El Tigre: Evolution
"Did you get taller?"
-Frida
Chapter 26
White Tigre bent over backwards, the scythe narrowly missing him. He flipped back, and then went at El Santo Oscuro again. He sliced at the demon's chest, leaving a scratch on the armor. The Dark Saint looked down, slightly amused.
"Well, well, well…looks like you've stepped up." He twirled his scythe and charged. White Tigre dodged from side to side as his enemy stabbed at him. He balled his hand into a fist and struck El Santo in the face, knocking the Saint back, leaving him teetering on the edge of the volcano. But the demon quickly regained his balance…just in time to receive a Bronze Boot of Truth to the chest. He toppled off the rim, but used his wings to cease his fall, and rose back up level with his adversary. He raised a hand a sent an energy blast at White Tigre, but another beam countered it before it reached the boy, creating a large explosion. The fighters turned to Sartana, who was holding her guitar in firing position.
"I am still here, you know," she declared.
El Santo Oscuro smiled. "Indeed you are." He then flashed in front of her, scythe raised in the air. He brought it down…on nothing. There was a look of visible confusion on his face.
"Behind you!" He whipped around, only to get shot point-blank by Sartana with her mystic guitar. He went down, hard. Sartana laughed.
"These old bones can still move!" She stopped laughing when El Santo got up.
"You really think…that you can kill me?" he mocked. "My power is infinite! It flows through my veins!"
Sartana scowled at the demon, then slumped. "You're right. We can't kill you…"
White Tigre was stunned. Was Sartana…giving up?
El Santo Oscuro nodded. "At last you understand…so you surrender?"
Sartana smirked, straightening up. "You didn't let me finish. We can't kill you…" She glanced toward White Tigre and motioned slightly to the Tome. White Tigre looked back and forth, and it finally hit him. He grinned, and finished Sartana's sentence.
"…but we can stop you!" He dove for the floating book, snatching it up.
"NO!" El Santo Oscuro cried. He leapt for Tigre, but was struck by another mystic guitar blast…and another…and another. Sartana was holding him back.
White Tigre flipped through the pages of the Tome. "Which one? What do I do?"
"Reverse the spell used to summon him!" Sartana shouted, now firing a continuous beam to hold off El Santo Oscuro.
"Here it is! Glorossa kanaga soriya tomai naeris…"
Vultura, Lady Gobbler, and Dr. Chipotle Jr. stood together, firing lasers at the demons advancing upon them. Other villains were lost in the fray, fending for themselves. Soon they were cornered against the LuxeCorp. Building.
"This is it…" Vultura said through gritted teeth.
"Si," said Lady Gobbler. "It's been fun…"
"I'm too young to die!" Dr. Chipotle Jr. cried.
Suddenly, a sword burst out of one of the demon's chests. Then another demon's head was cut off…and another demon was sliced down. The villains looked around in confusion as all over demons were being slain…by people in cloaks. The watchers of the Prophet had arrived, and not a moment too soon.
"Who are these guys?" Dr. Chipotle Jr. marveled.
"I don't know," said Vultura, "but I like their style!"
"…domus khartos…" White Tigre carried on.
El Santo Oscuro growled. He could feel his power slipping with each word spoken. With one last burst of strength, he spun his scythe, disrupting Sartana's blast. He flew past her at White Tigre. He was ready to strike when…
"…taevus managra GLOROSSA!" White Tigre finished the spell. The Dark Saint slowed down, stopping in midair, just short of Tigre. His face was frozen in a look of terror. The open Tome turned toward El Santo and tendrils of crimson energy emerged from the pages. The tendrils formed hands that wrapped around the demon and pulled him back towards the book.
"NO! I CAN'T GO BACK! I WON'T-" There was a brilliant flash when El Santo Oscuro made contact with the Tome, and it slammed shut, falling to the ground.
El Santo Oscuro had been sealed away once more.
White Tigre stepped forward and picked up the Tome. He looked it over carefully, and then looked down into the volcano. He was about to toss it in and end all of this, when he thought of something.
He tossed the Tome to Sartana, who caught it.
"You throw it in," he said. Sartana looked at him, puzzled. White Tigre just smiled. "You earned it. For your dad."
Sartana eventually nodded and gave him a genuine smile. She went to throw it…but stopped. She held the book in the air, captivated by it. The crimson tendrils began to reach down and wrap around her, caressing her.
"Don't do it," a voice said, "Keep the Tome…it's yours now…"
It was then White Tigre realized his mistake. She may have helped him, but she was still his greatest enemy, and he had just given her an object of unimaginable power. The Tome of Torment, and its power enraptured her. Sartana lowered the book and sighed.
Then she cast it away, sending it plummeting into the depths of the Miracle City Volcano.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" the voice cried as it fell.
Sartana stared down into the crater and sighed once more. White Tigre sighed as well.
"You had me worried there," he said.
Sartana said nothing as she stepped down from the rim and began her descent down the volcano. Frida climbed up past her. Her wing was healed.
"So…what'd I miss?" Then she got a good look at White Tigre. "Whoa, nice threads! Did you get taller?"
But right as she finished that sentence, White Tigre began to glow. With a flash of light, he became Manny again, and the Bronze Boots cracked and fell to pieces, leaving the young Rivera barefoot.
"I guess that was just a one-time thing," he said sadly.
Frida put an arm on his shoulder. "C'mon…let's go."
She picked Manny up and they flew off into the sky, which was returning to a black night.
A/N: WOOHOO! Almost done. Next chapter should be the last, if all goes well!