Author's Notes: Alright, here goes the big one, I've strived to include a balance of elements in this chapter, like humour, action, plot development and so on, so hopefully for example, the fight scenes won't drag out into mere slug-fests and be progressive and meaningful enough to be exciting. Any and all comments are welcome, this chapter was written a while ago in advance so I wouldn't leave the story hanging while I settled in university, but it still contains plenty of stuff I could use feedback on, so, with a big thanks to all my reviewers, Saddened Soul, Maria, Klaske, Bustahead of course, Sin Oan and hehe, Zone's fangirl, I hope you all and anyone else reading enjoys this :D.
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Rejoining our three hopeful saviours, we find Zone has finally dragged Artemis up the stairs and got it through the door. Feeling the joke had lasted long enough, Arson offered to carry it for him and the hamster agreed, once he playfully made the hybrid promise not to steal it.
They now walked along a curved path between two sections of the tower, the chilling wind sweeping by and diving into the dizzying view and massive drop that beset them on both sides. "So how comes Dante didn't take this?" Arson asked Reiko, referring to the weapon he held for Zone. The vampire glanced over and shrugged, offering his best guess, "I think you needed all three essences to get it, I guess he only used two". Arson nodded, but Zone piped up then, "Hey, if he did the puzzle, how comes it was all reset for us? What, did someone replace the rocks blocking the door and stuff?" he asked, curious by nature.
Reiko sighed and looked back at him, not irritated, but just a little weary. He was certain they were almost at the top, and the press of immediacy weighed on him. "It was a continuity error, a glitch in the space-time fabric of the world, it's not supposed to make sense, it's broken" he explained, Zone nodding after a moment, at least now understanding why he didn't understand. "Artemis is unique, whereas those essence items and the stones and such aren't. I imagine if Dante had taken it we wouldn't have been able to or something, although that's just a guess..." Reiko added to try and make up for his slightly standoffish initial reply, trailing off when he realised he was overlooking his own advice and thinking too deeply into it.
They stopped at a divinity statue, where Arson gave Zone Artemis and he stored it for later, so he could collect it from any similar statue. This relieved him of the burden of carrying a gun he couldn't realistically use, although he was eager to study and learn from its design sometime, if he got the chance.
The hamster had just finished with the statue, wondering briefly if the other two heard the chanting music he did when he used it, when a powerful explosion rocked the tower. The repercussions assaulted them, loud noise buffeting their ears and a shockwave making them stumble. Zone was actually knocked over with a yelp of a squeak, but jumped up again swiftly, hoping nobody noticed his embarrassing slip up.
Regaining his balance, Reiko knew they were pretty much at the summit of Temen-Ni-Gru, where Mary Sue had Vergil and Dante captive, and that the explosion couldn't have come from anywhere else but there. Realising that there was no more time left, he threw open the door in front of them and bolted through, charging up the rising path that curved part way around the tower to the summit with all his inhuman speed.
Arson gave chase, breaking into a dead run. Zone, knowing he couldn't keep up with the hybrid let alone the vampire at their full speeds, made an impulsive decision and throwing his pride to the wind, jumped at Arson, grabbing the edge of his coat as he passed the rodent, who had been standing closer to the door.
Arson kept chasing after the vampire, who was actually faster than him, as they followed the anti-clockwise curving path round the tower to the top. He felt Zone scramble up his back and finally settle on his shoulder, and glanced sideways at the small rodent. If the situation wasn't so dire it would have been a touching moment, the closeness and mutual trust of Zone riding on Arson, being carried by him, and Arson letting him sit right by his vulnerable head and neck. But this was not the time for such sentiments, as several paces ahead of them Reiko turned and began to climb the flight of stairs leading to the summit.
"Well, this is it" Zone said quietly to Arson, steeling himself inside. For the tiny rodent it was strangely enough easiest to face the battle ahead. All he had to do was try his hardest and best, and not give up as long as he could keep going, such was the direct, uncomplicated way he viewed any challenge. Arson nodded, catching up to Reiko as the vampire slowed cautiously, nearing the top. "I know" he responded simply, his expression resolute, but behind it his sharp mind was working overtime, and it was concerned.
As he came up the last few steps between them and their goal, Reiko's mind was racing. There were so many dangerous uncertainties everywhere. For example, while the three of them had certainly grown closer while journeying together, they neither entirely understood one another, nor operated fluently as a team. That was a bad thing when facing a deadly enemy of unknown potential together, Reiko thought sombrely.
But the time was upon them, there was none left for hesitation or preparation, and together, Zone at the others' head-height thanks to riding on Arson's shoulder, they arrived on the summit of Temen-Ni-Gru.
The sight they were greeted with was at once an utterly unpredictable and truly fitting testament to all the insanity that had transpired since the beginning of the entire incident. Slowly fluttering down everywhere was coloured paper, tiny shreds of it, a strange parade-like artificial rain of confetti sprinkling the tower's summit. And in the middle of it all, stood Mary Sue, a look of one who has well and truly not simply lost their temper, but deported it, on her face. In her hands she held Dante and Vergil by their dark bindings.
The twins, tied up and near helpless, hung suspended in her grip by the shadowy ropes that bound them behind their backs as she held them both as easily as empty bags. She was now looking at the intruders on her party, which had already turned bad, with a cold hostility. They had she felt, chosen a very bad time to appear uninvited. Examining them briefly, she saw one was clearly a vampire, and the other appeared to be a slightly strange teenager with some unusual features like red hair and a hamster sitting on his shoulder.
Normally she would joke with newcomers, tease or jest with them, or even invite them to join. But Dante and Vergil had worn down her cheeriness and she had finally snapped, she simply could take no more. So it was with an icy inhospitality that she demanded "Who… Are… You?".
Reiko had taken the situation in rapidly. Mary Sue's appearance suggested she was nothing but a doll-obsessed, attractive, yet vaguely artificial-looking, woman. But the incapacitated half-devils in her hands hinted at her true power. "We three... Are here to stop you" the vampire offered a little weakly, unsure quite how to refer to them collectively. Mary Sue raised an eyebrow, then the other in dual surprise as she peered around them curiously, wondering who she was missing. Finally she simply asked "Three?".
There was a short silence, then the overlooked character, Zone, broke it, and we're talking jumped and raped in a back ally, he really snapped this silence with a vengeance. "Yes three, him, him and me, boobs for brains!" he yelled, pointing to Reiko then Arson, the former of which shook his head in dismay at the rodent's overly antagonistic approach. Arson merely blinked, a little taken aback, but he shrugged and figured that at least it got things moving, the awkward pauses hadn't exactly been enthralling after all.
Before anyone else could react to this, Vergil suddenly cried out in disgust, "Ridiculous! I refuse to be rescued such a dishevelled rabble, especially one that counts a pet store novelty amongst their ranks!".
This comment provoked various reactions in those present, not least of all Zone, whose tongue was already tensing for a vitriolic retort. But, again before else anyone could do anything, Dante twisted and lashed out with a foot, catching Vergil in the midriff. This made Vergil cough up some Monopoly money, which Dante had stuffed down his throat after Vergil had refused to accept an IOU for the cost of Dante landing on Mayfair with a hotel. Recovering quickly, Vergil kicked back and hit Dante in the side of the head, making him sneeze out the hotel that had been on Mayfair, which Vergil had violently inserted up his nose.
This is the kind of thing that had pushed Mary Sue over the edge before, resulting in the earlier explosion, and once again she snapped at the twins' ceaseless fighting. "ENOUGH!" she screamed furiously, and then with a simple gesture, she hurled them both in opposite directions. Dante and Vergil crashed headfirst into, and demolished, two statues lining the perimeter of the tower's summit, knocking even them out cold.
Dusting her hands together, Mary Sue turned back to the intruding trio, who were somewhat unnerved by the display of power and immaturity they had just witnessed, a deadly combination. "Now..." she began, unnecessarily pausing to get their attention. "I have tried very patiently to get these two boys to play nicely" she indicated the knocked out Dante and Vergil, "But they refuse to get along like good brothers, so rather than just visiting, now I have no choice but to stay here and teach them and anyone else misbehaving around here how to act properly" she said. Reiko cursed under his breath, her mere presence was a threat to the fandom, if she remained here, then this world was doomed. Zone just pulled a face at her tacky dialog.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave now, madam" Reiko said after a short silence, stepping forwards and drawing his staff readily. He'd heard enough, and pre-fight cocky banter wasn't one of his strong points or interests, he'd much rather get just on with it if it was unavoidable. "Hahaha, and if I refuse?" Mary Sue replied, thoroughly amused and not at all threatened by this upstart original character.
Arson stepped up alongside Reiko, and drawing Phoenix and Dragon, took up stance besides his friend, and replied "Then we'll be forced to remove you, lady", his normally playful demeanour nowhere to be seen. "Do you believe you can?" Mary Sue replied curiously, realising that they weren't going to back down.
Zone, who had slid down Arson's coat a few moments earlier, stepped up besides him, drew his lightsabre, the red glow making him stand out despite his small size, and responded "We can try, hard". Mary Sue giggled at this, being threatened by these pathetic creatures, and a rodent no less, and yawned. She gazed up at the sky disinterestedly, and then lowered her head again, looking back at them. "Very well, it's your funeral" she at last said nonchalantly, stretching out her right arm to her side. The three tensed. This was it.
Blood-red energy oozed out of Mary Sue's hand, forming a rough pipe-shaped cloud about a metre and a half in length, and slowly condensing. "Did you know I can taste your weakness? You reek of it" she said, as the energy begin to concentrate into a solid form in her hand. "Uncertainties, contradictions, insecurities, they bleed you dry of what little strength you might have had" the red energy formed into a blade, a long sword, crimson red and imbued with shining rubies in the hilt and handle, which looked like it was made of gold, but was undoubtedly much more solid and deadly than the soft metal. "How can you hope to defeat me, when you're fighting yourselves?" she challenged, turning the blade to point at them as she did.
None of them moved. They knew that behind the innocent, sweet exterior of this creature lurked a deadly parasite, a virus that could leach a character dry and leave them a withered husk. They also knew that her words weren't empty taunts, this journey together had if anything shown they each still possessed flaws.
"Kiss my fuzzy ass lady" Zone suddenly replied with a taunting smirk, throwing in a cocky sabre-twirl for good measure, ending the moment, their last chance to back down. "You talk too much" Arson said in agreement, Reiko giving a small grin and quietly adding "I second that motion". Up until then, any one of them truly could have backed down and left; this didn't have to be their fight, but in the end, each of them chose to stay. Mary Sue glared at them, pausing for only a single moment. Then the fight, the war, began.
Reiko rushed to her left, using his inhuman speed to try and flank her. At the same time Arson ran straight for her, bold and direct. Lastly Zone scooted right as quickly as his little limbs could carry him, despite his headstrongness and smart-ass remarks, sensing he'd need to use his cunning to stand a chance in this fight.
Reiko reached her first with his inhuman speed, lashing out with a lightning fast strike packing enough momentum to buckle a lamppost. Mary Sue didn't even flinch from her relaxed stance, and the weapon was mere inches from her face, when it collided with her sword which was suddenly just, there, the blade not yielding an inch under the force of the intercepted attack. Surprised but undeterred, the vampire dropped and tried a sweep kick, but Mary Sue jumped it as casually as a skipping rope, and he rose up into a series of rapid blows. Reiko's technique was solid and his speed phenomenal, but wherever his staff sought for an opening her sword was there, blocking it effortlessly.
Growling in determination the vampire lunged forwards, putting his weight into a straight thrust, hoping to break through her guard. Mary Sue anticipated it however and evaded to one side, stepping past him and turning, neatly slashing into his exposed back as she did, cutting open a bloody wound diagonally and hurling him skidding across the surface of the tower. She continued to turn and raising her sword higher, parried aside a downward double-strike from Dragon and Phoenix. Arson stumbled slightly, but quickly recovered and pressed forwards with an assault of brutal, hard attacks. Mary Sue either languidly evaded or deflected aside the powerful but slightly clumsy attempts, looking amused as the hybrid started to strain even his limits as he poured more and more effort into the rain of blows.
Finally he managed to knock aside her weapon with Phoenix, and without hesitation brought Dragon round in a savage swing aimed right for her neck. The flaming sword blazed through the air, and came to a jarring halt as Mary Sue caught it with her naked hand. Grinning in amusement at the hybrid's dumfounded expression, she yanked the weapon to the side, hurling it and him clean across the tower. Turning a little with the motion, her sword flashed out towards the airborne Zone, who had found an opening to strike, which had just closed in his face. "Oh shit" he squeaked out, barely managing to move his raised lightsabre between himself and the blade, so that instead of being severed in half he was smacked for a home run.
The rodent went skimming low over the tower, and, about to zip clean off the side, he twisted midair and plunged his lightsabre into the stone surface whizzing beneath him. Clinging on for dear life he managed to drag the momentum out of himself and came to a stop mere feet from the edge. "Damn it she's uber!" he complained as he picked himself up sorely, Arson and Reiko also rising at other points around the edge of the tower. "She certainly plays rough" the hybrid remarked, while Reiko winced, his bloody wounded back stinging, "This doesn't look good" he said simply. It had been at most a minute since they'd attacked, and she'd already swatted them aside with ease, leaving her untouched and unmoved, still holding the centre and tapping her foot impatiently. Steadying themselves resolutely, the three of them charged at her again.
However, while they attacked at the same time, they did not attack together, their offensives simultaneous but not combined or coordinated. Reiko stabbed out with multiple rapid thrusts of his staff, which were for all their speed unable to penetrate his opponent's solid guard. Mary Sue was also ducking and dodging as Arson lashed out with savage, heavy strikes, trying to overpower her, but she evaded each attempt easily.
Parrying one of Reiko's strikes as she anticipated him putting more force into it, she ducked a swing from Arson and brought her sword round, upper-cutting Zone and sending him shooting high into the air, the hamster again just managing to block the strike with his lightsabre, saving his fur. Reversing her swing she deflected Arson's next heavy attack and hacking up into his exposed torso, slashed him bloodily away. Not even turning Mary Sue sidestepped Reiko's downwards hammering strike, then facing him she kicked him in the chin, field-goaling him back before he could stand. Lastly she raised her sword once more, blocking Zone's descending stab aimed at her head, and with contemptuous ease flicked him neatly away from her.
Arson, Reiko and Zone did not rise so steadily this time. Things were going badly and they were feeling the effects, the vampire with a severe cut across his back, the hybrid one across his front and the hamster not bleeding, but the concussive impact of being smacked away like being in a car crash for the small rodent.
"You're going to lose, you know?" Mary Sue stated matter-of-factly, leaning on her sword and yawning into one hand, clearly toying with them. As much as they hated to admit it, she was right, they were losing; she was simply besting them in combat. They each stood shakily, weakened by various injuries, but to their credit they gripped their weapons firmly, silently resolving to keep fighting, each having their own reasons.
Seeing all of her opponents intended to continue, Mary Sue shook her head disappointedly. "Poor fools" she lamented, before fixing them each with a merciless, unwavering gaze, "This time, you stay down". None of them replied, too worn and worried for banter, even Zone's cocky demeanour exhausted, each busy trying to summon the means within themselves to defeat their unreasonably super-powered nemesis.
Reiko forced himself to calm, and changing his grip on his staff, he closed his eyes and focused on his objective, blocking out all pain and doubt. Opening his eyes again, he rushed towards Mary Sue. As soon as he was close enough, the vampire brought his staff round in a brutal arc. Mary Sue just rolled her eyes, but was caught out as Reiko shifted one foot forwards, feinting his attack and reversing into a strike from the other side. Mary Sue had to rush to block this, and no sooner had she than Reiko's foot lashed out at her stomach, the uber-fighter barely catching it in her free hand. Not hesitating a moment, the focused vampire adapted and somersaulted, his other foot narrowly missing her head as she leaned far over backwards to avoid it. Turning in midair, Reiko raised his staff and brought it down in meteoric descent, about to smash Mary Sue into the stone floor, even her having no chance of blocking such a blow while so unbalanced.
The metal pole tore down, and was mere inches from her prone form, when suddenly a wave of raw energy rushed up and met it. It repelled both weapon and wielder in a flash of light, as Reiko was hurled back up and blinded. By the time his vision cleared he was falling again, and he regained his senses just in time to see Mary Sue, standing straight again, impale him clean through the torso, his own weight and momentum sinking him to the hilt of the sword. Their faces inches apart, Mary Sue stared at his with raw hatred, infuriated that such a lowly creature had forced her to use even a sliver of her real power. Then, with brutal speed, she swung her sword aside, sending the vampire flying and tearing up his insides even more.
Reiko landed hard, and made no move to rise, or at all. Satisfied, Mary Sue was about to turn when she felt a small weight land on her back. Reaching round she tried to grab the rodent but Zone narrowly evaded her grasp, dodging further up her back, clinging to her dress. She tried again but he continued to elude her, barely keeping ahead of her grasps but not having a split-second to actually attack. Frustrated at being unable to catch the tiny pest, Mary Sue threw herself back against the stone floor, hoping to squash him.
Slamming into the ground, she cracked it slightly, despite the awkward manoeuvre; certain she'd crushed the belligerent furball. She was surprised then to see Zone, lightsabre in paws, rapidly descending towards her forehead, ready to do some amateur brain surgery. When she had thrown herself back, Zone had felt her lurch, and thinking fast had grabbed her hair, which had spread upwards and outwards like a parachute, taking him with it. This is why rather than being flattened into furry paste he had been swung round in a neat arc and was now moments from dealing a deathblow, or at least wounding her he hoped. The little hamster was barely half a foot from her face when her sword flashed up, the flat side smacking into his exposed torso. Mary Sue hadn't used the edge because he was so close to her face and she didn't want to cut herself in her haste, but it still sent him flying, his consciousness knocked clean out of him on impact.
Mary Sue rose to her feat quickly, and ignoring the unconscious furball turned to see Arson, who was floating several metres above the summit and surrounded by a faint cloud of white energy, which was growing more intense by the second. The hybrid made it a rule never to reveal his true power to those who would live to tell about it, there were few exceptions to this and not even Reiko or Zone were among them. But things had become desperate, and in the short time the other two had bought him, he'd been gathering his holy energy. Mary Sue sensed the genuine threat this posed, and Arson smirked, seeing her concern.
However, while Arson was in fact very smart, intelligence and knowledge are not the same thing, and the hybrid was not as aware of her true power as Reiko was. The vampire had attacked her without regard for self-preservation, and had exposed only a hint of the full potential he knew she possessed. With a crackle of crimson lightning, Mary Sue flashed through the distance between her and Arson. She was in front of him before he could blink, interrupting his charging as she wrapped a hand around his neck and squeezed, hard.
Abandoning his holy magic, Arson grabbed her arm with both his own and tried to break her choking grip. He could not budge her however, and with an evil smirk she turned and dove, descending to the stone floor beneath them and slamming Arson face-first into it so hard the whole summit of the tower vibrated. The hybrid was a powerful fighter, but he did not rise from a blow of that magnitude. It was over. They had lost.
Cackling in malicious delight, Mary Sue looked around at her vanquished foes, the vampire run through and bleeding badly, the hamster out cold, possibly with internal bleeding or broken bones, and the hybrid, also knocked out and most likely dangerously concussed. Savouring victory for the briefest moment, she dismissed them from her mind; they had been persistent nuisances, but ultimately nothing more than pests.
"Well, time to call in the professionals" she giggled to herself, and wasting no time, raised her hand to the sky. A massive bolt of ruby lightning arced out of her arm, striking the clouds and splitting them open. In the void beyond lurked hideous darkness, and shadows that moved as though alive. As Mary Sue watched and waited three black shapes broke through the rift before they resealed themselves, descending to the tower's summit. The dark entities took form around her, and Mary Sue smiled, "Long time no see guys".
The three creatures, still mostly shrouded in shadows and unidentifiable, each replied in their own way, standing around Mary Sue in silent obedience. Turning from her new allies, she reached out her hands and dark tendrils extended from them, wrapping around Dante and Vergil's unconscious forms and bringing them to her. As the two half-devils trailed behind her, she turned and walked to the edge of the tower, then off of it, descending on a cloud of shadows to the base of Temen-Ni-Gru, the three nightmarish beings laughing darkly as they followed her.
Back on the summit of the tower lay a vampire, an angel-devil hybrid, and a hamster, friends who had fought valiantly, but now lay defeated, maybe dying, together yet alone, their fates perhaps, already sealed.