Geno was outside of Echo City. Despite the fact he was outside of the city, he could tell that the fighting starting. "I gotta get back in there…I gotta help Mom, Hermit and the others…" But he couldn't do that alone. Alone, he was just a young man with no special powers. He couldn't do this alone. He needed… "Omega!" He shouted out into the air. Omega could literally be anywhere on the planet…but would he be? They were invested in this fight.
As Geno wandered, he did see Omega atop a hill, so he rushed over to him. Omega was waiting for him, arms crossed. "What took you so long?" If Geno was seeking him out, then it meant he wanted to fight.
"Is that all you have to say?" Geno was panting a bit, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. "It took a lot for me to come find you. I…I wanted to apologize for what I said last time…it…it wasn't right."
"No…I get it." Omega glanced off to the side. "Maybe I was a little out of line, too. But if your resolve wavered, it would be the end. Even when things get hard you have to get fighting. I didn't mean to make it seem like I didn't care about what happened."
"I get that now." Geno said. "Even though I'm hurt…so is everyone else, but they kept fighting. It's selfish of me to cower away because I can't take it. This whole war has been taking a toll on everyone, especially my Mom. Fighting this battle is hard, and I still feel bad that I couldn't save Sarisse, but…but if something happened to Mom because I didn't fight, I would never forgive myself!"
"Wow. Looks like you found your resolve pretty fast." Omega couldn't help but chuckle. "What exactly happened while I was away? You look like you have a different look in your eye."
"…I made a friend." Geno admitted sheepishly. "And I promised her I would make an effort to fight. And right now, they need all the help they can get. So, Mega…will you be my partner again? I need someone I can trust to help me with this." Geno extended his hand slowly. Just by becoming partners with Omega, he already opened his heart up. It nearly closed again, but thanks to Hermit, it was saved.
Omega laughed. "Hahaha! You really did turn around. I'll have to meet this friend of yours." Omega took Geno's hand. "We have a planet to save." There was a bright flash of blue light as the two fused together, becoming the Blue Bomber once again.
Geno took a look at himself, clenching a hand into a fist. "This time…I won't run away!"
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Aiden was staring in shock at what was before him. His efforts were enough to push Blair into her Therion instincts, resulting in her Overdrive to occur. As a Therion, she took a form akin to a wolf. She was on all fours, snarling up at Aiden within his Golden Knight Gear. "I'll devour you…" Blair said with a low tone. Was she in control of herself? It was hard to say, because her animosity towards Aiden was still present.
Aiden could feel the shift in the air. Blair was…admittedly a little frightening right now. But he had her on the ropes! All he had to do was crush her here and now, and he could get back to crushing those Resistance people once and for all! So he raised his Knight Gear's large sword and swung it down towards Blair with all the might the machine could muster! It slammed down onto the ground, creating a thick cloud of smoke. But Blair wasn't seen at all. "What?!"
"HAAAAH!" Blair suddenly appeared to Aiden's left, kicking the Golden Knight Gear square in the chest. Unlike before where her kicks staggered the machine, this time, the Golden Knight Gear was completely lifted off of its feet and toppled several buildings in the process.
"GAAAH!" Aiden cried out in pain, feeling as if his own chest was caved in. What monstrous strength! But he was still alive! Aiden clenched his teeth and quickly stood back up. "You little…! I'll make you pay for this!" Blair was just standing atop some rubble, which allowed Aiden to target lock on her. "Fire!" He released multiple high powered missiles in Blair's direction with the intention of destroying her on the spot. These missiles all collided on Blair for a fierce explosion, and Aiden used this chance to fly into the air to assess the damage.
Before Aiden could even fly too far, Blair lunged from the smoke and her claws latched onto the Golden Knight Gear's leg. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Blair screamed, her claws digging into the Golden Knight Gear's leg, causing Aiden to cry out once again.
"Get off of me!" Aiden said, swinging his leg frantically in an effort to get Blair off of his leg.
Blair didn't oblige. She was climbing up the Golden Knight Gear's leg with her claws, until she got tired of it and completely severed the limb from the Knight Gear with her bare hands. Aiden screamed out in pain this time, feeling his leg go numb from the link he shared with the machine. Blair wasn't finished, she was still attached to the Golden Knight Gear and quickly crawled to its back, her claws lighting up in fire as she targeted the fuel supply. When her Overdrive activated, her 'claws' and her blades fused together, allowing her to pull from their elements. So she struck the fuel supply with her blazing claw and it caused a large explosion.
"AAAAAH!" Aiden found himself screaming again, his back in searing pain as the Golden Knight Gear was falling from the sky, helplessly against Blair's assault.
Blair leapt from the Golden Knight Gear and to nearby buildings, pushing off of them to kick and slash at the Golden Knight Gear from various angles. These attacks were so fast and strong, Aiden felt himself being thrown for a loop. How was he getting tossed around so easily!? Blair didn't even have names for the attacks she was unleashing; this was all just primal instinct taking over.
"Gh! I WILL NOT BE MADE A FOOL OF LIKE THIS!" Aiden snarled, quickly getting himself together despite the pain. "She must be using speed akin to Rebecca! In that case, she can only move but so fast! So on her next attack…!" Aiden reared his fist back as Blair prepared to strike again. He would strike her down with this one attack! "GOLDEN FIST!" Just as Blair came in to attack, he swung his fist at her! The Golden Knight Gear would strike! But…Blair also threw a punch forward. Her punch completely shattered the arm of the Golden Knight Gear, destruction trailing up the arm until it exploded from the limb. "NGH!?"
Before Aiden even had the chance to recover, Blair was on him. She grabbed the Golden Knight Gear's other leg and flung the entire thing into the wall that served as a shield to Echo City. She was then beginning to rush Aiden down again from across the city. Because of her strength, she ripped off the other leg of the Golden Knight Gear, leaving it with only a single
"This can't be…that was raw speed…this is raw power…!?" Aiden had no idea what he was dealing with now. "S-Stay away from me, you MONSTER!" He meant it this time. No human could ever fight with sort of animalistic rage. He still had one arm left! The arm that held his sword! He was charging it with everything he had left within the Knight Gear's reserves. "I-I'LL KILL YOU!" Aiden roared desperately as he swung the sword at Blair, actually catching her and managing to slam her into the ground. At least…that's what he thought. But Blair ended up grabbing the sword with a single hand, knees bent as she braced for the impact.
"….They say history is to be remembered. But this broken machine is going to be the only reminder that you ever lived." Blair said before crushing the entire sword within her grip. The destruction spread to the arm, causing that to explode as well. Now, the Golden Knight Gear was just a torso with Aiden inside the cockpit, unable to move at all. This entire fight, she was just eating the Golden Knight Gear, using it to feed herself. Blair then hopped onto the Golden Knight Gear, just above the cockpit where Aiden was.
Aiden's heart started beating rapidly. He was starting death in the face. Blair's now black eyes were glaring down at him. "W-Wait…!" Aiden could only move his mouth. But he was going to try and plead for his life somehow. "Y-Your crew! They're looking for Ziggy, correct? I know where he is!" Blair was starting to raise her arm. "I'll tell you right now! He's on Le-"
Blair thrust her arm forward, right into Aiden's body. There was no conversing with a monster. There was a sickening CRUNCH as she clenched her hand on him, immediately draining him for anything and everything his body had to offer. Blood spattered onto the cockpit window and on Blair's cheek. "…" She ate….she ate a person. She killed someone. She let the monster in her win. The moment this thought hit her head, she blinked, as if regaining control of her body and it returned to normal. She stared at Aiden's now dead body with wide eyes. She just did the one thing she promised not to do while on the Eden's Zero: kill someone. Blair stared at her bloodied hand for a long time, completely numb to everything around her. "….Shit. Still hungry, too…ugh…."
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"Do you think Blair's okay over there?" Medi asked. At some point they couldn't see the fight anymore. Just feel the large explosions and the way the city shook from the mass release of power.
"She's totally fine." Sister said with a dismissive wave. "It's like we let her off her leash and she's tearing into that jackass. She'll drag his body back here and we can finally get some answers from him."
"That would be nice." Tristan said with a scowl. He still couldn't believe someone he thought they were close to would betray them like this.
"…." Despite all of this, Stella placed a hand over her chest. For some reason, it hurt more than it already did…
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Athena waved her hand for Rebecca and Weisz to come at her. "Your friends who were supposed to deal with us should be dealing with waves of Skeleton Army androids right now, so they'll be busy for a while. Come on. If you want to save the androids of this planet once and for all, you're going to have to get through me. You don't have all day."
Rebecca crouched down into a runner's stance, glaring at Athena. She couldn't get a read on this Goldstone. She figured out Rebecca's Leaper powers, but presumably kept this information to herself and for what reason? "I'll lead!" Rebecca said.
"I'm right behind you." Weisz said while suiting up into Arsenal. They couldn't afford to waste any time with Athena, they had to fight and win right now.
"Here I go!" Rebecca entered her Overdrive, zipping across the open space in a zig zag pattern. She then leapt into the air and flipped, aiming a fierce axe kick for the crown of Athena's head. Athena brought regular arm up to block the hit, much to Rebecca's annoyance. Rebecca was then pushed back.
"Grandee Wing!" Weisz immediately moved in with a blade from his suit. He tried to slash Athena with said blade, but she blocked this with her shield. Before Weisz could even pull back, Athena's shield's power activated and he was knocked back. "Gah!"
Rebecca grabbed Happy, who transformed into dual pistols, and she started to take shots from the air. "Happy Blaster!" Just like in their previous encounter, Athena was easily able to evade Rebecca's bullets, even while using her superior speed and mobility to shoot from various angles.
"You already know that's not going to work!" Athena smirked. Rebecca, knowing this, had no choice but to suddenly dive in for a kick. Athena did try to block this, but Rebecca landed on Athena's arm, spun around, and landed a heel kick against the Goldstone's cheek, causing her to stagger for just a second. That left a bruise, and just before Rebecca could retreat, she was struck with a blast of light that sent her in the opposite direction. "So you've still got some kick left, huh?"
Weisz appeared to Athena's left, his hand extended. "Atlas Flame!" He released a gigantic flame form the palm of his hand to consume Athena. He thought it worked, but the flames bent around Athena, who used her shield to protect herself at the very last second. "Damn!"
Athena then raised her hand, her Ether Gear activating as a bright white light started to emanate from it. "Magical Shine!" A brilliant flash of light exploded from her hand, blinding Weisz, Rebecca, and Pino. With the three of them temporarily blinded, Athena made a beeline towards Weisz and slammed her palm into his chest, a blast of light consuming him and throwing him back while piercing through his side. Athena then snapped her fingers and pointed towards Rebecca, a small glint of light travelling towards her. "Celestial Fireworks!"
"Gaaah!" Weisz shouted as he was thrown back.
Not that move again! Rebecca heard it coming but she didn't know from where! The moment it struck her, she could feel it pushing her backwards against the wall and exploding against her. It hurt even more than before…!
[Rewind.]
Rebecca used her power to rewind time. She had to, because Athena already gained too much momentum with one single attack. She rewound time back to the moment where Weisz used Atlas Flame and failed, so Athena was about to counter with Magical Shine. "Close your eyes!" Rebecca warned while charging ahead. Weisz did so and Magical Shine occurred, the light not affecting the pair. "Now!" Rebecca was about to attack, but she was met with Athena's foot in her stomach, causing her to fly back. "Agh!"
"Mortal Crash!" Weisz threw his palm forward to release a gigantic explosion upon Athena, but this was also blocked by her shield.
"Ricochet!" Athena then used that power Weisz released and sent it back at him, knocking him back just as she did Rebecca. The pair from the Eden's Zero were knocked down and winded from that.
"W-What…?" Rebecca's eyes went wide. "But…how did you…?!"
"She acted so fast…" Part of Weisz's Arsenal Suit was broken off. His helmet was half broken, which did expose part of his face.
"Didn't I tell you?" Athena said while flipping her hair. "I know when you use your power…and I've come up with different solutions to adapt to you trying to get one over on me." The white ether lines on her body started to shine brighter as the Ether in her body spiked. Her green hair turned white, angelic wings sprouted from her back, and she had a halo over her head. She activated her Overdrive. "I will not allow you to win here today, as part of the Goldstone creed. We have never failed a mission, and we don't intend to today."
Rebecca glanced behind Athena. They also didn't have to beat her…they just had to shut down the Core! She made an attempt to go for it, speeding past Athena to shut the core down, but the moment she got close, a force field appeared and knocked her back. "Huh?! This one is protected?!"
"By the Tower's own security system." Athena said with a grin. "I'm sure you sent Hermit and Ano to hack into it correct? Unfortunately for them, Max should be cleaning them up right about now. Which means you'll have no way of shutting anything down."
"Chances of victory…grow slim…" Pino said fearfully. Thanks to Aiden's betrayal, the Goldstones were completely prepared for everything….
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The battle against Kamara, even with preparations, wasn't going smoothly. Kleene's Ether Gear allowed her to suck away the nightmare fumes that Kamara's body was constantly giving off, but even then, the youngest Goldstone was still a threat. Kleene was keeping to the backline to ensure Lowell, Asuka, and Homura had a fighting chance. Kamara was so adept with a blade, she was capable of fending off Homura, who was in her Overdrive as well, and Lowell with her sword. The two slid back after failing to connect their attacks. "She's skilled…" Homura hated admitting this, but it was true. Kamara was a different beast with a blade.
"Not skilled enough!" Asuka was in her incomplete Overdrive, lunging at Kamara with all her might. "Hono Hammer!" Flames ignited around her fist and she swung it at Kamara's face, but it was blocked with the flat edge of her blade. Kamara held her ground, even as Asuka had water jetting out from her elbow to give her an extra edge. It didn't work, because Asuka was slashed across the chest in the end and thrown back. "Agh…! D-Damn it…!"
Kamara turned towards Kleene and immediately made a rush at her. Kleene was the one making this fight slightly more irritating than it needed to be, and Kleene, needing to focus on keeping her Ether Gear active for this purpose couldn't fight back. She tried to dodge, but the Goldstone was on her. "You're the issue." Kamara stated flatly, thrusting her sword towards Kleene in an effort to kill her, but that was deflected by one of Homura's swords.
"You will not lay a hand on anyone else!" Homura stated while thrusting a second sword at Kamara. Kamara was narrowly able to dodge this by flipping backwards.
Lowell was in position to attack, his Second Star Sword transforming into an icy cold blade. "Raging Ice Fang!" Lowell slammed his sword onto the ground, a trail of glaciers shooting towards Kamara while she was dodging Homura's attack.
Kamara landed on the ground, spinning around to slice through the incoming ice attack. Shards of ice flew into the air and she sent them back towards Lowell, who was barely able to defend himself. He slashed at the incoming icicles, but several of them did end up pelting and stabbing him in a few locations. "You're wasting my time."
"She is a problem…" Homura said with soft pants.
"How do we break through…" Asuka asked. Her head was admittedly a little woozy from getting slashed directly. Kleene was only ensuring Kamara's nightmare fumes didn't pollute the air, but there was nothing she could do for direct attacks.
"Of course she's good…" Lowell sucked his teeth. "We studied the blade under the same master. And then…she killed him."
"What?!" Kleene, Homura, and Asuka gasped.
"You're still clinging to that?" Kamara let out a heavy sigh. "It was nothing personal. His sword techniques were simply too prime to let anyone else master them, however…it appears that I truly was too lenient in letting you live. You were not my target, so I thought nothing of it. But I see now that I should have been more thorough. I will be rectifying that mistake here and now, though. With a single strike, Lowell."
"A Fatal Strike." Lowell said while bending his knees. The two of them stared at each other before lunging forward. They could see the thread that led to a Fatal Strike and they both went for it. Lowell and Kamara passed by each other and slid to a halt. There was a tense silence for a moment before Lowell's eyes widened. His sword completely passed through Kamara, but her blade cut clean across his chest. "GH…." It was a hard hit too, because he collapsed on the spot.
"LOWELL!"
"That's one down." Kamara said, blood dripping from the tip of her sword. This was the second time she had blood on her sword like this. "Three remain."
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Max reared his arm back and punched Hermit in the stomach. A loud BANG emanated from his fist upon impact and the Shining Star flew back, crashing into the ground with a nearly destroyed wrist as well. Hermit's eyes were wide and she felt that pain shake her entire body. "W-Wh…what was that…!?"
Max grinned while stepping forward. "I can still use my Ether Gear for more than just guns. The impact of them are just packed within my fists. You hackers aren't going to win this."
"Code 005: Data Copy!" Ano acted. He had to. Once again, he called forth a copy of Arsenal's suit and charged ahead. He threw a punch at Max, but he easily dodged it. This happened a few times. Ano's close combat was poor, but he couldn't afford to sit and do nothing. Max weaved through Ano's amateurish punches before firing back with his own. Max was a boxer through and through, several punches landing against Ano's body and shattering his suit with powerful BANGS.
"You're out of your league, trying to box with me!" Max laughed, swinging a heavy haymaker for Ano's chest, knocking him so hard into the ground it caved in a bit.
Hermit stood up and spun around, aiming a heel kick to Max's cheek. This wasn't a hit, as Max grabbed her ankle and proceeded to spin her around against her will. "I may not be able to use my guns against you, but my physical strength has always been my best asset!" He then threw Hermit into a wall, before punching the air a few times. Each punch created a shockwave that hit Hermit.
"Agh! Gah! Ack…" Hermit gasped with each hit, her eyes shaking from the pain.
"SNAKE BITE!" Ano used his snakes to attack. A gigantic serpent slithered its way from the ground, maw open as it attempted to lunge and bite down on Max. Max caught the snake's mouth open with his bare hands, only struggling for a second or two before ripping it apart. "No way…this is…beyond our projected data!"
"We've been holding back our power this whole time, in case things did come to this!" Max said while punching the air again, a BANG ringing out as Ano was struck square in the chest. The armor he had on softened the blow, but it was completely destroyed and the young man was crumpled on the ground in agony. "You think we're the best in the business for showing all our cards in the first encounter!? Haha!"
Hermit had to pull herself from the wall. "I can't outmuscle him…I have to outthink him, but…" There was a ton of damage on her body, and she was starting to reach her limit as well. Max's blows were just too strong. Even Shiki would have trouble taking a punch from someone this…this powerful. "Can't give up yet…" She took a step forward, but Max was already in front of her. "…!" Hermit gasped.
"You put up a good fight…for an android." Max's fist hit Hermit's stomach and a BANG rang out again. Hermit's body was flung backwards as her injured arm was completely destroyed in the process, leaving her worse for wear. "It's over." He stood over Hermit while raising his fist. Wasting no time, he threw it forward with all the power he could muster…
Hermit thought this might have been it.
In that moment, a blue streak crashed in from the side. Everything stopped in that moment and a shockwave boomed out as the Blue Bomber's open palm just barely stopped Max's fist. The Blue Bomber held his ground, gritting his teeth as he held off the muscular Goldstone. There was then a blast of ether that caused an explosion, forcing Max to slide back. "Hah…!"
"No way…!" Ano gasped.
Hermit needed a second to process what happened. But Geno was here…he made up with Omega. She was weak and exhausted, but there was a smile on her lips. "…What took you so long?" She asked with a bit of sarcasm.
"Sorry we're late." Geno said with an apologetic smile. He really cut it close.
"He was being stubborn." Omega's voice could be heard as well.
Max was staring in disbelief. He was told that the Blue Bomber died! But after a few seconds, he started laughing. "Aha…AHAHAHA! Oh, this is great! I was upset when I heard you just dropped dead, but I'm so glad that wasn't the case! You really are the perfect thorn in our side!"
"The Blue Bomber was dead for a bit." Geno said while turning to face Max, getting into a fighting stance. "But I'm back now. I almost forgot what I was fighting for, but someone reminded me. I'm not letting you have your way with this planet!"
"Yeah, that's what I wanted to hear." Max said while cracking his knuckles. "This is the ending I wanted. You had to be here no matter what! Because there's no better end to a story when the hero gets crushed. It always had to end with you!"
Geno glanced back at the injured Hermit and the injured Ano on the other side of the room. Hermit's gaze said that she was counting on him, and Ano was hopeful that he could turn this situation around. Right now, he was the hero they were hoping for, and he couldn't let them down. He already lost so much, but he couldn't…he wouldn't lose anymore. "You're right; this is going to end with me. Because I'm putting an end to this, once and for all!"