Chapter 125 - Way of the Pathfinder
~Beginning Playback - Entry Zero~
The screen quickly came to life as the image showed that of Yuki adjusting her eyepatch. "O-oh, are we filming?" The camera nodded at her, and the bluette blushed awkwardly with a smile. "Ah, sorry, ahem - hey guys, and... well, myself I guess, I wanted to record a few things as a form of diary while we remain in this world,"
She tapped her chin, "Why, you probably wonder? Well, while we have a Gatestone, I still don't have my power back, and none of us feel ready to fight Kovik, not until we firmly understand NARA and how to combat it, hence why we may take longer to return home, I'm sorry if that's caused more harm than good," She fidgeted then smiled quickly to hide her woes. "Thanks to Ghost here, I'm able to record these, you're the best."
"Think nothing of it, the idea of people from an entirely different reality watching these has piqued my interests," The ghost recording spoke with almost a buzz of excitement in his voice. "Now, shall we begin?"
Yuki nodded, "Right, this is entry Zero, seeya guys soon enough," She winked, and the camera cut out.
[-]
~Beginning Playback - Entry Five~
The image appeared, this time, Ceres took front stage with a bashful smile. Then, she waved politely, "Hello there, my name is Ceres, I'm the leader of Fireteam Horizon, and one of the Guardians aiding Yuki and her friends in their mission while they stay in our world," She patted her hip where her sunbreaker sash lay, clashing oranges, yellows, and white with her black, white, and red armour. "To note, I'm a Titan like Rayla, and a Sunbreaker at that, though I've learned to harness both other elements, Void, and Arc,"
"I also hear that Izuku Midoriya would be very interested in learning about our powers, so I hope my little introduction to that helps, sorry if this segment's boring for the rest of you," She smiled sweetly, then cleared her throat, holding up her hand to release her golden flames. "As you've seen with Rayla, we were gifted with Light from the Traveller, although we have no prior memories to our lives before becoming Guardians, aside from that, we gain access to one of three elements, Solar, Arc, and Void. With some having all of them or two unlocked, depending on various factors like past experiences or attunement to the Light, but no concrete answer remains,"
She scattered the flames quickly, "We also learned various traits with our Light. Such as Light Enhance, which applies an element to ourselves or others for additional benefits. Solar for strength, Void for defence, and Arc for reaction time and speed. Then there's Light Connect, this requires having access to more than one element, wherein the user flows from one element source to the other, this can also apply to Enhance, so for example, I can use my Hammer of Sol while being enhanced by the Void, pretty neat, right?"
"Then there's Light Bind, a variant of Connect in which multiple Guardians pass along their Super to another if willingly, if has to be brief though or it can have a severe backlash," Ceres cleared her throat, "Speaking of which, the last and most dangerous ability is Light Unity. In which one combined two of their elements into one Tremendous Super, I've not been able to do it myself, but those that have had suffered injures that almost proved fatal, so it's not recommended,"
Patting her hips, she smiled, "Well, I hope that was insightful, I'll do my best to help your friends from here, you have my word, this is Ceres, signing off,"
The screen cut to black.
[-]
~Beginning Playback - Entry Six~
"It's my turn? 'kay~" Zane waved off to the side, leaning against the railing with the Traveller behind him. With a jolly wave he flicked his hood down. "Hello~ Name's Zane, Hunter of Fireteam Horizon with the most amazing partner in the world!"
"Zane, getting of topic," Ceres' voice could be heard from behind Ghost but it was just as sweet as ever. He nodded and quickly sat upright.
"Couldn't resist, Titan Lady, ahem! Aside from the usual shtick you'd imagine us Hunters doing, the prowling, the hunting, the back alley scams, I'm actually a rare case for Guardians, as my name is my real birth name," He pulled out an old, weathered journal from his belt. "This here predates the Collapse, and has notes on my past life to a degree, including my little sister's name, Dimitri, who, believe or not, is a Guardian too!" He smiled, laughing. "Oh boy... that was an episode..."
He composed himself, "My family dilemma aside, Kyoka Jiro - think I got that name right - you're the musical genius I hear from Akio, he likes talking about your skill with all sorts of instruments, not to mention your singing voice, gah, I wish I could hear it!" Wiping a fake fear, Zane held up his own guitar. "I dunno what the music is like in your world so I thought I'd have Ghost here keep a record of some Golden Age and new age music from our world for you to listen and experiment with! Consider it one artist helping another!"
Strumming a few notes for a soft melody, he added. "He's a little caught up at the moment with Dimitri but he wanted me to say... 'I'll make sure you don't forget me', he's really nice, I like him," Zane closed his eyes with a toothy grin. Soon after, the screen blacked out.
[-]
~Beginning Playback - Entry Seven~
The next on the list was a Warlock in silver with his helmet off, Morbin, his metal head onyx with piercing orange eyes with a similar shade behind his mouth pieces. A spray-painted '7' on his forehead. "...why am I here?"
"Hey, we sat down and did this for Yuki, so can you," Zane's hand pointed into screen.
"It's just for a little fun, just tell them about yourself," Ceres tacked on, making the Exo sigh into his hands before they slipped to his lap.
"Fine. Greetings, I am Morbin-7, Warlock of Fireteam Horizon ~I WILL BUTCHER THE SOULS~ ...ugh, and that's Krieg, my split personality," He seemed even more depressed than before, waving a hand absentmindedly. "You may be wondering why us Exos carry a number next to our names? If not, too bad, I'm telling you anyway,"
"The number represents how many times our minds and memories have been reset, it can happen at random, some more often than others, I, on the other hand, wished to retain my memories of my former resets, so Deus, my ghost, imprinted all my saved memories onto my mind after each reset, the result was... as you've seen... ~FRAGMENTATIONS BURROW INTO MY MARROW~ ...the results speak for themselves, literally," He slumped into his sitting position.
He stared off to the side for a moment, as if listening to someone speak in his ear before addressing the camera. "I suppose I should impart some wisdom given our failure to cull that wretched Splicer; Kovik is obsessed with experimentation, you want to hurt him? Destroy that which he's enthralled by, that'll make a few gears twist in his little world ~SMASH THE SYSTEM~, Hmph, yeah, what he said," His eyes flickered between orange and red. Then the video faded to black.
[Earth, Last City, Wilderness]
"Hey," A hand tapped the top of Akio's head, startling him from his daydream. "What did I say about dozing off? Want my help or not, kid?"
"You do know I'm over a hundred years old, right?" That earned another sharp tap to the head.
"Wiseass," She grunted, sitting in front of him.
She was a Guardian, a Hunter by the name of Dimitri. She had her helmet off her silver and black camo armour, allowing her long silky white hair to fall to her lower back, brushing back her bangs she revealed her crystal blue eyes. She happened to be Zane's biological sister, and unlike the cheery, considerate sibling, this one had a mean streak with an almost permanent glare on her face. It was so much like Kyoka that Akio thought he was seeing things.
"Now, tell me, how do you feel?" She asked, bringing Akio's mind back to why he was sitting in the middle of a forest. His arms were channelling that of Nightmare glyphs, but he didn't release the spell, instead, he was to maintain its flow for an extended period of time, much to his mana's determent.
"Like my arms are on fire, and compressed, a little fuzzy?" He tried to analyse the feeling, his muscles strained. "Nightmare Spells are by far the most powerful spells I have, and without Viral my reserves can take a big hit if I use them too much,"
"Uh-huh, that's why we're sitting here," Dimitri summed up with a click of her tongue, motioning her arms to the quiet forest. "Too many noises in the city but out here you can work on absorbing all that energy around you, while increasing your effciency,"
"How do you know I absorb energy from the earth?" Akio cocked his head at her sharpness, he never mention that to her.
"You just told me," She smirked.
"Wait, so if you were wrong, then why were we out here then?" His concentration faltered and that earned him another jab to the forehead to straighten him out again.
"Don't question my brilliance, besides, Light and Magic go hand-in-hand, all that lost energy's gotta come from somewhere, sure, it can regenerate over time like stamina and stuff, but worlds touched by the Light that still have some lingering juice on them us Guardians absorb, hence why Darkness Zones can mitigate those regenerative properties," Dimitri herself seemed taken back by her words, smacking her lips. "Wow, I just had a nerd rush like my brother, that's creepy..."
Akio's lips curled slightly, "You remind me of Viral when you do that..." He muttered low enough to be unheard. Little did he know, this forlorn words were caught by the sharpest ears in the Tower. Dimitri's frown persisted but she didn't act on what she just heard, lamenting on her own memories for a split second.
"Right, after this, I wanna try something else before we wrap up today, gotta make my quota with Shaxx," Dimitri curled a lock of hair around her finger to distract herself.
"What is it?" Akio again was jabbed in the forehead. "Right. Focus."
"Good boy."
"Huhawhat?" Akio jumbled his words, staring blankly at the frantic, almost crazed smile on Dimitri's face.
"Ya heard me! Use that Wish Ender thingy on me, I can take it," She dared, curling her fingers back at herself to draw him forward.
"B-but Wish Ender's meant to obliterate almost anything in its way, and if I hit your soul... that's it, I don't think ghosts can resurrect your soul!"
"Eh, tomato-tomato, just fire it, kid," She looked almost completely disinterested in the idea of her immortality being reduced by two letters.
"That doesn't make it better!" Akio gawked back until Ray, who had been floating next to Akio, spoke up.
"D-D-Dimitri, this i-is a bad idea, y-you could... die..." His shell curled up on itself, the sheer thought of his Guardian - no, his friend dying permanently frightened him. He didn't want to replace her, not ever.
"Oi, both of you," They met with her fierce blue eyes again, she looked completely serious, almost as cold as Zavala's stare. "You either fire that spell my way, or-" To Akio's shock, her fingers spun around the Gatestone, tossing it between her fingers. "-you can kiss your one-way trip home goodbye, thinkin' I'll toss this into the Hellmouth, sound good?"
Akio could feel it, she was lying through her teeth something shocking but he understood the threat well. 'Either hit me with all you got or you have no chance at fighting back home'. Pushing Ray to the side to keep him from harm's way, Akio slit his gaze back at the sly smirk on Dimitri's lips as she pocketed the Gatestone. Bringing his hands into their correct positioning, as if holding the handle and string of a bow. The seals appeared and the river began to form.
"Nightmare Spells are the condensed negativity within Nightmares, its raw power that can corrupt any that aren't Hosts or Nightmares, even then, the damage they can cause is disastrous at best," Viral explained as he lowered his hand, the remains of a massive boulder now crumbling into dead ash and dust. "When you use these spells, you have to consider not just the target but what's caught in that radius, your target may survive, but the world around them? Well, that all depends on how little you value life,"
Viral had a morbid way of explaining the dangers of using such power freely, but he was right, Nightmare Spells can lead to calamity if used incorrectly. Dimitri didn't seem to realize that, atleast not openly, so Akio set aside his concerns and put his faith in the Guardian willing to take the blow head-on. "Wish Ender!" The bow conjured from darkness hardened into its wispy, astral form of red and purple light between his fingers, an arrow appearing from thin air.
With a pluck of the string, a small halo escaped ahead of his knuckle, and the arrow whizzed through the air and closed the gap between him and Dimitri. Her eyes let off a flash of lilac, and an explosion soon consumed her position with an earth-shattering shockwave. Much to Akio's and Ray's surprise, the dust cleared sooner than expected, and Dimitri stood there completely unphased by the attack, rather, an orb of swirling Void Light gathered in the air in front of her, and clutched by a thick line of energy was the remnants of Wish Ender.
"Is that it?" Dimitri quirked a brow.
"How... wha... haAH!?" Smoke escaped Akio's ears, trying to process what just happened to his spell. The Void sphere flashed and burst into particles, taking Wish Ender with it as Dimitri whistled.
"I mean, not bad but... yeah, that was pretty obvious if I'm honest," She admitted. "Like, I felt the pull of the arrow but once it struck my tether all that momentum was gone, so I'm guessing the spell uses velocity to build up its strength, and probably the amount of mana you pump into it, which isn't alot, you have just been expending your reserves for the last few hours," Despite how laid back the woman was, she was deceptively smart on the subject, patting her hips.
Akio stared back at her, flabbergasted as her middle and index fingers jabbed his chest, a small pulse trembling down into his soul. "Ya want to do right by Viral, yeah? Then by the time we're through, you'll be casting your little spells so fast there won't be any competition, as for Wish Ender... well, I have a few ideas on improving that," She leaned closer to the boy half a head shorter than her, bearing her teeth. "Ready for the next few weeks of hell?"
"P-Please don't scare him off..." Ray murmured, causing Dimitri to lose her cool act.
"Huh!? How's it my fault if he ain't got backbone!? Besides this guy's clearly got some, so what's the issue?" She waved her hand off to the side but Ray just brought his shell closer to her face.
"Ceres a-asked us to help h-him while she helps Y-Yuki with the Baron p-problem," His answer made her recoil, curling her hand back. "You promised!" She retracted further, grinding her teeth.
"Alright-Alright, I getcha, no more threats... geez, no need to yell..." She scratched her reddened cheek.
Akio smiled softly, she had a good heart, he could entrust his training to her. "Then where do we start?"
If Akio had a word to describe Dimitri. It was Unrelenting.
"I'M STARTING TO QUESTION YOUR TEACHING METHODS!" He screamed, running for cover as his legs floated through the air behind him, pulling himself behind an old concrete divider to avoid the purple plasma shots from overhead. They were currently on the Moon, with a special combat suit for Akio to survive the lack of oxygen on said moon, though strangely enough, he found himself able to breathe normally in the faint atmosphere. Whether this is due to the Moon's warped atmosphere since the Collapse as well as the Hive, or his past connection to his Nightmare eluded both him and Dimitri.
"Eh, I believe in working on the job - Now get your ass in there!" Dimitri yelled from atop a collapsed pipeline, watching the Hive regroup. Their red-tinted armour over chitin, clutching Shredders between gnarled claws with three glowing eyes beneath their helmets, bearing the rags marking their brood. They weren't overly tough for Akio, but that wasn't why he was here. "Look, your mission this week is simple, maintain a constant pair of glyphs, interchanging between them to fit your needs, gotta extend that mana pool of yours! Can't do that hiding like a greenhorn!"
"You say that like any of this to me makes sense! I'm fighting aliens on a moon, I can see everything from here!" He pointed back at Earth. If not for Dimitri's strict schedule for his training, he'd have love to take pictures for Kyoka and everyone when they got back home, however, duty comes first in the form of having your face nearly torn off by a cleaver. The Knight towered over Akio, bringing its sword down only to have a glade of ice impaling it through the chest.
Not missing a beat, Akio rolled his hips, bringing his right leg across to send a dusty shelf of earth through the neck of the Knight, decapitating it. Lunging high with Windwalker, the Acolytes below had a hard time pinging him as his glyphs turned orange around his forearms, a hot wind picking up around him. "Fire o Wisp!" The right glyph turned red in that instant, and a column of exploding fire shook the dark sky, lighting the ruins of the colony base in a harsh orange pigment as the Hive below were obliterated in the impact.
Akio panted, but he was standing in the ashen remains of the Hive, Dimitri took note of this, cocking her head back. "Oh? Combining spells? I didn't tell him to do that..." Her smile hidden by her helmet, she noticed the commotion was bringing more Hive from a nearby cavern connected in the direction of an entrance to the dark citadel beneath their feet.
"I-I heard reports these Hive in particular have a leader, b-but I'm not sure where..." Ray perked up in the back of Dimitri's mind, making her hum thoughtfully.
"I'll let that Chrome Dome know... for now... let's keep this going, eh?" She sat back and enjoyed the show.
Dimitri watched Akio wipe the sweat from his brow, charging up his magic once more at the oncoming enemies. "Infernal... I'll defeat him, then this can finally end!" At his back, the hands of Viral, Harbinger, Ravage, and Magnar pushed the young Nightmareless Host forward. "Just hold on, Kyoka!"
He took off toward the monsters born from the dark, an orb of molten flames tossed between him and the Hive, his fingers ready to snap.
"Again!" Dimitri boomed over the rainfall.
Akio launched himself over the makeshift barrier, drawing back the carbon black bow in his hands, rain dripping from its body as the arrow whizzed through the air, striking the first moving target. He rolled, plucking two arrows at once, using his thumb to part them before releasing, seeing the twin arrows ping the two targets either side of each other with the same force. He ran, drawing arrow after arrow from his quiver, hitting his mark between obstacles and moving planks of wood.
The mud made it tricky to keep his balance or know when to stop himself so when this occurred, he used a small seal around his legs to adjust his footing, be it to super dry the mud with Fire Scourge or push his body into the right position with Windwalker, even using Ward to lean against or roll over to strike a bullseye where his body couldn't.
Before long, he stood, sliding against a wall as a whistle blew, Dimitri stepped out from under a tree, admiring the work but noticed a few arrows landed a little off center, "T-that was his fastest time, g-good work, Akio!" Ray perked up, floating toward the dirtied brunette who slung the bow onto his back, smiling slightly.
"I feel like a wet noodle, but thanks," He opened and closed his hand, seeing the peeled skin and rough texture. "My old life, I was taught to use a bow so its nice to put it into practice again,"
"Hm... sure, well, your reaction time's improved, aim needs some work, but other than that..." Dimitri tucked her hood closer, patting Akio on the back sharply, knocking him face first into the mud. "Nice job! Ah... crap, uh, sorry, hehehe..."
"Nw prwbwm," He muttered into the mud, holding a thumb up at her.
"Let's take a break, b-before he gets sick," Ray sighed, knowing his Guardian wasn't really attune with what was too little or too much when it came to training.
"This seems like punishment," Velk winced, rubbing her right wing anxiously.
"Agreed," Hana was watching with a furrowed brow, hands against the pommel of her sword.
"Is she always like this?" Yuki asked, pointing down from the viewing station.
Zane looked up from one of his books, then to the world below, then shrugged. "His funeral, sadly," He nudged Ceres who sat beside him, grimacing at the sight. "She was really peppy this morning."
"That's what worries me, she doesn't get like this unless its Iron Banner," Ceres flinched after the sound of a large 'crash' could be heard below. "I feel really bad for him, alot of Guardians don't recover enough to set foot near the Crucible again when she's like this,"
The Guardian is unrelenting | If I were to compare | She would sweep the Sports Festival single-handedly
"That's... oh Great Machine, what have we done," Yuki's eyes were wide, realizing the horrible mistake she's made and Akio was paying the price.
Down in a private match in the Crucible's Downtown setting, an abandoned section of the Last City renovated into an arena for the Guardians. Akio, alongside two other Guardians, a Titan in white armour with an orange helmet like a dome over his large frame, and a Hunter in amber and black armour. All of them ran down the street toward Capture point A, the Hunter using a sniper, the Titan with a handcannon, and Akio using two sidearms.
The trio were then blinded by a snare bomb attached to a crate, tucked out of view. On the opposite side of the smoke, cloaked by the bomb's effects, was Dimitri. She appeared behind the Titan before he could recover, landing two arrows in the backs of his knees, kicking him to the ground before levelling her bow's sights on Akio, pinning him to the wall with two arrows under his armpits, tearing into his coat while the Hunter tried to land two shots at point blank but his muzzle was kicked aside and he found a knife lodged through his throat. Dropping him, Dimitri turned to return to her side of the arena, grabbing an arrow to lodge it in the Titan who only just about raised his handcannon to her stomach.
"What is she...?" Akio laughed nervously, tugging his arms free with ease as she clearly one the second round. The first, they didn't even make it across the street.
The next round began, and they made it to the flag, that's what Akio realized too late as a wave of bloodlust washed over them from above. "Dodge!" He yelled, and the trio scattered from Dimitri's grenade leaving the area behind them covered by a void dome. She rushed through her own grenade field, striking Akio's forearms shielding his face, then struck his stomach and cracked him across the jaw, knocking him down before bending into a backflip over the large sword in the Titan's hands, drawing her bow to pierce his back with an arrow.
Like a blinding flash, she procured two more, puncturing his helmet while blocking a shot from across the street from the Hunter with her forearm, he fired again but a Void veil coated her arm, said arm then crushed his windpipe against the building, pulling him up and over her head, slamming the poor Hunter into the tarmac. He grabbed her boot with a shaky hand only for an arrow to wedge itself through his visor and between the eyes.
"Oooh, that's gonna leave a mark," Zane winced as most of them recoiled.
"That was impressive though," Hana commented, Morbin nodding once beside her, visibly unphased by the ordeal, atleast on the surface.
Fourth match and the team took it slow, zipping between cover on the search for the Huntress. Akio held his sidearms up, looking across the alleyway that led from B to A, the others just behind him, watching their flanks. "I can't use my magic and I'm only meant to observe, but what? She's disappeared for the most of it," Akio couldn't fathom what went on in Dimitri's head, her emotions were easy to read over the weeks but that mindset she carried into battle was unlike anything he's seen before. "She's like Midoriya with the personality of Gambit"
"Hey, you guys? Have you seen her-" Two fingers tapped the back of his head, behind him, two corpses were being revived by their ghosts. "-ah, nevermind, I figured it out," Then stars danced in his vision as the deadly assassin knocked him on his chest.
"Not easy to read the area without your soul sense, huh?" Dimitri cooed wickedly, walking away with another win under her belt.
All Akio could do was sigh, punching the ground. She was right, without his abilities he was completely pulled from his comfort zone, he was outclassed in all categories.
Up in the stands, Yuki frowned softly at the display of Akio's frustration. "He's never fought without his powers, so that leaves only his enhanced durability and strength,"
"It seems cruel but Dimitri's been trying to drill that into Guardians for years," Zane perked up, smiling as he watched Akio help the Titan to his feet, offering a kind grin to the downtrodden man and his ghost. "Alot are too cocky when they come to the Crucible, even outside of it, and while she doesn't do fieldwork often she wants them to understand the value of life, even for themselves, so she brings her all against everyone to show them how big that gap is, how much they have to improve."
"But Akio's clearly compassionate, he just needs a strong body to match," Ceres replied, seeing the boy's friends acknowledge their words. "They may lose this, but I have a feeling Akio has a trick up his sleeve."
"Do your best, Akio, Guardians!" Yuki called down to them.
"Fight well!" Hana waved, even if her face didn't change much.
"Show her who's boss!" Velk waved too.
Down below, the final round was about to begin with the trio sitting around the back of a building that faced capture point C. "Okay, let's be blunt, she's gonna whip our asses, and not the fun way," The Titan grunted, checking his handcannon.
"Agreed. A new course is needed." The Hunter with a smooth, mysterious tone adjusted his scope.
"Then let's give her everything we got," Akio suggested, drawing their heads. "We won't win, so let's focus on putting her on the ropes for a long as possible," He smiled nervously. "If we keep trying to play it safe we'll be picked off, and if we try and rush in without a plan it'll be over in seconds,"
"So how do we fight her if she knows what we'll do next?" The Titan asked, waving his hand down.
That's when Akio smiled deviously, "Well, Dimitri said I'm to fight without my magic or soul abilities while analysing how she fights, but... I didn't tell her about all of my abilities," He couldn't see it, but the Guardians all quickly grew evil smirks to match his.
[Dimitri's POV]
To say I'm cut out for the role of a teacher would be a lie, sure, I'm a crack shot with a bow and sniper, hell, alot of Guardians hate my guts for simply existing. But when Ceres approached me about teaching this kid from another world who uses magic and stuff to fight I'm pretty sure I needed an extra drink just to process that information. He's alright, kid's got passion for what he does, but I can tell, his old friend, Viral, is like Velk is to that girl with the weird frown, Hana, both were close partners, but Viral bit the bullet along the line and now Akio's picking up the pieces.
If not for this kid's stupidly adorable smile I'd have flat out refused, too many bounties and Crucible matches to keep up with, you know? Now, here I am, a month into this 'teaching' role and I can happily say he's come far, taking the initiative a few times probably helped score brownie points with me. What can I say? Him, Ray, and Taka lead convincing arguments. I swear, I'm getting too soft for this...
That's when my train of thought was punctured by the sight of the Titan, he either took too many arrows to the head from before, or he's simply just being a Titan. Running straight down the road toward me with his Crown Splitter sword out. I know Rayla said he wasn't too bad but I have a feeling she likes that Wolf Fallen alot more than Guardians at this point. Can't blame her, people are annoying. Without even batting an eye, I plucked the string, aiming to take out his legs first, draw in his buddies.
"Another one bites the dust..." My fingers relax, releasing the arrow.
"Dimitri!" Ray's voice shot through my ears and my aim faltered, causing the arrow to miss its mark as that Titan spotted me on the rooftop facing Point A. I was about to yell at Ray for distracting me but his cause for alarm made my eyes widen.
"Hyrah!" Akio's steel-like fist connected to my abdomen, making the air leave my lungs.
"W-when did he... get here!?" I grunted, seeing the rest of his legs bend from my own shadow. That sly son of a-
Catching my right foot against the edge of the rooftop, I grabbing his left hook, twisting it away to jab his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist to throw him off the roof, but I yelped, seeing the wire connected to my hip as I too was tossed off the roof. His eyes were burning with determination, he wasn't about to just give in, he planned this risky move all for me. I'm touched. Grabbing the wire, he pulled me through the air, feet pressed to the building across the road, leaping toward me with his right hook sailing against my left bicep.
I took the hit and grabbed his arm, slugging him with my left as we spun through the air toward the ground. To my surprise, he disappeared into my shadow again as I landed with a stumble, feeling electricity on the back of my neck. I lost my bow, now things had gotten intresting. Supressing the urge to laugh, I spun around with my body enhanced by the Void and caught the flat sides of the Arc Blade, catching the Hunter off guard.
He tried to overpower me but I just drove the blade toward the ground, snap-kicking him in the stomach before twirling to deliver another kick, tossing the Super charged idiot into the side of an advertising screen. The Titan rushed me in this instance, body ablaze with a Hammer of Sol nicking my breastplate as it exploded behind me, burying molten shrapnel in my barding. I didn't let it bug me, doing the unexpected and meeting the idiot head on.
The Sunbreaker slammed the second hammer into the earth, leaving a molten sunspot that I effortlessly evaded, popping a snare bomb to blind him as I wrapped my arm around his throat, tossing him behind me into Akio who appeared again but he expected this, keeping his eyes solely on me with... Crown Splitter!?
I had little time to act, throwing my body back toward the Bladedancer that was already in the motion to slash my back. Shit, they've really gone and put the moves on me. These three had never fought in the Crucible until now, and they've improve after only a single match? "Hey now, that's some clever teamwork! Good for you guys!" But...
"Some of us know the difference a Fireteam makes. Some of us...we touch the Void. Make it a part of us. And then we take a name...Nightstalker. Hunt from the shadows, pin them down, never let them see you coming."
Taking His words to heart, I let my Light overflow into a vibrant burst of purples across my armour, releasing a burst that shook off their attacks for a split second. Akio, despite the whips of Void slashing at his arms, didn't relent, drawing the large greatsword down toward my ethereal bow. I felt the impact of the blade collide with my bow, holding him back long enough to slide between his feet, evading the wide slash from the Bladedancer.
I jumped into a helix spin, aiming to hit the ground and tether the lot, the last of both their Supers would be now, and Akio's little shadow trick only worked to hide him, he can't win alone, I won't let him. "It's over." I huffed.
"Wish...!" What...? "ENDER!" Without even thinking, before even a flicker of hesitance could emerge, Akio had drawing back a bow of similar light, and fired to match my own record speed. I smiled.
*FWOOM-WHIIIR-BOOOSH!*
Space and Darkness collided in the middle, twisting into a spiral that ultimately erupted at the center, blasting apart into hot sparks that warped the ground beneath it, the pulse blasted all of us away from the shockwave, leaving a snowfall of purple motes of light around us. I grabbed my knife from my leg, holding it up toward Akio's throat, his 'borrowed' Crown Splitter resting near my collarbone, the tip tickling my exposed skin through a cut in the fabric.
"Heh...hahaha," I found myself laughing.
Even with one eye closed, and looking like a battered fish, Akio smiled weakly, laughing between his toothy smile. "Heh, hehehe..."
I lowered my knife, and he dropped the sword, the match was over, and I think it's a tie this time. Without a moment to lose, I grabbed his head in my arm to noogie his head, much to his whines of protest. "You little rat, you fucking never said anything about shadow warping, not to mention meeting my Tether with your Wish Ender!" Sure, not the plan, but just then, that last fight I saw it, he countered my best by removing my bow and then trying to overwhelm me from multiple angles. I've not seen that in a while. "Traveller above, I'm so freakin' proud of you!"
I wave up to Ceres and the others, "Hey, can I adopt him!?"
"I don't think that's how it works, but we get the incentive!" Ceres waved back. The cheering behind her evident they were impressed.
"Hm, yeah, dunno how I'd explain having a kid to Taka, hehehe..." Scratching my cheek, I looked down to see Akio was rubbing his eyes with a sad smile. "Hey, what's with the waterworks, look alive, you're the MVP!" Around them the Hunter and Titan shared a nod in agreement.
"Damn, we were so close too!" The Titan laughed but accepted the loss.
"Next time, we shall prevail," The Hunter held his fist to his chest. "Our victory will teach us all,"
"Well said, greenies," I quipped, kneeling down to Akio.
"I... I'm just glad," He kept his eyes closed, tears around the edges with a gracious smile. "That I can master Viral's power now."
I stared at him, my mind going blank a moment.
"You're... well on your way, kid... don't go... worrying about some old man's pipe dream." Tevis offered weakly behind his helmet.
"Shut up, stop talking like it's over!" I screamed in his face, tears threatening to break.
"You'll surpass all expectations, and someday, someone will need ya to do the same for 'em," He pushed his knuckle to her heart. "Pave the way... for your friends... Dimitri..."
My voice caught in a sharp gasp, and my tears ran down my cheeks. His Light faded away before my very eyes, leaving only his Nightstalker bow by his side, still burning with the Void. His hand fell to his lap.
I don't know why, but I wrapped my arms around the little brat, pushing back my grief to pat his back. "You'll outshine him, I know it."
Akio gasped slightly, but rested his head on my shoulder, accepting it one step at a time, just like me. "*sniff*...I'll do my best, Teacher,"
To Be Continued...
Dimitri, how I missed writing you and your antics. The Crucible addict of Beyond Infinity teaches Akio how to better control and use his magic while handling a bow, both sharing the scars of losing mentor figures in their lives. I liked the switch-up with Dimi's POV for the last part, to actively show her amazement at Akio's improvement. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Guardians!
Next Chapter Intermission: Last of Me
Morbin stared at the camera with a sharp glare. "Why am I here?"
Beside him, Velk waved a wing at him, making him dust off the snow that fell onto his shoulder. "It's our turn to introduce Hana's training, remember?"
"I do, I just don't see the reason why I have to explain it," Morbin was being difficult, much to Velk chagrin.
"Just say the lines before I leave you in cryogenic sleep for a few centuries," Velk sighed, feeling like she was talking to Viral but far less cute.
"Fine," He looked at his notes, grumbling. "Right, the girl will be put through a test not of her strength of body or power, but of her heart, oh, I can do that..." For once, Morbin chuckled once, and Velk's onyx face seemed to pale slightly.
"Okay, red flag... ahem, yes, up next in our story, Last of Me!" She flapped her wings, smiling beneath her veil. "Continue on-" She nudged Morbin's arm sharply.
He sighed, "-Towards the Light..."