Oi... long time between updates...
This chapter took me awhile to modify, primarily because I chose to change the ending from what people are familiar with. To those who read this story on the Di-Gata Defender forums, this chapter has been significantly changed, in that I'm going in a new direction for this story than what I'd originally done.
Either way, I hope you will enjoy this chapter, and leave a review.
CHAPTER 8: VENGEANCE
The wind silently blew at the border of the North Veltlands, causing the blades of grass and the trees to rustle. The sky was clear, but there was an ominous silence. In one section of the area, there was a vast quarry of large stones, each adorned with various Sigils. Near the edge of the quarry was a tall mound, from which one could see for miles. At the top of the mound, a blue-haired girl stared down at the quarry.
Crea surveyed the area; it was a marvelous view, but she wasn't there for the scenery. She had come seeking out the Di-Gata Defenders, and knew they were somewhere in the quarry below. As she looked down at the massive stones below, she shut her eyes for a moment. Her eyes changed from white to black, the irises turning red in the design of the Altas Sigil, which seemed to change in size. From her point of view, she could now see the quarry with greater focus as it magnified.
As she looked around at the magnified quarry, something caught her attention. It was a young boy dressed in a gray outfit, with white hair bound in a headband that had three oval-shaped stones adorning it. Crea recognized him; he had been with the Defenders before when the Megalith had been destroyed. Crea knew the Defenders were close.
She shut her eyes again as she said, "I've finally found you."
Crea opened her eyes again, revealing their usual lavender irises and white pupils. She slowly walked toward the edge of the mound and lightly jumped off. As she descended, she neatly sprung off several jutting rocks in the side of the mound, eventually reaching the ground. She then started to run toward the nearest set of rocks, moving as silently as she could.
Though she could have just teleported into the area, Crea did not want to give the element of surprise. She had learned from her previous battle with the Defenders that they were not to be underestimated. Even with her newfound powers, she wanted to have every advantage she could get. Crea looked about the quarry as she advanced, looking for any sign of the Defenders. She could now sense they were near, but couldn't pinpoint where they were yet. But she knew she was getting closer.
She had waited for this day for some time now…
-----
Crea's mind flashed back to the outskirts of Arboth, where she had been only about a day prior. She was standing atop a mound, looking down on the people hard at work rebuilding their town. Next to her was Maia, who had greeted her only moments earlier. Crea didn't know whether Maia had been happy or scared to see her again. Perhaps it was a little of both.
"Why do you want to find the Defenders?" Maia asked.
"How do you know I'm looking for them?" Crea replied.
"I heard you talking with some of the villagers."
"I see."
"So, why do you want to find Seth and the others?"
For some strange reason, Crea did not want to answer Maia's question. She found it odd that she wanted to spare Maia the thought of her fighting with people she called heroes. Maybe it was her taking pity on the poor girl. Or maybe it was some other reason or another. Crea didn't know, and her not knowing why she just couldn't tell Maia the truth vexed her terribly.
Then, to Crea's surprise, Maia said sadly, "You're going to fight them, aren't you?"
Crea said nothing for a moment, but then said softly, "Yes…"
"But why? Why would you want to fight them?"
"Because they tried to kill me, Maia, and for that I will kill them."
"No! You can't do that!"
"What's stopping me, kid? They are my enemies, and as enemies they must die."
"But why do you have to be enemies? Why can't you just be friends?"
Crea paused for a moment, and then said resolutely, "I have no friends, Maia. Not even you."
At her last word, blue lights surrounded Crea and she vanished. But as she teleported away, Crea heard Maia shout, "Wait! Come back!"
It was too late, though. Crea had already gone.
-----
Crea's mind flashed back to the present. She cursed herself for letting a memory like that distract her. But she stood by what she had said. Nothing was going to stop her from killing the Di-Gata Defenders.
Crea continued through the quarry, keeping her ghostly eyes open for any sign of movement.
-----
In the middle of the quarry, Rion sat atop a large stone, his face buried in his knees. Only a day ago, he had lost a very dear friend and mentor. He could scarcely believe it had happened, didn't want to believe it, but it had happened. Tzur, his mentor and only real family, had died saving the lives of him and the other Defenders. The memory of that terrible moment brought tears to his eyes. Rion reached into his pouch and pulled out the guardian stone containing Arvengus, his new guardian. The last thing Tzur had done for Rion before his death was giving him the guardian. It was the only thing Rion had left to remember his mentor by.
"Tzur…" Rion sighed. "Why did it have to be this way? Why did you have to die?"
Rion clasped his hand around the guardian stone as he buried his head in his knees again. A moment passed before Kara walked out from behind a set of rocks and stared at Rion. Kara slowly walked up to the sobbing boy with a look of concern on her face.
"Rion?" said Kara, but Rion did not notice her. "Are you alright?"
"Kara?" Rion said through his sobs. "Why are you here? I thought–"
"I saw you walk off, and wanted to see if you were alright."
Rion said nothing as he turned away from Kara, attempting to avoid her gaze.
"Rion, the others told about Tzur." Rion lifted his head, not having expected Kara to say what she had just said. Kara continued, "I know it's hard to lose someone who cared for you like a parent. But Tzur did what he did so that you could live on, Rion. He made his sacrifice for you and for the Realm, and for that… uh…" Kara was now at a loss for words, thinking she had just made a big mistake.
"Thanks, Kara," Rion replied, standing up and looking at her. Kara smiled, almost embarrassed.
"Isn't this a touching moment?" said a girl's voice. Kara choked with fear at these words – she knew who had said them.
"No…"
Laughter came from somewhere nearby. Alerted, Rion and Kara quickly whipped around, looking for the source of the sound. A moment later, Crea walked into view.
"Crea," said Kara, trying her best to hide her fear.
"Kara, it's so good to see you again. Been busy?" Kara said nothing, but slowly reached for her spell stones. "I take it you're not pleased to see me. I don't blame you."
"What is it you want?" said Rion, also having reached for his spell stones.
"Umm, excuse me," Crea said snidely, "but Kara and I are having a chat, so if you'd just let us have our little girl talk–"
"What is it you want?" Rion interrupted, each word coming slowly and harshly.
"Fine, if you want to know so badly, I've come here to settle a little score with Kara and the other Defenders." A second later, Crea said, "Oh, not including you, of course. Rion, is it? You were not among the ones who tried to kill me. You're not someone who needs to die here, so I'm going to give you the chance to run for your life. I'd suggest you take it now."
"Not gonna happen." Rion raised his hand toward Crea, his spell stones glowing.
"Rion, no!" Kara exclaimed. "Don't try to fight her! Just run, get out of here!"
"You'd be smart to listen to her, Rion," said Crea.
"I'm not going to leave you, Kara. You're my friend, and I don't abandon friends."
Kara stared at Rion, touched by his gesture. A second later, though, her train of thought was broken by Crea, who was laughing at Rion's words.
"A friend?" Crea exclaimed. "You're going to just throw away your life needlessly because she's your FRIEND?!"
"I lost someone dear to me only a day ago. I'm not going to lose anyone else."
"Rion…" said Kara.
"Tch– damn idiot." Crea raised a hand, the back of it facing Kara and Rion, and it became surrounded by blue energy that flickered like flames. She then said, "Fine. Have it your way, then."
Crea turned her hand to the Defenders and a blast of energy surged forward at them. Kara and Rion cast their stones at the same instant. Fortify Front! Argent Warrior!
-----
Elsewhere in the quarry, the other Defenders were in the process of various tasks. Erik was tuning his tech gauntlet with a set of his father's tools, while Adam and Melosa were organizing various supplies for the coming days. Seth was seated on a small rock, dwelling over the loss of his Nova Stone to Malco and Flinch. Not only was it one of his most prized possessions, it also held the spirit of Nazmul. Seth shuddered at the thought that Malco and Flinch might eventually be able to release Nazmul from the stone, and the kind of damage that could be caused if he were released.
The silence was broken by Melosa, who said, "Hey, Seth, do you know where Kara went?"
"Kara?" Seth said unconsciously. A second later, he realized what had been asked and said, "Oh, she went to check up on Rion. They should be back in a bit."
"Okay, I just wanted to–" Melosa stopped with a gasp of horror, dropping the bag in her hands.
"Mel?" asked Adam. "Something the matter?"
"Mel, what is it?" added Seth.
"There's someone else here, in the area. This power, it's– Oh no! Rion! Kara!"
Melosa immediately sprinted off, a look of absolute terror in her eyes.
"Mel, wait! Come back!" Seth shouted, quickly getting to his feet and running after her. Adam quickly followed. Erik, who just noticed the others running, fumbled with the tools in his hands as he got to his feet.
"Hey, guys! Wait up!"
Erik managed to sort himself then quickly took off after the others.
-----
Rion's guardian Arvengus, a great lion with several stone spikes across its hide, crashed to the ground after several energy blasts struck it. The lion disappeared as another blast of energy struck Rion. He yelped as he flew back a couple of meters and crashed to the ground.
"Rion!" Kara screamed.
Crea took advantage of this moment. She quickly fired several more blasts at Kara's shield. The shield broke from the heavy attack, but Kara dodged the last shot. She countered with a spell. Typhoon of Power! A lightning bolt shot down from the sky, but it didn't hit Crea. Instead, Kara hit herself with the spell, to which she shuddered in pain. Kara channeled the energy through her body and raised her hands at Crea. The lightning shot forth at her, its power enhanced. Crea quickly raised her hands to the blast, creating an energy wall in front of her. The wall blocked the attack, but shattered from the pressure. The lightning passed, to which Crea lowered her hands. She was completely unscathed, while Kara stood exhausted, thin plumes of smoke rising from her body.
"Neat trick," said Crea.
As she finished, Crea raised her hands so her fingertips touched, and electricity began to crackle in her hands. Kara stood her ground, hoping she would still be able to channel the attack without it frying her. Crea swung her right hand forward and a bolt of lightning shot from her fingertips at Kara. But as it neared her, the bolt passed right by the side of her head; instead of striking Kara, the lightning bolt struck a rock behind her. The rock exploded and sent rock fragments showering over Kara. The Defender shrieked as she covered her head from the rocks that pelted her.
Crea sprinted forward, boosted by a jet of energy behind her. Kara quickly looked up to see Crea rushing at her and attempted to counterattack, but it was too late. Crea rushed past Kara, grabbing her arm in the process, and used her momentum to toss Kara at Rion, who was trying to get up. Kara slammed into Rion and the two landed in a dizzy heap.
A few seconds passed before Kara attempted to stand up again. As she did, Crea ran up to her, grabbed her by the collar, and then pinned her against a rock. Kara struggled to escape, but it was no use.
"You're making this way too easy for me," Crea taunted. "You humans can be so predictable."
Behind Crea, Rion attempted to push himself up, but Crea noticed and thrust a kick at his side, sending him sprawling across the ground.
"If you'll just wait your turn, I'll get to you in a second. Now where was I? Oh yeah…"
Crea stretched out an arm, showing a massive amount of energy building up in her hand. Just before Crea struck, Erik's voice shouted a spell. Singeing Spar! A thin blade of fire flew out and struck Crea in the shoulder. Crea shrieked from the pain and dropped Kara, clutching her now-blackened shoulder. Kara didn't waste time and jumped away from Crea. As she landed, Kara ran over to her brother and the other Defenders, who stood several meters away from Crea.
"Thanks, Erik."
"Don't thank me just yet," Erik replied, still aiming his gauntlet at Crea. Seth, Adam and Melosa also had their stones at the ready.
Crea turned around to face them, clearly angered. Her shoulder was now surrounded by small green lights, which were repairing the damage he had done.
As her body repaired itself, Crea said, "Oh good, the whole gang's here. Just how I wanted it."
"What are you doing here, Crea?" Seth demanded. Crea could tell he was nervous, though.
"Are you really that dense, Seth?" Crea said mockingly. "I thought it'd be pretty obvious what I'd want to do to someone after they tried to kill me."
"So that's it? Petty revenge?" said Melosa.
"Something along those lines…"
Seth and Crea stared unwaveringly at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. On the side, Rion groaned as he slowly pushed himself up.
Meanwhile, Adam whispered to Seth, "You got a plan?"
"Working on it," Seth whispered back, keeping one eye on Crea.
"Not very encouraging."
"Well then, enough chitchat," Crea interrupted. "Let's get to it, shall we?"
Crea raised a hand to attack, but at the same instant, Rion ran at her and cast his stones.
"Rion, wait!" shouted Seth.
Silver Orb! Several small shining spheres flew at Crea, but she quickly turned her hand and fired a salvo of pulses at the spell. The attacks collided and canceled each other out.
"Annoying little bastard, aren't you?" Crea hissed.
Crea then swung her other hand in Rion's direction and a large blast shot out. The blast struck Rion, who screamed as he flew back, slamming into a rock. A second later, he fell to the ground, completely limp.
"RION!" shouted Seth.
Almost instantaneously, Crea turned her head to the other Defenders and thrust a kick into the ground at an angle. Spires of rock shot up in a line toward the Defenders, threatening to tear them apart.
"Look out!" Erik hollered.
The Defenders dove away from the spire line, which continued to move in a straight line, and ran behind several of the large rocks that littered the quarry.
Crea turned to where the Defenders had just been and looked around at the large rocks. She thought to go in after them, but suspected that she would be walking into an ambush doing so. Carelessness had cost her dearly in her last battle with the Defenders, so she wasn't taking any chances if she could help it. Not moving from her position, Crea raised her hands together and energy charged up in her palms. She fired a large blast at the nearest rock in front of her, which blew it to pieces.
Within the rock formation, Seth saw the explosion. Seconds later, several more rocks exploded into fragments. They couldn't stay there – Crea would blast them out eventually. Seth's mind raced, trying to think of something he could do. Running wasn't an option; Crea could teleport and run faster than they could. Fighting her also would be a bad idea; Crea was far more powerful than in their last battle. But as Seth saw it, fighting was really the only option he and the others had. They still had a slight chance.
Seth turned to Kara, who was nearest to him, and shouted "Kara, help Rion! We'll cover you!"
"Got it!" Kara replied as she pulled her guardian stone from her pouch.
V-Moth, take flight! The insect guardian appeared above the Defenders and instantly set to flying at Crea. At the same time, Kara moved out and rushed toward Rion, her power boots making her run with great speed. V-Moth hovered high above Crea as she turned toward the guardian.
V-Moth chattered its mandibles as it raised its stinger toward Crea and a series of sonic waves shot at Crea. Crea quickly positioned her arms in a cross position, and all around her body a reflective glow appeared, as though she had a shimmering second skin. As the sonic waves struck her, they caused shield that formed around Crea's body to flicker. The attack did little damage to Crea, the shield only weakening the attack rather than blocking it, but she was pushed back a short distance.
"Annoying bug!" Crea growled after a moment.
She raised her arms at V-Moth and fired several pulses at the guardian, but the insect managed to dodge them, albeit barely. Nearby, Kara rushed over to Rion and knelt beside him as he groaned.
"Hang in there, Rion…" said Kara.
She grabbed onto Rion by the arm and slowly began to drag him away from Crea. As she did, Rion yelled in pain as Kara moved him. Crea turned around and noticed Kara dragging him away. The revelation obviously did not suit Crea well.
"I'm sorry," Crea said viciously, "but I wasn't finished with him!"
Crea shot a hasty bolt at Kara, who screamed as she was hit and flung to the ground. Kara was not badly hurt, but pain ran through her very sharply. Kara quickly tried to push herself and looked toward Crea, who had charged a blast in her hand and was about to fire it. Kara screamed, but just as Crea fired, V-Moth flew in and collided head-on with Crea, causing the shot to miss by mere inches. Crea stumbled as her shield flickered, but quickly regained her footing and turned toward V-Moth as it pulled up toward the sky. Crea fired several more blasts at V-Moth, but they missed.
Eventually, Crea stopped shooting, but only for a moment, as her arms began to shimmer in a pattern of light. A large volley of curving pulses shot from her arms at V-Moth, who moved to dodge the attack. But it was no use; the attack homed in on the guardian and struck it several times. V-Moth vanished, with its guardian stone falling to the ground near Erik, who quickly snatched it up as he ran toward Rion and his sister.
"Erik, help me!" said Kara in a distressed tone.
Erik grabbed Rion by the arms and began to pull him back behind several large rocks, despite Rion's screams of pain. At that moment, Crea shot another volley of blasts at Erik and Kara, but Melosa's voice sounded from the sides. Breath of the Zephyr! A wall of ice emerged before Erik, Kara and Rion, which blocked Crea's attack, though the ice wall took heavy damage. Not wasting any time, Erik and Kara pulled Rion behind a set of large rocks, where Crea could not see them.
Angered by Melosa's interference, Crea turned around to see the silver-haired girl brandishing a set of spell stones. Crea smirked for a moment before saying, "You know, Mel, it was VERY uncalled for when you blasted me that last time. It's time I returned the favor."
Crea raised a hand forward and shot a blast at Melosa's head. Melosa quickly dodged the attack, as well as several more shots.
"Dammit… JUST DIE ALREADY!" Crea fired a single barrage of large blasts at Melosa, who quickly cast several shield stones. Barricade Array! A set of disc shields appeared before her, but the entire array was destroyed by Crea's heavy barrage.
"Sorry, but I'm just going to have to disappoint you again, Crea," said Melosa. "By the way, have you met my guardian, Draykor?"
A screech behind Crea alerted her to the presence of Melosa's ice drake guardian. Crea raised her arm just as Draykor lunged forward with its talons. The strike cut into Crea's arm, despite her shields. Draykor quickly flew back and angled its tail at her. From its tail, a flow of ice shot forth, striking Crea's injured arm and freezing it completely solid.
"Draykor really hates it when people shoot energy blasts at me," Melosa taunted.
"I'm not impressed," Crea said after a moment.
In what seemed like an instant, the ice around Crea's arm shattered as she swung it at Draykor, hand-first. From her hand, a crescent-shaped beam shot forth as Crea moved her hand in a slashing movement at Draykor. The beam seemed to slice the ice drake in half. Draykor disappeared as its energies returned to Melosa's amulet. And just as quickly as she struck, Crea's reassumed a defensive stance. Green lights repaired the damage to her arm.
At first, Melosa was stunned by what she had seen, but quickly recovered from the shock and cast a spell at Crea. Frigid Tempest! A strong snowy wind flew at Crea, threatening to freeze her solid. Crea quickly spread her hands to her sides and the snowy wind seemed to whirl around her. But it did not freeze her, much to Melosa's utter confusion. In fact, it seemed as though it were obeying Crea's commands.
"Wha– what the?" Melosa stuttered.
Crea smirked and swung her hands forward at Melosa. The wind shot back at its caster, who shrieked as the wind whirled around her. In an instant, the wind froze Melosa solid in ice. All that could be heard from Melosa were her muffled cries for help.
"Impaled upon your own sword," Crea said as she lowered her arms and began striding towards the frozen Melosa. As she reached her, Crea said with a slight chuckle, "This is really too much."
"MEL!" yelled Adam's voice from the sides.
Crea quickly turned to see Adam rushing toward her as he cast a spell. Black Bola! A set of black spheres linked by an energy chain flew at her. Crea quickly swung a pair of fingers at it, creating a thread of golden light from her fingertips in mid-swing. The thread sliced the bola down the middle, sending the black spheres flying in various directions. The thread vanished as Crea assumed a stance.
"Oh good," said Crea. "You'll get to watch as I kill your boyfriend."
At that moment, Crea was cut off as Seth cast a spell. Doom Dart! A dart made of dark energy flew at Crea's head. Crea dodged at the last second and the dart only nicked her cheek. The wound quickly resealed. Crea quickly retaliated, shooting several blasts at both Seth and Adam. Seth ducked behind a large rock, while Adam made several acrobatic maneuvers to dodge the attacks directed at him. As Adam finished, he cast his guardian stone. Firefox, Ignite! Adam's guardian, a crimson red fox with the Infinis Sigil on its two large legs, appeared. It quickly danced around Crea's shots as it raised its tail, and a stream of fire shot forth from the tip. Crea's conforming shield blocked the attack, taking minor damage.
Meanwhile, behind a large rock, Seth turned as Erik rushed up beside him.
"How's Rion?" asked Seth.
"Not too good, Seth. He's in bad shape, but he insists on fighting. Kara's looking after him right now."
"Good, because we have another problem. Mel's been–"
"I saw it. Talk about a bad time for a miscast."
"She didn't, and that's part of the problem. You've gotta thaw her out."
"I'm on it. Cover me."
Erik moved toward Melosa, using several rocks as cover. Eventually, he reached Melosa's frozen form and began pushing it slowly behind a rock.
"Wow, Mel, this certainly isn't something that happens to you everyday now, is it?" Erik said in a slightly joking tone.
From the ice, Melosa's voice muffled, "Not… funny… Erik!"
"Just hang on, Mel. I'll have you out in no time." Erik pulled out a small blowtorch from his belt and began slowly melting the ice around Melosa.
Meanwhile, Crea was now dodging several shots being sent by Firefox rather than letting her shield take the hits. She continued to shoot back, but Firefox and Adam were just as adept at dodging her attacks. From behind Crea, Seth cast another spell. Bedlam! A small number of dark spirits flew at Crea, spiraling around her and striking her shield, but they dealt little damage. At the same time, Adam pulled out a booster stone and cast it at Firefox. Heart of Yin! Firefox's body instantly turned to searing flames and it streaked at Crea, surrounding her in a crimson inferno. Crea was burned by the flames, but the wounds healed accordingly.
After a moment, Crea's body began to glow with a red pattern. As it did, she said, "Didn't you ever learn what happens when you play with fire?"
Crea's body became surrounded by yellow and blue flames, which instantly burned away Seth's spell. The immolation struck Firefox, incinerating it despite its own fiery body. The guardian vanished and its stone returned to Adam, who looked anxiously at Crea. Crea then waved her arms in a motion and the flames around her shot out in various directions. Adam and Seth barely managed to dodge the attack, both rushing to a nearby set of rocks for cover. As they ran, Crea added several energy blasts to her fiery attack, bombarding the whole area before her. Several more rocks either exploded or melted from her attack.
Behind the remaining rocks, Seth looked toward Adam, who had taken cover next to him, and said, "Adam, follow my lead! We'll take her up close!"
"Umm… are you sure about that, Seth? I mean–"
"Would you rather we stayed here and let her blast us out?"
Adam paused for a moment, and then said, "Alright, if this'll kill us faster then lead on."
Seth frowned at this quip. A second later, he and Adam quickly cast their spells. Twisting Chaos! Assassin! A large amount of dark energy entered Seth's body, causing four black tendrils to extend from his back. His eyes began to glow golden. Opposite him, Adam was surrounded by a bluish-green aura, which made him seem almost transparent. Electricity began to spark around both of them.
A short distance from the rocks, Crea walked over while readying an energy blast. Just then, a bluish streak sprung out from behind one of the rocks and ran at lightning speed towards her. Crea reflexively fired a blast at the blue streak, but it dodged the attack. From within the blue streak, Adam thrust a lightning-fast fist at Crea, striking her as he passed. The force of the blow knocked Crea into the air for a moment, but she righted herself in midair and landed on her feet.
Adam stopped behind Crea and faced her. Crea quickly turned to look at the rogue, and then turned back where he had come from to see Seth ready in a combat stance.
"Heh, brave of you," Crea said smugly.
Crea thrust her arms out to her sides and two blades of energy formed around her hands and wrists. The sight of these swords unnerved Seth and Adam.
"That's a new one," Seth muttered.
A second later, Adam said sarcastically, "Nice idea, Seth."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know she could do that?"
"Come on, you thought fighting her up close would work? Especially after seeing what she can do with her bare hands?"
"So why'd you follow my lead on this? We could just go back to being pelted by energy blasts; that's an option too!"
Interrupting the two, Crea said mockingly, "Excuse me, but I'd like to be able to kill the two of you sometime today. So, if you don't mind…"
Both Adam and Seth's minds returned to the fight, and they reassumed their stances toward Crea. Seth made the first move, lunging at Crea with a fist and a pair of the dark tendrils extending from his back, attempting to strike her in the chest. Crea parried the strike with one of her blades, just as Adam ran in towards her to strike her from behind. Crea pushed Seth back hard, and then quickly jumped in a backwards flip as Adam threw a punch at her back, his strike missing by a mere inch. As Crea flipped, she thrust a kick at Adam, springing off his back and causing him to fall forward and almost crash into Seth. Seth stepped to the side, avoiding Adam, and then sent a flurry of lunges with his dark tendrils at Crea. Crea parried each strike, but then one blow hit her in the shoulder, piercing through her weakened shield.
As small amounts of blue particles leaked from the wound, Crea said "Not bad, Seth. You've gotten better."
Crea quickly slashed at the black tendril in her shoulder, slicing it in two. She then followed up with a lunge at Seth's chest. Reacting just in time, Seth brought the remaining three tendrils in front of him, barely blocking the strike. The force of the blow sent him flying back, however, and he crashed to the ground in a heap. Crea reassumed her stance, the small wound in her shoulder healing with green lights.
She then turned as Adam rushed toward her, his fists flying in a lightning-fast flurry. Crea moved quickly, dodging and parrying his blows with significant difficulty. Even though she was evading and blocking Adam's strikes with considerable skill, his speed made it almost impossible to move in time. Adam landed a couple of blows on Crea, but her shield weakened them considerably. Crea then countered by swinging her blade at Adam's feet, causing the ground to rip up beneath him. Adam stumbled back for a moment, but then regained his footing and jumped over the shockwave. Adam then rushed forward at Crea, thrusting a left hook hard at her head.
At that very moment, the blade around Crea's right arm vanished, and her arm began to glow in a white energy pattern. Crea sidestepped to her right, causing the blow to miss; she then turned about and grabbed Adam's arm. Then, in a swift movement, she pulled back on Adam's arm and thrust a kick hard into the side of his ribs. Adam screamed in pain as Crea held him, the energies of his spell dissipating. She continued to push harder and harder with her leg into Adam's side, stretching his arm until it felt as though she were going to rip it off.
"Tell me something," said Crea. "Why bother fighting with Seth and the others? You aren't a Di-Gata Defender, last time I checked."
Amidst his cries of pain, Adam said, "I have… my reasons…"
Crea looked contemptuously at Adam, then raised her blade and said scornfully, "Fine then. You'll die like the rest of– AHH!"
Seth slammed into Crea's side at this moment, making her release her grip on Adam's arm. Crea flew a short distance, crashing into a large rock and embedding herself in it. She did not look as though the impact had harmed her, though.
As Seth stood ready to fight Crea, the black tendrils in his back outstretched, he quickly looked toward Adam and said, "You're welcome."
"Th– thanks," Adam replied as he nursed his arm. "Just– just gimme a minute. Ow…"
Seth almost revealed an arrogant smile, but turned to face Crea. She slammed her elbows into the rock behind her, breaking it apart as she pushed forward. She then ran at Seth, forming a new blade around her right arm, and took several swings at him. Seth managed to parry each strike then countered with a whirling attack, but Crea blocked the attack effortlessly. The two exchanged blows for a moment, then Seth swung his arm in a motion and the tendrils on his back wrapped themselves around Crea's arms and torso. Crea struggled against Seth to break free, but the tendrils were surprisingly strong.
As Seth struggled to hold Crea back, she chuckled and said smugly, "Clever."
Crea jumped up and thrust a hard kick with both legs into Seth's chest. The blow sent him flying, his grip on her lost. Seth crashed to the ground, groaning in pain, while Crea landed neatly several meters away from him. Seth slowly pushed himself up, his eyes fixed on Crea as the blades around her arms vanished. She then lifted a hand in a fist and a beam shot out of her wrist like a chain. Seth moved to the side, but the beam struck one of the black tendrils and seemed to latch onto it. Crea pulled back her arm, which nearly flung Seth off his feet as he jerked forward, but he managed to stay standing. Quickly moving, Seth thrust his hands forward and the tendrils separated from his back and flew at Crea. With a jerk of her wrist, the energy chain connected to Crea's arm broke off. Her arms then began to glow in a green pattern. Crea thrust an open palm at the ground, and the wind kicked up around her in a cyclone. Seth's spell struck the cyclone and fizzled out.
On the side, Adam watched as Seth's spell hit Crea uselessly. "Aw crap… why did I ever follow his lead on this?" he said to himself. A sharp pain in his arm made him clutch his shoulder with a grunt.
"Adam!" shouted Kara's voice. Adam turned to see Kara slide over beside him and look at his arm. "Are you alright?" she said, concerned.
"It's nothing serious– AGH!" Kara had tried to inspect Adam's arm at that moment, but withdrew her hand the instant she had touched it.
"Sorry, sorry!"
"I'll be fine, Kara. I just need a minute or so."
Kara turned back to the battle that was raging between Seth and Crea, clearly worried.
Meanwhile, Erik continued to melt the ice surrounding Melosa with his blowtorch. The ice around her head and torso began to crack. Erik shut off the torch and slipped his fingers in between a large crack he had made in the ice and began to pry it apart. A moment later, the ice ripped open. Melosa coughed heavily as she gasped for warm air.
"You alright, Mel?"
Melosa coughed as she said, "I– I'm fine."
"Just give me a sec and I'll get the rest of you out," Erik said as he reactivated the torch and directed its flames at Melosa's still-frozen legs.
At that moment, Melosa looked over Erik's shoulder to see Seth desperately trying to dodge and parry Crea's fists. Crea swung a low kick at Seth's ankles, which he leapt over. But as Seth landed, Crea had swung about in a spin and the same kick that had first gone at his feet struck him in the chest. Seth tumbled back across the ground, making a loud thud as he landed.
"Seth!" Melosa screamed.
Erik shut off the torch as he turned around to see Crea advance on Seth. He quickly turned to Melosa and tossed her the torch as he said, "Can you get yourself out?" Erik then ran off to help Seth.
"What? Hey, wait! Erik!" Erik did not pay attention to Melosa, much to her chagrin. Left with nothing else she could do, Melosa began to start defrosting herself with the torch.
Erik raised his gauntlet and cast a set of shield stones. Fortify Fortress! A solid blue shield of Ogama Sigil energy formed around Erik, completely covering him.
"Hey Crea, over here!" shouted Erik.
Crea turned to face Erik, her hands glowing with energy. At the same moment, Seth took the opportunity to run to cover.
Noticing Seth as he retreated, Crea said snidely, "I really should finish him off. Oh well, I might as well kill you first, Erik."
Erik quickly fired his guardian stone. Robotus, Activate! Erik's guardian came forth, constructed in a form that had two large multi-rocket launchers as its arms, as well as two more missile launchers on its shoulders.
Robotus turned toward Crea and fired off a barrage of miniature missiles at her in a wide arc. The missiles soon turned towards her, homing in on her energy signature. Crea quickly pushed off the ground, levitating shortly above it, and a boost of energy thrust her backwards to dodge the first of the missiles. One set of missiles came straight at her, but Crea dodged them at the last second and they exploded as they struck a nearby rock. She continued to swerve through them while moving backwards, with some of the missiles colliding with nearby rocks and exploding. As it became more difficult to dodge, Crea raised her arms together, palms flat and facing forward, and began firing rapid bursts of energy at the missiles, destroying them. Robotus continued to fire endlessly at Crea.
After a series of missile waves failed to damage Crea, Robotus fired one combined barrage at her. At this moment, Crea closed her hands in fists and a large amount of energy charged up in her arms. She then released a powerful beam of energy at the missiles, destroying them all simultaneously. The beam then proceeded toward Robotus, piercing through the guardian's chest plate. Robotus sparked for a moment as it went haywire and then exploded. Robotus' guardian stone reappeared in Erik's hand as he growled angrily at Crea.
"Piece of crap," Crea taunted as she touched down. "He needs an upgrade."
Infuriated, Erik cast another spell. Constructor! A series of metal plates wrapped around Erik's left hand and wrist area and formed a multi-barreled blaster weapon. The barrels were arranged like a Gatling gun, which spun as Erik started up the weapon. Erik roared death as the blaster fired a volley of energy shots at her. The shots hit Crea's shield quite strongly, causing considerable damage to her.
Surprised, Crea staggered back from the blasts. She quickly positioned her arms in a defensive stance and her shield began to brighten as it strengthened. Erik's shots now were doing little damage, and green lights were quickly sealing up the spots on Crea where she had blue particles leaking. Angered, Crea retaliated with a rapid series of energy bursts at Erik. As the small shots struck his powerful shield, Erik began to strafe sideways, not ceasing his attack. The two began to move in a circle, exchanging shots, but neither one seemed to gain an advantage. Crea was not using particularly strong attacks, and Erik's blaster was dealing little damage to Crea due to her shield.
After a moment, Crea suddenly stopped firing and a boost of energy sent her sprinting forwards at Erik with incredible speed. From the sides, Kara screamed, "ERIK! LOOK OUT!"
Kara ran out to help her brother and cast a spell quickly. Bolt of Altas! Again, she channeled the spell through her body, to which she almost went to tears from pain. A powerful energy bolt flew at Crea from Kara's body. Crea saw the attack moving towards her, but she was moving too quickly to stop, and her shield would not protect her from it. Instead, Crea began charging up a blast in her left hand.
Just before the bolt struck her, Crea leapt up in a corkscrew roll above the bolt and it passed inches away from her back, scorching her red cape. As she came about in her roll, Crea shot her energy blast at Kara. The blast landed in front of the Defender and exploded, sending Kara flying back with a scream. Crea finished her roll and landed, and then continued to rush at Erik, who was still firing at her.
Erik continued firing his barrage at Crea, but it was no use; she simply plowed through the field of blaster fire, ignoring the damage she was taking. Crea soon reached him and thrust a fist straight at his shield, her arms now glowing to indicate her superhuman strength. Her fist was also crackling with a large amount of energy. The blow broke through Erik's shield instantly, much to his horror. Then in a quick movement Crea grabbed Erik's blaster and pulled, throwing him over her shoulder to the ground. Erik lost his grip on the blaster in the process of the throw.
Crea smirked as she crushed the blaster's barrels in her hand with ease. The weapon dematerialized in her hand as she absorbed its energies. Crea then grabbed Erik by the collar and jumped up into the air, carrying Erik with her. As the two reached the peak of Crea's jump, Crea quickly positioned herself above Erik and kicked him hard towards the ground, whilst kicking off from him. Where Erik impacted, there was a large cloud of dust as Crea landed several meters away. The dust soon cleared, revealing a badly injured Erik, whose body quaked in pain from the impact.
Crea took a moment to look over her shoulder at her charred cape. Finding it to be a hindrance, Crea tore off the scarlet cloak and tossed it aside. As the cape drifted, it dispersed into small lights and disappeared before even touching the ground. Crea then grinned as she raised a hand at Erik, her index and middle fingers pointed at him, and energy began to charge into her fingertips. Erik saw Crea prepare to attack and quickly raised his gauntlet. Flash Blast! An energy blast shot forth and struck Crea, blinding her briefly. Erik took the chance to run behind cover with Seth. Recovering, Crea shot her attack, a thin beam of energy, at Erik, but missed. The shot pierced several rocks in a line, causing them to crumble.
As Erik crouched beside him, Seth immediately said, "Erik, you alright?"
Amidst grunts of pain Erik said, "I'll live, I think. But this is crazy!"
"I know, I know."
"So then, why are we still here? We should get outta here while we still can."
"We'd never make it back to the Stormers."
"So we're just supposed to keep fighting her?!"
"What other choice to we have?"
"Uh, guys?" came Adam's voice. "A little help here would be nice!"
Seth and Erik looked out from their cover to see Crea shoot several more blasts at Adam, who was having trouble dodging.
"Stay here," Seth said to Erik. "I'll help Adam."
Seth went out from behind the rock, reached for his guardian stone and cast it. Omnikragg, take form! The ground shook as the massive form of Omnikragg appeared before Seth. The towering giant of stone roared a battle cry as he stormed toward Crea, who turned to face the guardian. Adam ran for cover.
"Nice guardian," Crea said with a hint of sarcasm. "Was Kragus starting to get dust all over him?"
"How dare you insult my predecessor, you witch!" Omnikragg bellowed as he swung a fist at Crea. She easily dodged the blow, landing a few meters away from the guardian.
"All Kragus ever managed to do was piss me off. You'll be the same!"
Crea leapt forward at Omnikragg and threw a glowing fist at the giant. Omnikragg moved his arm quickly and blocked the strike, much to Crea's surprise. He then thrust a fast punch at Crea, who barely had time to block it with her arms. Crea flew back and crashed into a boulder, but remained standing as she fell to the ground. Omnikragg then reached over to a nearby pair of rocks, picked them up with one hand each, and tossed them at Crea. Crea smashed the first one with her fists effortlessly.
But then Crea did something unexpected: she held out her hand as if to simply stop the second rock, palm flat. The rock connected with her hand, and with a mighty shove Crea flung the rock back towards Omnikragg, who quickly threw out a fist and smashed the rock to pieces. As the dust cleared before Omnikragg, he looked on in surprise as Crea fired a blistering barrage of energy bursts at him. Barricade Array! A set of small disc shields from Seth formed around Omnikragg, deflecting the shots. As the shields spiraled around Omnikragg, the giant raised his hands forward in a combat stance.
"Come and taste retribution, whelp!" the giant roared.
Crea looked at Omnikragg for a moment, and then laughed at him, amusedly. Her laughter seemed to have a hint of hilarity in her reaction.
Amidst her laughs, Crea said, "Oh ho, now that's just funny. 'Come and taste retribution', that's a good one!"
At that moment, Crea stopped laughing and thrust her hands forward at Omnikragg. A blistering barrage of energy blasts flew at Omnikragg, striking him as well as Seth's shields, shattering the latter. A large cloud of smoke erupted around Omnikragg, hiding him from view. Crea soon stopped her assault and lowered her hands.
She then said sarcastically, "Hilarious."
The smoke cleared around Omnikragg, revealing that he had only taken minor damage from the attack. He looked mad as a hornet, however, as he roared and rushed in a headlong charge at Crea. As he neared Crea, Omnikragg thrust forward a giant stone fist at her, which Crea dodged by sidestepping. Omnikragg followed up with another fist, but instead of dodging it Crea thrust her hand at the giant's wrist, knocking the blow aside. The giant took several more swings at Crea, all which she dodged or deflected with movements. Crea attempted to counter with several punches and kicks, but Omnikragg was stronger than she was in terms of pure might. He either blocked the strikes or took the punishment easily.
After a moment of exchanging blows, Omnikragg then thrust an open hand out at Crea. The blow connected, leaving Crea pinned up against a large rock by the guardian's massive hand. Despite her impressive strength, Crea couldn't move her arms to push away the giant's fist. As she tried to struggle free, Omnikragg's hand began to glow a crimson aura. Sensing the energy buildup in Omnikragg's hand, Crea began focusing her energy to defend herself.
The energy in Omnikragg surged forward at Crea as he slightly loosened his grip, blasting her and the rock behind her. The rock was blown to smithereens, while Crea flew back and crashed to the ground. As she skidded across the ground, Crea quickly moved and in an acrobatic movement she pushed up off the ground, landing on her feet after a back-flip.
At various locations on her body, blue particles leaked from Crea's wounds. Green lights were slowly arriving to seal the wounds; they weren't healing the wounds properly. Crea had clearly been heavily damaged, but still had plenty of fight left in her. Her long blue hair was disheveled about her shoulders and back, yet still it glistened.
Looking upon Crea from behind his guardian, Seth said, "Wow, she can move."
Crea's eyes darted to her right and spotted a large boulder next to her. She quickly touched a shimmering hand to the boulder, which quickly caused its energies to siphon into Crea's body. Within seconds, Crea absorbed what was available in the stone, which crumbled to dust. It wasn't a full recharge; not even close, but it would do for the moment. Her regeneration was at least working properly now.
Crea slowly stood up as her wounds healed. She then assumed a stance as an energy blade formed around her right arm. She stared at Omnikragg for a moment, who stared back waiting for her to strike. Crea then roared for the guardian's death as a thrust of energy sent her rushing at him. As she neared him, Omnikragg swung a glowing fist at Crea, but suddenly she vanished in a flash of blue light.
"What the?" uttered Omnikragg, clearly stunned. He looked all around him, but Crea was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, a flash of blue light appeared behind Omnikragg as Crea rematerialized. Seeing her, Seth shouted, "OMNI, BEHIND YOU!"
Omnikragg turned just in time to see Crea strike. "DIE!!!"
Crea leapt up and swung her blade in an upward arc, slicing Omnikragg in the chest. She then swung her blade downward in a slash to the guardian's back. Omnikragg vanished in a flash of red light, with his guardian stone reappearing in Seth's hand. Crea turned toward Seth, who still had several shields floating around him, yet growled through clenched teeth.
Crea then said, "You traded up, Seth. He was a lot more fun than Kragus."
"Just so you're aware, that WAS Kragus you just fought."
"Huh?"
"Kragus merged with another guardian, Omniaxor, who belonged to my father. I'd never have traded away Kragus for anything. He was my friend, and he still is!"
"Your friend? How can one really be a friend with something that no longer exists? It's not like you'll ever be able to play or do whatever it is you do with him ever again. He's gone, after all; now just a fragment of that big brute whose stone now lies in your hand."
"You just don't get it, do you Crea? The idea behind friendship. Kragus and I were pals, the best of friends since I was a little kid, and nothing would change that. Not even me losing the Kragus I knew for years. He still lives on in Omnikragg, and I'm glad to fight alongside him, as well as my other friends."
"Friendship… Ha, what an asinine notion, though it's fitting for someone as weak as you."
Angered by Crea's retort, Seth cast a spell at her. Nega Mass! A small dense ball of magical energy flew at Crea, who merely smirked. The blade around her arm vanished as the ball flew at her. Just before it struck her, Crea lashed out a glowing hand and caught the energy ball in it. Despite the spell's power, it caused no damage to Crea.
"What?" Seth said in astonishment.
As the energy ball clashed with Crea's energies, she tightened her grip on the ball, causing energy to disperse in a flash of red light. It was as though she had crushed a pebble in her hand. As she opened her hand, the Sigil energies of Seth's spell scattered. In a mocking gesture, Crea blew at her hand, as though she were dispersing the spell's energies with her breath.
"Oh yeah, Seth," Crea then said, a hint of disdain in her voice. "It's such a pitiful concept. It creates a weakness in you: you rely on someone else to give you strength. You have to hold yourself up on your so-called friend's shoulder to just to stay alive. But alone…" Crea raised her hand toward Seth as she finished, "you're a weakling."
Several large pulses of energy shot forth from Crea's hand at Seth. Though the shots hit what few shields he had left, the force of the blasts sent him flying back. Seth crashed to the ground, but quickly righted himself and dove behind a rock as another energy salvo flew at him.
"Why rely on something so damn stupid?" Crea shouted demandingly as she continued to attack. "Why have friends at all if they make you weak as an individual?! ANSWER ME, SETH!"
Seth continued to duck behind rocks as Crea continued her destructive assault. From behind a rock near Crea, Kara jumped up and cast a spell. Fog Shroud! A mass of white mist covered the area, blocking Crea's view. She looked around for any movement, but the fog was too thick. Though she also tried to sense the Defenders' positions, the fog was interfering with her sensory powers.
Meanwhile, Melosa was chipping away the remaining ice that was still around her feet. After a few strikes with a jagged rock she picked up, the ice broke.
"Ugh, how could I be so stupid?" Melosa grumbled as she got to her feet.
"Mel, over here!" Adam whispered from nearby. Melosa ran over to Adam, as did Erik, Kara and eventually Seth.
"I don't know how much longer my spell will hold her off," said Kara, quite scared.
"Seth, this is pointless," said Erik. "At this rate, she's gonna reduce us to atoms! We've gotta get out of here!"
"I'm with Erik," Adam added. "This is suicide!"
"Guys, I'd like to run as much as the rest of you, but we can't," Seth answered. "We'll just be making ourselves easy targets." Then, with a growl, Seth added, "If only I had my Nova Stone, we could beat her."
"What about the Warrior Henge?" Kara asked. "I could try–"
"No, it's too risky. We wouldn't get half done before Crea stopped us. Besides, you're hurt enough as it is."
"Well, then, what about Mel's Wizard powers?" said Erik.
"I don't know…" Melosa said with uncertainty.
"What? They worked on her the last time."
"Last time was an accident, and Crea's so much more powerful this time. I don't know if my powers will work on her anymore."
At that moment, the Defenders turned to see the fog was suddenly dissipating. They then saw that Crea was absorbing the spell, transferring the energy into her body.
"We're outta time, Seth!" said Kara, scared.
Seth paused for a moment, and then said, "It's a risk we'll just have to take. Your powers worked last time. I say they're our best chance right now."
"Okay," said Melosa, "but I'm gonna need cover. I'm only going to get one shot at this."
"More good news," Adam said sarcastically.
"Let's go," said Seth. "Whatever you've got left, use it sparingly."
Seth, Adam, Erik, and Kara ran out from behind their cover and moved quickly to surround Crea. As they moved, Crea fired several blasts at them, but the shots either missed or were evaded. Kara leapt up and cast a spell. Yin-iccane! A sparking tornado flew forward at Crea, who raised her arms to it. A violent twister suddenly formed around Crea's body, and it began to clash with Kara's spell.
Behind Crea, Adam positioned himself and cast a spell. Power of the Guild! A strange device with sharp blades as anchors flew forward just as Kara's spell dissipated and struck Crea in the back, piercing her shield and causing her to scream in pain. Shortly afterwards the device detonated, creating a large cloud of debilitating gas around Crea. She tried to move away but felt her body seize up, making movements difficult without extreme effort. Energy then began to flow through Crea's body as it attempted to purge the toxin and restore her injuries.
Erik stumbled his way to a rock to the left of Crea, leaning on it for support as he raised his gauntlet and cast. Forge Fire! A barrage of small fireballs flew at Crea, striking her shield and shattering it, causing heavy damage as well. Crea was knocked over by the spell, falling on her side as green lights attempted to heal her wounds. She quickly got up and shot a large blast at Erik. He barely managed to lean to the side, causing the blast to strike the rock next to him. The explosion sent him flying with a yelp and he crashed to the ground, rock fragments scattered all around him.
All the while behind a set of rocks, Melosa began to chant. "Ogama, Sum, Infinis, Altas, Sum…" The chant continued as the others battled Crea.
Adam yelped as an energy blast from Crea grazed his shoulder, leaving a noticeable burn. She quickly fired a second larger blast at him, but Adam barely managed to dodge it. From behind Crea, Kara jumped up and thrust a kick at her back. Crea swung around and blocked the strike with her arm. Kara tried to leap away, but Crea quickly grabbed one of her power boots and swung the Defender to the ground. Crea then raised her arm, an energy blade forming around it, ready to lunge at Kara. Seth ran in and tackled Crea, grabbing her arm in an attempt to restrain her. In the confusion, Kara got up and managed to get some distance from Crea and Seth.
Crea struggled for a moment in Seth's grip before hitting him in the face with her elbow. She then swung around and her blade just missed Seth's head, though it cut off a few of his hairs. Crea attempted to strike Seth while he was on his back, but he rolled to the side, avoiding the lunge. He dashed off to the side, distancing himself from Crea. The blade around her arm vanished.
The Defenders stood around Crea, who looked at each one quickly. She thought to finish them off right at that moment, but something suddenly caught her attention. It was a nearby source of energy welling up, which Crea instantly recognized. She turned to where Melosa was and fired a powerful blast at the rock she hid behind. The rock exploded, revealing Melosa as she continued to chant.
Enraged, Crea fired another powerful blast at Melosa. At the last second, Rion jumped out in front of Melosa, positioning a shield in front of him. The shield blocked the blast, but strained from the force of the attack. The dust around Rion cleared as Crea stared furiously at him; he was still wounded, and was panting heavily from exhaustion.
"You just don't die!" Crea snapped.
At that moment, Rion charged at Crea. She quickly fired another large blast at him. The burst hit his shield with an explosion, shattering it. Rion ran out of the cloud of dust, but to the other Defenders' shock, he had changed form.
The rocks that made up Rion's headband had bonded with his arms as katars, with one of the stones in the center of his chest, and his face had changed to a demonic form. Rion roared furiously as he charged at Crea.
A sudden look of shock appeared on Crea's face, but as Rion neared her and lunged she quickly reacted to the attack. A pair of energy blades formed around her arms and she parried Rion's strike with one of the blades. The force of the blow caused her to stagger. Rion quickly swung again; Crea barely blocked the attack. The demon Rion continued his assault, while Crea kept parrying his strikes.
Meanwhile, the other Defenders regrouped near Melosa, who was still chanting. As they watched Rion and Crea exchange blows, Adam said, "Wow, look at the kid go."
"Yeah," Seth added. "I just hope he can hold her off long enough." Seth then turned back to Melosa, who was still in a trance, and said, "Come on, Mel, hurry." Large amounts of blue energy began to crackle around Melosa's body as she chanted.
Rion snarled as he struck Crea with a crackling claw. She flew back as the blades around her arms vanished and crashed to the ground. Crea pushed herself up just as Rion leapt at her again and thrust a claw at her head. She jumped back several meters, the blow breaking apart the ground where she had just been.
Rion charged blindly at her. Crea jumped a short distance from Rion and quickly countered with several energy blasts. They all hit Rion, blowing him back, but causing little damage. Rion shook off the damage and rushed again at Crea, both katars crackling with dark energy. Crea raised her hands and caught Rion's claws in her hands. Her arms glowed as her strength increased, but she still had trouble holding back Rion. He was far more powerful than she had anticipated.
At that moment, Crea's hands became charged with power as she unleashed a surge of electricity into Rion. Rion screeched in pain as he was electrified, but he did not back down, something that worried Crea. But then, he suddenly loosened the pressure of his assault; Crea was hoping for this slipup. With a hard shove, Crea pushed Rion backwards and followed up with a hard punch to the head, causing him to tumble across the ground. His natural agility allowed him to recover quickly and land on his feet.
Rion breathed heavily as he readied himself to rush Crea again. Crea, meanwhile, held her hands forward, palms facing Rion, as energy charged into her arms. Rion made a furious dash at Crea, which she countered with a devastating blast that hit the demonic boy. Rion screeched in agony as he was blown back and reverted to his human state. Rion crashed to the ground, barely moving.
Crea stared at Rion, fury in her eyes. The moment he had morphed into his demon form, his power had immensely increased, enough to put Crea on the defensive for a time. But the thing that frustrated Crea the most wasn't that Rion had done so well against her, but that for a split second he had frightened her.
"Yin, Altas, Dako…"
Crea's attention suddenly turned to Melosa, who had an immense amount of Wizard energy about her. Melosa's eyes opened, revealing a bright blue glow, as she shouted, "Yan, Infinis, Altas!"
A massive blue beam shot at Crea from Melosa's outstretched hands.
"NO!" Crea shouted in fury.
Crea, despite being low on energy, raised her hands to the blast and a powerful stream of energy shot forth. The two beams collided and began pushing each other back and forth, neither gaining the advantage. Melosa strained from the pressure, as did Crea. Then, to the Defender's terror, Crea began to chant as her body became alight with a pattern of shifting colors.
"Infinis, Altas, Yin, Ogama, Altas, Yan…"
"You've got to be kidding me," Seth said, horrified.
A moment later, Erik shouted, "Hit her with everything you've got left!"
Erik raised his gauntlet and cast a spell. Seth, Kara and Adam followed suit. Flaming Spiral! Tornado! Spinning Doom! Infinibarb! All four spells flew at Crea, but they collided with a surging field of energies that surrounded her and fizzled out. Crea continued to chant.
"Dako, Sum, Nega, Dako…"
Opposite Crea, Melosa also chanted, attempting to strengthen her own spell.
"Yin, Yan, Nega, Ogama…"
"Sum, Altas, Yan, Altas…"
"Ogama, Infinis, Yin, Nega…"
"Altas, Nega, Altas, Infinis!"
"Yin, Infi– AAAHHHHH!!!"
Crea's spell overpowered Melosa and the vast energies struck her head on. Wizard magic caused pain to shoot through every part of Melosa's body. As the spell passed, Melosa stood trembling on the spot, barely able to stay standing. She fell forward on one knee, barely conscious.
Crea took advantage of this. She swung a hand forward and a blast of energy shot at Melosa, hitting her directly in the torso. Melosa flew back several meters, landing with a dull thud and skidding across the ground.
"MEL!!" Seth and Adam shouted simultaneously. They both ran to Melosa's side as fast as they could, fearful for her life.
As Crea stood out of breath, she shouted, "AND STAY DOWN, BITCH!"
Seth reached Melosa first and cradled her head in his hands. "Mel, speak to me! Mel! MEL!"
Melosa slowly stirred, barely conscious, and murmured, "Too powerful… she's too powerful…"
As Adam knelt down beside Melosa, Seth turned to see Crea thrust a hand at a large rock, and watched as the energy siphoned into her body. Soon, the rock lost its color and crumbled to dust.
"We can't stop her…" Melosa continued to murmur.
The Defenders watched in despair as Crea held her hands before her chest in a stance and energy began to surge around her. Multiple small lights began to swirl around her in a spiral. The sight was both beautiful and terrifying. More and more lights kept appearing.
"Time to end this, Defenders," Crea said coldly. "Now… DIE!!!!!"
At that instant, Crea thrust her hands to her sides and the lights shot out in random directions, demolishing everything. The Defenders quickly attempted to raise shield spells.
From above the quarry, the destruction surged out with incredible speed, reducing nearly everything in the area to rubble.
A few seconds passed as the dust cleared. In the middle of the destruction, Crea breathed heavily as she looked around the area. Many of the rocks in the quarry had been reduced to rubble. Then, she saw them. The Di-Gata Defenders were all sprawled across the rocky area. Miraculously, they were still alive, albeit barely.
For a moment, Crea was silent. "I… I did it…" Then, with the realization of her words, Crea began to laugh almost maniacally. "I DID IT! I FINALLY DID IT!!!"
The Defenders, all badly wounded, struggled to try and get up. But none of them could get up, too weak to do so. Never before had they been put in such dire circumstances.
Crea, on the other hand, continued to laugh with glee. "The Di-Gata Defenders! I beat them! I FINALLY DEFEATED THEM!!!"
From where he lay, Seth watched as Crea seemingly stumbled around, overcome by her own ecstatic cheers. Seth wasn't about to let her win so easily, even though the situation now seemed hopeless.
Amidst her laughs, Crea said, "You can't imagine how this feels! I'd been waiting for this for so long and now I've finally done it!"
"N– Not yet, you haven't…"
Surprised, Crea looked toward Seth, who was slowly getting to his feet. Crea could not believe he could still get up. Crea's joy was suddenly replaced with a malefic anger. She walked over to him as he stood up.
"You just don't know when to quit, do you Seth?" Crea said angrily.
She then swung a fist at Seth's abdomen, which made him gasp in pain breathlessly. He fell on his knees, holding himself up with one arm as he gasped for air.
"You always have to fight to the bitter end, huh?"
Crea kicked Seth in the side and he rolled a short distance along the wrecked quarry floor, laying face down on the ground. Then, to Crea's shock, Seth began to push himself back up again. Enraged, Crea strode up next to Seth, grabbed him by the collar and lifted his limp body up effortlessly.
"Why, Seth? Why get back up when you know you can't win?"
Seth merely smirked at Crea, further riling her up. Crea threw Seth at a nearby pile of rubble in her rage. As the dust cleared, Crea once again was amazed that Seth was trying to stand up again. He was bleeding all over, yet he still had the strength to stand.
"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST DIE?!" Crea screamed, readying a powerful blast of energy in her hands. She planned to end it right there and then.
The other Defenders watched in horror as Crea prepared to kill Seth. Seth, on the other hand, looked back at Crea in defiance, refusing to back down. He was ready to die, but he wouldn't surrender.
Arrow of Ethos! A black and crimson arrow shot out of the darkness and struck Crea in the back, to which she screeched with pain. As her wound regenerated, Crea spun around at shot at the arrow's origin. A shadow moved where she fired at and dodged the attack. The shadow then rushed at her.
Saturos' cloak moved away, revealing the assassin. Saturos swung his blade at Crea, who quickly created two energy blades around her arms and parried the strike. Saturos continued to attack her, putting Crea on the defensive. The two soon met in a sword lock.
Crea then snarled, "Out of my way, Saturos!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Crea," Saturos replied.
"They're your enemies too! Why save them?!"
"They still have a purpose to my masters. Just like you."
"What?"
Saturos twisted his sword and made a hard shove, throwing Crea off balance. Crea attempted to retaliate, but Saturos quickly rushed up behind her and wrapped his right arm around her neck in a choke hold. Crea struggled to free herself, but to no avail.
Then, Saturos opened his right hand, revealing a strange spell stone. The stone activated, creating a swirling black vortex over Crea's head. The vortex crackled with power as it tried to suck Crea and Saturos into it.
Realizing Saturos' intent, Crea screamed, "NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!!!"
As Crea attempted to escape Saturos' grip, she saw Seth as he stared back at her. The defiant look in his eyes hadn't wavered in the slightest, leaving Crea in shock.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
Crea screamed as she and Saturos were drawn into the black portal. Shortly after the two had disappeared into the swirling vortex, the portal dissipated.
The Defenders stared in mute shock at where Crea had been seconds before. The mysterious Saturos had saved their lives… but why? Who was he? And more importantly, who did he serve? None of them knew any of these answers.
But from where he stood, Seth could only maintain his stare.
-----
Lightning crackled in the sky over Nazmul's Keep. Though it had been abandoned, it still loomed over the wastelands in an intimidating manner.
Inside of the keep, a black vortex materialized inside Nazmul's personal study. Seconds later, Crea and Saturos were thrown out of the portal. Crea crashed on her side, while Saturos landed agilely on his feet. The portal closed behind them.
As Crea angrily pushed herself up, she caught a glimpse of her surroundings, and realized where Saturos had warped her. On this realization, she also realized that Saturos had taken away her chance to kill the Di-Gata Defenders, when she had been so close.
At that moment, Saturos then said, "Welcome home, Cretia."
"You… YOU BASTARD!!!"
In blind fury, Crea screamed as she swung around and rushed frantically at Saturos as blades of energy formed around her arms. Crea swung furiously at the assassin, but in her rage her attacks were clumsy and slow; Saturos easily dodged or parried each strike.
As Crea swung her blades in a wild frenzy at Saturos, she continued to scream, "I WAS SO CLOSE! I WAS SO CLOSE!! I WAS SO CLOSE!!!"
But Crea's efforts to kill Saturos were in vain. Every strike she made only served to tire her. Saturos, on the other hand, calmly dodged or blocked each attack with masterful dexterity.
Then, with a loud scream, Crea leapt up to make a hard slash at Saturos. Then, all of a sudden, a violet blast of dark energy slammed into Crea, sending her careening into a stone pillar and crashing to the ground. Crea tried to stand up, but her injuries were severe. Blue particles leaked from her body, but the wounds were not being repaired.
Crea struggled to look up at Saturos. Instead, she saw three cloaked figures floating toward her, with black tentacles in place of their arms and legs. Crea slowly stood up to combat the Ethos, but she could barely move in her wounded state.
"So this is the young destroyer?" said the first Ethos.
"Such a beautiful, yet fierce child," said the second Ethos.
"You will serve our purposes well, young one," added the third Ethos.
Struggling against her injuries, Crea spat, "G– Go to hell!"
"Defiant to the end," said the second Ethos.
"So predictable," said the third Ethos.
The Ethos moved in a spiral around Crea, channeling dark energies in a spell. Then, before Crea could retaliate, a surge of dark light engulfed her, to which she shrieked in agony. The energy in Crea's body suddenly began to fade away as it was drawn out of her.
Seconds later, the Ethos finished their spell. Crea collapsed as she heard the first Ethos say, "Take heart in knowing, young destroyer, that you will be the harbinger of the fall of Rados."
Then, as Crea lay on the cold stone floor, everything went black.
END OF CHAPTER 8
This new ending took me a bit to write, but I feel it'll make quite an impact. It also will change how the future chapters flow. Please comment!