspension cables of SIVA wiring that dug through the mountain, infecting the world. Jura blinked, peeking past Valstrax who paused to inspect the diamond-shaped door as it chimed, parting in four pieces to grant them access to a much larger hallway.
Their eyes widened upon crossing the catwalk overlooking dozens of empty pods filled with a purplish liquid. The lighting remained unchanged yet no less unnerving. "What are these things?" Akame whispered, tucking her wings in so that Jura could walk next to her.
"I... don't know," Jura gripped the railing, peering down at the flatlined monitors displaying various forms of the Fallen they encountered on the surface. "Lifepods maybe? For the Splicers?"
"Could be..." Valstrax, with the needed space, used a small burst of air from her wings to lunge across to the opposite end of the chamber, accessing a data console that overlooked the whole facility. Sadly, it was all in another language, more than likely Eliksni. She slammed her fist into the console, shaking her head. "Nothing - what the hell are they making down here?"
"Hey, over there!" Jura ran with his finger pointed toward the doorway behind Valstrax. "Someone's leaving!"
Without hesitance, Valstrax released a strong breath that sent her tucked body flying through the small hallway after the heavy footsteps rattling in the distance. A scent entered her nose, one that made her skill crawl with terror. "N-no, it can't be..." Looking back, Jura was still giving chase to catch up. As much as it pained her to admit it... she might need help with this. "Tekton, whatever happens never let your guard down for a second, am I clear!?"
He tilted his head but nodded. "You got it, take the lead I'll catch up!" He relayed, watching the Pro take off despite ripping out several clusters that impeded his movement. "Ah, yep I asked for that, hehe," He shoved the node off his head, containing his sprint.
"You must advance against unfairness."
Akame never could, she had to move forward, to save people with the gift she had.
"Adversity and fate are unwavering, unfair, you must advance."
Valstrax was her scales, to blot out the cruelty she endured to be a hero.
"Fate... can never change."
Both knew that was never a certainty.
Once through the massive scar in the wall, sunlight, or what appeared to be artificial light, blinded her momentarily. Taking time to adjust, she found herself inside a large, dirt flatland. There were other doorways in the large, open chamber, somewhat smaller than the arena used for the Sports Festival. Monitoring equipment took up the walls with lighting. The blue SIVA had already ravaged the ceiling and edges of this room too.
Gathering her breath again, Valstrax felt her heart plummet to her stomach. One stood before her, watching... waiting for her. His stature towered over a normal person, bulky in large, red armour forged of scales with black accents and jagged points, a windswept skirt of scales layered vertically. His chest was thick and broad attached to a pauldron flaked with weathered white claws. His vambraces much the same, fingers hidden behind long, aged talons.
The helmet concealed any identity in darkness, a crown of horns silent and ominous. His very presence was unmaskable behind a great shield that could protect his entire height, clutched in his left, a spear with an intersecting blade welded into a diamond tip.
Eventually, one had to speak up to perforate the tension. "It's been a long time, Doryu." Valstrax felt no emotion seep into her words.
"... Akame, you are, the same?" His voice was deep, ragged and worn. "Here, bearing scales, none have dulled."
Valstrax kept her position. "No, I have changed, it's been a long road for me - but you? Your speech pattern seems gravelly." She knew why, his Quirk wasn't normal, it never was or ever could be considered.
"Too long, I speak like this, it is fine," He motioned with a wave of his polearm. "The girl, is your kin, a devil?" He didn't miss the subtle twitch in her armour.
"...why did you disappear, Doryu?" Her inquiry was more of personal want than a demand.
He made a single laugh, keeping it low. "My reason? I think, you will laugh." Doryu eyed his weapon. "I left, for I hated, killing. My whole life, I have killed, endless, unchanging."
Valstrax didn't want to hear that, if anything, she foolishly hoped... "I'm sorry I'm not as strong-willed." "All of this has only tempered your convictions, despite why you're here, I won't laugh at you, I'd never do that to you." Her sincerity couldn't be more honest. Then her wings splayed, the vent on her chest glowering scarlet like her eyes, wings blazing hot. "Which is why I can't let you stop me from saving my daughter!"
Too much he understood. Akame would fight fate, another infection he planted in her head in foolishness. Clutching his spear, its blade turned blue, whitish-blue lines splitting apart his left arm infused with unprecedented strength, "My respects, Akame - Then we shall, see how far, you've come,"
Before Doryu understood what happened, he raised his shield to counter Valstrax's sudden collision, a sonic boom eclipsing them while a halo of scarlet rang out. Inverting her right, it struck like a blade, parried by the spear that swung with the force of a train, shattering many of Valstrax's scales while she flew upright, anchored to the ceiling to come crashing down against the great shield once more.
Doryu held firm, twisting his foot to throw his weight left, tossing the Sky Comet aside to pulverize the two four-meter pillars of earth flanking from his blind spot. Tekton kept up the assault, three more intercepting from differing points around the villain. Above, Valstrax poised her wing vents forward, the energy skyrocketing.
Between the pillars and Akame's own barrage of red energy, Doryu raised his shield, the energy within his arm transferring to his shield. With one, devastating slam, the metal released a blue light that uprooted the ground, blocking every attack with a single action alone. Jura was left stunned while Valstrax landed next to him, continuing to expel energy.
"I can maintain this 'Enraged' state for five minutes, then I'm useless for a while..." Her time was ticking, she needed to act fast. "You alright, Tekton?"
"He... didn't even look phased at all by my attacks?" Jura, star-stricken watched as the towering giant stomped one foot, releasing a feral tremor from the earth. "What is he doing?"
"The vigilante; Red Dragon," Jura had never heard that name before, and from what he gathered Valstrax knew him personally, long before she had adopted Yuki. "Get ready, he's taken us seriously now."
"You're serious, he wasn't even trying!?" He was well in over his head on this one.
With his feet sunk into the ground, he immediately channelled every ounce of energy he could from the earth, drawing white arcs of lightning across his body, repairing the cracks in his hide, patching his missing scales in seconds before stunning them with a terrible roar, craning his arm to slam his staff into the withered soil, releasing a wave of white flames in the process.
"His Quirk is highly unstable," Valstrax stood against the intense aura while Jura trembled behind his armour that felt more like paper. "He can draw the life energy from the environment, accelerating his natural healing and strengthening his attacks - his other handle was the inspiration for my hero name - The Sapphire Star."
Under the dark helmet, two white dots stared back with a foreboding presence. "Heroes, I advance."
Valstrax rushed through the flames, seeing that unbreakable stance shift to block. Red stood tall, blocking the first wing, effortlessly returning her down backswing with his halberd, metal screamed and Valstrax flew through the air, gliding in a helix only to skate the polearm bearing down on her, Red having thrown it forward, life energy unleashed like a clap of thunder, erupting against her armour.
The black smoke rose and dust was kicked aside in an instant as Red swung his shield left, shattering five more stone pillars, retrieving his halberd to swing forth a torrent of pure energy to ripple and break Jura's guard, both arms and chest either fractured or exposing his body beneath its hide. Behind the fragment missing from his helmet, Red Dragon saw the eye of a scared child sweating at the sight of his strength. He wished it weren't the case.
"Do not, interfere, no more death," He warned Jura before blocking another of Valstrax's wind blasts, her left swung to skate over his helmet, chipping a horn while Red's halberd caught Valstrax's hip, burning through her gleaming scales.
Jura trembled in place, feeling his legs buckle against him. "I can't move my legs, and my arms won't stop shaking!" He clenched his fists, trying to face the hero risking her life to defeat this villain while he... was just in the way. "I... I can't even beat a single villain - what good am I!? It was always someone else, what can even do with my power!?"
Red slammed his polearm down, the ground erupting with energy infused into its dead, flaking face. Valstrax avoided it, drawing her fist down on his shield. It arced upward so she used it to vault over another of Red's swings, kicking the energy sponge across the face, landing to sprint in an arc toward the dragon.
"I'm running out of time," Valstrax grit her teeth, feeling her lungs burn in protest during her descent. "I have to use it but I don't think it'll be enough to take that shield down... what do I do!?"
The Red Dragon slowly retrieved his weapon, turning to face the girl, wedging the head of his weapon against her wings, the pair chattering against the other though the dragons struggled to push against such imposing forces. That, and Doryu wasn't exactly a lightweight.
Drawing their weapons away, Red swung wide with tremendous force, halberd screaming against Valstrax's cross guard, the life energy expelled behind her back from the sheer force, the dirt kicked up in a large cloud behind her tensed expression. Blood trickled down her forehead, helmet broken on the left side. With ease, the vigilante swatted her aside, rushing with a tremendous burst of speed to angle his shield, slimming the edge into her stomach before flinging her away.
She nearly vomited up her lunch, grovelling on her knees. "You're... seriously strong, I can't beat that," Panting, her Enraged state was dwindling, she had one shot at this, fail, and they died. "But I can't ever stop moving forward-" Her grin was that of a madman. "Isn't that what you said, MASTER!?" She roared loud enough to fissure the ground with her steps.
The world was just dark, bleak even for Jura, he stood there, blood and energy spilt while his own body trembled from a single blow that left his armour fractured, his arms felt like the muscles had torn, even his ribs were on the verge of fracturing. What could he do against that? "Is... Yuki Mom going to die... because of me?"
Jura kept running even while his legs burned, sweat poured down his face in protest. He didn't stop until he made it to the playground that day, hearing what others from his neighbourhood were talking about. His two best friends were in trouble, he needed to help them!
When he arrived, a stupid little boy who recently got his Quirk, although not strong or as effective as Nana's, he still rushed to help his friends, rather, the eldest who had no Quirk. Standing over the bullies to defend her younger sister who was picked on for her 'demonic' appearance, Yuki was bruised and dirty, knuckles red from beating up the four idiots herself, glaring at any who dared come near her sister who held onto her older siblings legs.
He was happy they were safe but hated how he was unable to be there for either of them.
Years later...
Long after Yuki vanished off the face of Japan, he bowed his head to the mute girl after school, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'm sorry! I... I didn't know how much you've been through, I wish I was there for you then maybe you'd never had to go through what you did!"
A hand plopped atop his head, lifting his gaze to meet the curved glow of her mask's eyes. Shaking her head, he read her note. 'It's not like it was big news where you were staying, don't blame yourself for what I've experienced, dummy'. He accepted that... but it still ate away inside.
Then the Kamino Disaster...
"She's in a coma... I..." The news hit Class B shortly after the Kamino Ward battle, after Yuki... stopped moving. Outside the hospital in a small garden Kendo and Tetsutetsu did their best to keep Jura from falling apart, his knuckles white on his lap with his head down, tears falling to his lap. "Why am I never there when she needs help? Every. Damn. Time. I always fail them both!"
"Both?" Tetsu asked, looking at Kendo.
"Her sister, she's in the same situation, I... I've always admired Yuki's strength, she never needed a Quirk to be tough, that much was obvious," He bit his lip, trying to force back his tears. "I honestly saw her as a sister too, she was always so kind despite her setbacks, and I had this power and not once has it down any good!"
"Stop," Kendo placed her hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look up at her. "You don't need to hear this but we know she'd say the same thing if she saw you beating yourself up; You were never her friend because you were strong, it was always down to that kind heart of yours, she never would ask for more and you know that."
"She's right!" Tetsu punched Jura's shoulder with confidence. "Why the crap are ya stuck worrying about what you can't do? Just get stronger and try again, even if it took years I bet she'll still accept you as her best friend 'cause you kept tryin', seems kinda obvious to me!"
"Tetsu-!" Kendo slapped the back of his head but neither saw Jura wipe his tears to look at them evenly.
"Are you sure? I've always been weak when it counts, I can't use my Quirk like your Steel, or even your fists, Kendo," It was fact, he was weak when compared to the others.
"Do we have to spell it out for you!?" Tetsu grunted, waving his arms wildly. "You're the one that's always said how nice and strong she is, I've seen it too - I really want to fight her - but the point is bet if you told her how you felt about seein' her like family she'd be over the moon, bet on it!"
Kendo sighed, shaking her head. "Could've used more tact, but yeah," Smiling, she gave her classmate a small pat on the back. "When she's back to normal, tell her that, because again, your Quirk is just a part of you, what matters is your heart, right?"
"Exactly what I've been telling him!" Tetsutetsu exclaimed. Kendo facepalmed. Jura finally laughed again.
"I never did tell her, I wanted her to spend time with Nana again after everything they've been through," He remembered seeing them laughing with the rest of Class 1-A recently after moving into the dorms, their smiles wide and full of life like the old days. It was touching to see again.
Jura was on his knees, digging at the soil in his hands, helmet falling to pebbles at his palms with a distraught look on his face, heterochromia eyes burning with rekindled hope. "I am through falling behind when the people I care about are in danger! I am DONE regretting my weaknesses, it's all just an excuse! Yuki never made excuses, she kept fighting, even when it hurt her!"
Valstrax leapt back, blood spat from her lips as the force of the shield knocked her back. "I have to do this, even if I fail!" He steadied herself, ready to lunge at the slow approach of Red Dragon, his eyes blazing, dripping with an indomitable spirit.
"This ends." Red declared only to draw his energized shield around to block the two pillars that obscured his sight of Jura, though the retaliation surprised him. "Have I, underestimated, you?"
To his and Valstrax's bewilderment. Jura's fingers bled from digging them through the coarse dirt, feeding his Quirk, not toward the dead earth, rather, to Riis Perfected itself. Bronze light emanated from his body, piercing the walls and ceiling above. "Tekton..." Valstrax's heart swelled with pride.
"I refuse to let anyone else down again! To let anyone suffer without a shield - I will protect the people I care for!" "Ultimate Move - IRON DREADNAUGHT!"
Over a dozen new columns took form, a mesh of the metal from the facility itself, utilizing the stone molecules within the imperfect metalwork. With both hands free of the earth, Jure brought his fists forward, converging the army of descending pillars upon the Red Dragon who had absorbed any energy left in the area, he had no time to drain what remnants were left.
Raising his great shield, the large, four-meter wide pillars crashed against his defence, taking several pieces of the thick defence, shuffling the vigilante's boots back ever so slightly. Each pillar collapsed on contact, the sheer impact mightier than a mallet, leaving Red without room to counterattack.
The final pillar fell away, only for Tekton to drop off its surface, swivelling around his body were the fragments of his helmet, the granite had gathered to an orbit around the teen, the lifeforce retained in his armour drained to erect a black, semi-opaque dome across his body. "I see, you two are, against fate."
"RRRRRAAAAAAAAHHH!" Valstrax synchronized her cry with Jura's, bringing her right leg forward, the last of her dragon element expelled to collide with Red Dragon's impregnable shield alongside Jura's fist, their twin combo overturning the land several times over in an expanding ring, leaving no trace of the vigilante sent flying into the furthest wall by their combined might, leaving a massive impression on the wall.
Valstrax collapsed to her knees, coughing from the pain in her lungs, overtaxing her ability like that was bad mid-battle if she wasn't careful. Looking to her lap, she helped Jura rest against her legs, even if it were against metal scales, he seemed content to rest there with his eyes closed, bloodied and beaten as they were. She patted his head, noting that the dome was gone, black lightning was all she could see the moment his fist struck Red Dragon.
"...I'll... grow strong..." His voice croaked, one eye cracked open an inch. "I'll be... a shield... m-miss Akame..."
Exhaling, Valstrax smiled in content, noting that Red Dragon's scent grew weak and distant. He was gone once more. "You did real good, Tekton." She praised, looking around the facility. "Five minutes, just rest, okay kid?"
At that moment, Akame couldn't help but laugh lightly. "I underestimated you too, sorry 'bout that, Yuki really knows how to pick sibling figures." Her face fell again. That's right, Yuki was still in danger. "No matter what it costs, I won't lose her again."
To Be Continued...
Man, that was intense! Jura's a lot like Kirishima in a way, to be a shield for others. Valstrax's background gets a little more mysterious with another Elder Dragon inspired character, a habit I know, The Red Dragon based on Safi'Jiiva. I hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Heroes!
Next Chapter - Imperfections Made Whole
Hana: The enemy is here, waiting for us
Velk: It's him again, Harbinger's Nightmare...
Hana: But is it really Harbinger pulling the strings?
Velk: I don't know, I don't what to believe.
Hana: Coming, Imperfections Made Whole - Go Beyond.
Velk/Hana: Plus Ultra!