A/N: And here we are: the epic final battle with Godcat! I rewrote the first part of this thing about five times but once I got going it just sort of flowed. Much of the dialogue for the avatars of Godcat were taken straight from the game an given a few tweaks. A special thank you to FierceDeityMask for editing this chapter and a mass thank you for all the "MOTIVATION" reviews last chapter. They actually made me laugh quite a bit! XD
Anyway, I highly suggest listening to "Fallen Blood" (the actual boss music) while reading. Enjoy the final battle!
The four heroes braced themselves as the opposing avatars of Godcat glowed even brighter. Natalie threw up a Barrier just as their foes attacked with blasts of holy and dark magic. Most of the damage was absorbed by the mage's defensive spell, and the small amount that got through was shrugged off by the party. The four grinned as the twin avatars hissed with displeasure.
"Filthy humans!" the destruction avatar spat in their minds, "Your fortitude is an obscenity! Do you think you can defeat your god?" With a flash of red, the bloody shadow vanished.
The creation avatar hovered to stand on the ground. Anna snapped off a Piercing Shot, and cursed as the immortal cat phased through the arrow, "Argh, She's just as dodgy as before!"
Lance tried his luck next and fired a Sniper Shot. To the hero's amazement, the bullet slammed home in the god's chest. "I can't believe that worked," Lance exclaimed, "Keep attacking; we're stronger now, we can do this!"
A ripple of purring laughter echoed in their minds and the party watched in dismay as the bullet hole in the chest of the holy avatar closed up. "You have improved since I toyed with you in the Caverns. This is good. I would be most upset if you hadn't," Godcat mockingly praised, "Your ancient armor may defend you from My magical strikes, but I have armor of My Own."
With Her words still ringing in the party's heads, Godcat sank into the ground in a glowing portal that vanished behind Her. The four looked around nervously for the immortal cat, but only saw the normal legless cats surrounding them, silently watching the humans' battle for the existence of mankind. A rumble shook the mountain top, and the area glowed with white power. A massive tank of gleaming gold burst out of the stone. The huge construct had a single large cannon fixed to one side. Twin golden tails of shining gold and titanium blades waved on either side of the tank. Godcat Herself sat atop the gleaming metal. Her blue eyes glowed even brighter than Her body as She gazed down on the stunned humans below.
"Behold The Creator! Fear it, for it shall be the instrument of My judgement upon you," Godcat yowled. Her voice dropped to a low, wrathful hiss, "You humans have savagely murdered My children and conquered My lands. Perhaps you forget who it is you owe your existence to. Bow down to the power of your creator!"
Natalie gripped her staff and cast a massive Pulsar over the tank and the two tails. "My creator or not, I refuse to accept You as my god," the mage said defiantly, dark energy flowing around her as she attacked. The dark magic engulfed The Creator and cracks appeared along the metal shell. The Blade of Heaven tails suffered even more damage and they began to sporadically twitch.
One Blade lashed out towards the mage, but was intercepted by Matt. The swordsman had switched out to his Devil's Sunrise and he smacked the giant tail aside with a grunt before slicing through it. The severed Blade crashed to the ground where its form shimmered before vanishing. He glared up into Godcat's enraged eyes, "It's your own fault that Your children weren't strong enough to defend themselves. If you hadn't taken away their legs, they might never have attacked us!"
Godcat's fury grew and the heroes could feel the spike in Her magic, "My children had failed to hold dominance of the earth, and so I punished them, so that they may never forget the shame that I felt as their Mother."
Lance shifted sideways as the second Blade of Heaven slammed down. The gunner pulled his Shadow Blaster off of his back and shot down the second tail with a Dark Shot. The defeated blade shimmered and vanished, leaving only a deep gouge in the stone. Lance spun around to stare down the god defiantly, "Because that makes so much sense! If You had wanted them to have dominion over the planet, You shouldn't have weakened them further. Besides, we saw the mural in the Lankyroot temple, and we know that the cats and humans back then had an alliance that made them both strong."
Anna fired a Combo Shot from her Black Widow bow straight into the front of The Creator tank. The dark empowered arrows tore through the shining metal. Black spikes erupted from the ground beneath the construct, ripping upwards to pin the tank in place. "Maybe long ago these lands were Yours, Godcat, but they aren't anymore!" the ranger declared.
The Creator tank glowed with power as the immortal cat of creation channeled Her wrath into it. A powerful barrier formed around the party and the god, just as a massive beam of light burst out of The Creator's cannon. The magical blast roared across the mountain to slam into the defiant heroes. Chunks of rock flew and the air rumbled with power and sound.
The light faded to reveal that all four of the fighters had been blown off their feet. Each person lay crumpled against the barrier, coughing or groaning. Natalie struggled to her feet first, and turned in time to see the weakened tank fall apart under the stress of the massive attack. "Keep it together and get back on your feet! She blew Her own tank apart with that attack," the mage encouraged as she dropped a Heal More spell on her injured friends. They each struggled to stand up and rejoined Natalie to stand against the god.
The ruined shell of The Creator vanished and the glowing form of creation Godcat hovered before them once more. She surveyed the battered party with a distinct look of disdain. Her voice echoed in their heads again, "I created humans to be used by cats; to provide a workforce, a source of sustenance. Humans were meant to be naught but slaves. It was a mistake to give them free will, a mistake that I shall rectify with humanity's complete annihilation!"
The threat wavered in their minds as the avatar of creation vanished to be replaced with the bloody shadow of the avatar of destruction. The spitting voice hissed in their minds, "Any species that defies its purpose will return to the dust from whence it came. Humans are a plague on this world, a plague that must be purged with hellfire. Nothing can stand in My path of death and destruction." With that the destruction Godcat sank into a red portal in the ground.
The tired heroes braced themselves for the arrival of another tank. With a rumble and a darkening of the world around them, a giant spiked skull forced its way out of the ground. The red outline of Godcat could be seen nestled in the macabre tank's fanged mouth. On either side, skeletal Blades of Hell rattled threateningly.
"Aeons ago, there were countless civilizations far greater than any today. They built towers to the heavens, and were capable of magnificent technology. I have ruined them all, effortlessly. You feeble creatures are nothing to Me! Armies rose and fell before The Destroyer's might and now you shall follow them," The sinister hiss of the destruction avatar slashed at their minds.
The jaw of The Destroyer cracked wide, and a heap of bleached bones rose from the ground, knitting together to form a small force of skeletal cats. The undead cats' bones rattled as they leapt forward to explode on the party. Every time one connected, the skeleton blew apart, sending shards of bone shooting in one direction.
Anna fluidly dodged all but one of the skeletons, letting them blow up on the barrier behind her. She let out a small cry of pain as chips of bone embedded in any uncovered skin. Pushing the pain aside, the ranger threw her Black Widow to the side and pulled out her Angel Wing bow out of her pack. She twisted to aid in taking down the swarm of skeletal cats surrounding the mage.
Natalie called out a quick thanks to Anna for her aid as she unleased a Firestorm on the skeletons. Flames engulfed the swarm, melting the bones to slag. Any remaining undead were swiftly shot down with individual Fire Balls and arrows. Deathly hisses and rattles echoed from all around as the undead felines were slain.
Lance shot down as many of the approaching undead as he could. He dodged one of the final two by stepping aside at the last moment, and crushed the skeleton's skull with his foot as it tried to recover. The gunner spun around and slashed the second skeleton in half at the neck.
Matt let his Devil's Sunrise drop, point-first into the ground and allowed the first couple of undead cats to slam into his armor, trusting the Golden Plate and its enchantments to soften the blows. As the skeletons exploded against him and shards of bone pinged off the metal, the swordsman pulled out his Rune Blade and shifted from just standing there to a whirlwind of motion. His sword flashed in bewildering arcs, and the rest of the undead cats were cut down.
The panting party turned back to The Destroyer, surrounded by the remains of the small army of the undead. Godcat's gleaming red eyes surveyed their exhaustion with detached amusement from the mouth of the tank. The Destroyer began to darken as it absorbed unholy energy from the destruction avatar. The mouth snapped shut as a Piercing Shot from Anna came flying at the lurking shadow. The insolence of the attack cleared any amusement Godcat felt and She spoke once more, "Akron was my final gift to humans, and I thought that would be the end of them. I created that abomination to ensure that no species could ever thrive on this planet again. But I could not find Akron, nor can I sense his presence. I assume I have you filthy creatures to blame for that?" The heroes glanced at each other, Anna in confusion and the other three in shock.
Finally, Matt turned to glare at the looming skull of the Tank, "You're two years too late to find him. Next time You want to wipe out a planet: do it Yourself. It would have saved us a lot of time getting here."
The howl of Godcat's anger was almost unheard, despite being in their minds, as the dark energy The Destroyer had gathered was unleased in the form of multiple, rapid blasts of shadow that rained down on the heroes. Dirt and stone exploded and when it finally settled the party was back on the ground. Matt struggled to sit up, groaning in pain. Nearby, Natalie pushed herself to her hands and knees, coughing. The pair staggered to their feet and froze as Anna and Lance remained lying down. Their faces were slack and they could have merely been unconscious if it weren't for the fact that neither of them seemed to be breathing.
"Break time's over, guys. Get up," Natalie nervously called, unwilling to accept what must be true. The mage hesitantly stepped up next to the downed pair and cast Heal More. Nothing happened and she tried again, tears forming in her eyes; neither one of them even twitched. Anna and Lance had been killed in the volley. Natalie fell to her knees next to the bodies and started crying. Purring laughter echoed in the remaining two's minds
Matt twisted to glare, enraged, at Godcat. His anger faded to horror as he watched the twin Blades of Hell that had been simply waiting lash out at Natalie. "Natz, watch out!" Matt yelled, darting forwards. He slashed one in half, but choked as the second twisted with the speed of a viper and broke his Rune Blade in half before sinking into his chest. His wide eyes glazed over and slid shut.
Natalie whipped around at Matt's warning only to scream as she watched the Blade of Hell retract and Matt's body limply fall to the ground with a clatter next to the pieces of his broken sword. She scrambled to her feet and ran over to the swordsman, only to freeze at the sight of the bloody hole in the chest-piece of his armor. The mage fell to her knees. Numbly, Natalie realized that Godcat was speaking to her, but she hardly payed any attention; a cold emptiness filled her mind.
"Humanity has been judged and found wanting. As I had expected, they turned out to be too weak to withstand My power." Godcat purred, "It was entertaining while it lasted, but you and your friends should have stayed far away from here, mage. Now, be reunited with them in death!"
The second Blade of Hell Lashed out at the kneeling Natalie. A split second before the bone blade connected with the mage's back it disintegrated in a flash of holy power. Godcat hissed in surprise as holy magic surrounded the mage and mana flowed out and around her in visible wisps of light. Natalie's hair rustled in a phantom breeze and stones floated off of the ground around her. The mage slowly stood as the power intensified. She raised her Seraphim staff over her head and let loose a howl, her eyes glowing with light. A pillar of light formed around the mage and spread outwards, engulfing the three corpses of her fallen friends and the massive skull looming behind her.
With a screech of pain, Godcat abandoned the rapidly disintegrating tank. The legless cats watching the display yowled in fear and scattered as fast as they were able. Natalie ignored the obliteration of The Destroyer and the mayhem erupting outside the swiftly cracking barrier. Instead, the mage focused on manipulating the immense healing mana surrounding her and the corpses of her friends. The pillar of light became a massive rune-covered cross made of pure mana centered over the three bodies in front of her. Natalie watched as the light wove around the corpses and blood receded into the bodies before the wounds knit shut.
Matt, Anna, and Lance shot into sitting positions all at once with sharp gasps. They immediately gaped at the sight of Natalie wielding so much mana at once. With her hair still wildly whipping around her, her eyes glowing white, and the aura of light coming from her body, the mage could easily have been mistaken for a goddess.
Finally, the light began to fade. Natalie shut her still-glowing eyes and took a shuddering breath. When she reopened her eyes, they had returned to their normal blue and were filled with tears of relief. For a few seconds the three sitting on the ground simply stared at the mage as she stared back at them. Suddenly, Natalie let out a sob and threw herself at Matt, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. The swordsman held her just as tightly.
"No more dying, you guys. Never again," Natalie cried.
Lance let out a laugh, "I can get behind that. Dying sucks."
"I don't know what you did—or how you did it—but thanks, Natz," Anna said shakily.
Natalie felt Matt stiffen beneath her before he unwrapped is arms from her waist. She pulled back to see him staring over her shoulder with wide eyes. Lance let out a string of swears and Anna gasped. The mage turned around to see both The Destroyer and The Creator had formed behind her.
"Genesis," the cold voice of creation said, "I never thought that a pathetic human could cast a spell meant for the divine."
"But, I know you won't manage a second one," the spitting voice of destruction added.
"Both of them at once?" Lance said in shock, "There's no way we can win!"
Anna sprang to her feet, "Yes we can. Natz's Genesis has given us a second wind! Get up and let's return that last attack of Godcat's with interest!"
Lance nodded, still looking skeptical, but rose to his feet. Matt and Natalie stood as well and the swordsman pulled his Devil's Sunrise from where it was stuck in the ground. The four heroes faced down the twin tanks of creation and destruction. The two massive constructs shifted slightly.
"Here she comes, get ready!" Anna called and cast Reflex on the whole party.
Immediately the group felt lighter and faster. When Godcat unleashed a wave of gold and black spikes towards the party through the ground, they easily stepped around or leapt over them, dodging all of the spires.
Anna took the opportunity to attack Godcat. A flickering red wind swirled around the ranger as she pulled a single arrow back and let it fly. The missile screamed through the air, its velocity and strength boosted by the mana spiraling around it, and slammed straight through the center of The Destroyer.
Lance stepped up next to Anna and held his hand up, palm out, towards the badly damaged skull tank. The gunner was surrounded by a yellow glow and a small ball of energy appeared in front of The Destroyer. Lance's eyes were shut in concentration as the Supernova attack grew larger and larger before it exploded. The jaw of the tank snapped off and disintegrated as excess energy scattered around the field. Natalie was watching the attack carefully and threw up a Barrier spell to counteract the backlash of Lance's attack. Destruction Godcat screeched once before it cut off.
"Yes! One down, one to go!" Anna cheered.
"Don't let your guards down," Natalie warned.
The remaining avatar hissed at the heroes only to be cut off as Matt lunged forwards, an aura of power surrounding him and his weapon. Blinding slashes of immense strength rained down and the Cleaver sheared through the golden armor of The Creator. The tank remained standing and charged for an attack.
Natalie headed off the impending attack with a powerful Pulse spell. The dark energy cracked the shell apart. The built up energy within The Creator blasted the tank into the air and it came crashing down and disappeared in a flash of light. Creation Godcat yowled briefly.
The heroes glanced around. The legless cats had begun creeping out of crevices and niches in the mountain top to stare at the party. Neither avatar could be seen anywhere, and the four lowered their weapons slightly.
Matt glanced around and said, "She can't possibly keep fighting after all that… Right?"
As if in response, the two avatars reappeared in a pair of flashes before the party. The four heroes jumped back and raised their weapons again, but the immortal cats merely watched them with no signs of further aggression. Silence reigned for a few moments as the opposing sides eyed each other before the avatars spoke.
"Interesting. Your strength is but a fraction of My Own, and yet, in the face of certain death, you humans are determined to fight for existence," the hissing voice of the destruction avatar said in a begrudgingly impressed tone, "I shall spare your pitiful lives." With a short nod at the shocked party, the shadowy cat drifted back to hover over the gathering of cats.
"Perhaps I was mistaken in judging humans so harshly. I see now the magnitude of your strength, wisdom and courage. I had always wished for cats to exhibit these qualities, but it was never meant to be," Godcat spoke in the echoing tones of its creation avatar, Her voice vaguely wistful, "I accept that humans have earned this world." She then hovered away to join Her darker side.
The two avatars spoke at once in eerie fusion of their voices, "You would go so far as to challenge gods and conquer death to defend your home and existence. I had hoped, when I had created this world and cat kind, that My children would one day exhibit the traits that you four have displayed today. Instead, it was My abandoned children, humans, who rose to and beyond My expectations." The twin immortal cats' eyes glowed as they surveyed the heroes, "This world no longer belongs to Me or to My children. I see now that humans will do anything to protect their home. I shall leave you now. I shall guide the children who rose up to summon Me to a new world. Perhaps what I could not achieve here will be possible elsewhere, and they have earned the right to be the start of our new life."
There was a loud meow and the gathered cats parted to allow NoLegs through. The fifth member of the team sprang forwards, purring, into Natalie's arms. Godcat watched silently as the four heroes greeted their cat companion.
"I had extended an offer to NoLegs to join Me in My attempt to destroy you, but he refused. Now I wish to extend a different offer. NoLegs, would you join us in our quest to find a new home?" The four humans blinked up at Godcat before turning their heads down to stare at the cat in the mage's arms. NoLegs meowed something that made Natalie grin. "NoLegs, your bravery in refusing My attempts to gain your aid amazed Me. I never thought that a cat today would choose humans over his own kind and yet you did. Now you say that you already have a home. Very well, may you be content in your life here." With a large pulse of power, a glow surrounded the gathering of cats and they were lifted into the air alongside their creator. A wisp of power drifted around the stunned humans, healing their remaining wounds and restoring their strength. "Farewell, humans. Know that I will be watching your story unfold from afar."
The humans watched, faces blank with disbelief at the acknowledgement of the powerful god. With bright flashes of light, the cats streaked away into the sky. Slowly, massive smiles spread across the heroes faces as they looked at each other in amazement. Matt let out a whoop and twirled a laughing Natalie once before pulling her in for a long kiss.
"Not a bad plan, Matt," Lance mused with a grin. He snagged Anna and held her tight. He pressed his lips against the ranger's smiling mouth.
The two couples broke apart and exchanged high fives and cheers. Anna turned to the three Jewels that still rested on their pedestals. Lance watched as she reverently stepped forward and ran a hand over a green leaf shaped Jewel.
"I can't believe we won, and now I can finally return the Jewel to Greenwood," Anna murmured with a grin. She snorted suddenly, "Going back to being a normal ranger is going to be hard. Hunting Slimes and Black Birds will seem so dull after all of the giant monsters we fought to get here." The ranger turned to smile at the three behind her, "What do you say we return the Jewels to their proper resting places, and have a big party to celebrate in Greenwood?"
Matt cheered, "I second that! Bring on the beer and pizza!"
"If you get plastered and start being stupid, I'm just going to ignore you. I am not carrying your sorry drunk ass away, again," Lance warned the swordsman.
Natalie nodded an agreement, "I'm with Lance. You get to deal with the hangover this time, Matt."
The swordsman groaned, "But we just saved the world again! If I can't get drunk after that, then when can I?" He pouted as he heard Natalie mumble, 'why get drunk at all?'
Lance turned to Anna with a hopeful look, "Why go back to being a ranger in Greenwood? You could keep adventuring with us." He frowned when Anna hesitated, "…No?"
The ranger gave him a small smile, "I need to think about that. I'm one of the only fighters in Greenwood, after all."
Matt shrugged, "I bet if you scared them all again, like when we were there last time, they'd fall all over themselves to learn how to fight."
"You were pretty scary," Natalie mentioned. She saw Anna hesitating and played her trump card, "Lance'll miss you too much if you stay in Greenwood." The mage grinned at the blush that spread across the gunner's face as he glared at her.
Anna grinned briefly before smothering it as Lance grumbled about putting words in his mouth. "You don't want me along, after all? I guess I'll just stay in Greenwood, then," the ranger said with a pout. Lance looked at Anna in alarm, and her lips twitched as before she burst out laughing. "I'm joking!" The ranger smiled at her two friends and boyfriend, "You guys win, I'll keep adventuring with you. I'm sure Old Lana can whip the people of Greenwood into shape."
With matching smiles, they gathered up the three Jewels and Anna snagged her Black Widow bow from where it had been discarded. The triumphant heroes then set off down the mountain to return to the world below.
A/N: Whew, I hope that more or less lived up to any expectations you all might have had. Please leave me some reviews telling me what you thought! There will be one more chapter for an epilogue, and then I will be done with this story. Several people have asked if I will be doing a sequel of Battle Mountain. The answer right now is a "maybe." I actually started writing a sequel several chapters ago, but it is an original plot and I may never post it. The story is incredibly dark and definitely would be rated M. So we'll see with that.
For anyone who doesn't already know: I have started the one shot collection story already! It is called "The Epic Tales" and already has three stories up! Feel free to pop over there and check it out. Rules for requesting a one shot are at the bottom of the first chapter! ;)
See you all for the epilogue!