Note: Phew! Made it! Done with the Medea artwork! Yay? Either way, I managed to finish this chappie just now, I hope that you guys enjoy this as I did put in some surprises here... Nope, I'm not spoiling.
Blade's POV:
I slowly climbed the steps.
Why was I doing this? What was my reason for getting up here?
My feet were as heavy as stone... They didn't seem to want to climb up the steps too... What was I thinking? Was it about Ruse?
I stole a glance back at her... I felt a rush of warmth to my face. I couldn't help but imagine how... perfect she was...
Her green hair curved smoothly just above her face. None of her hair covered any of the beauty that existed because of her face... Yeah, beauty probably existed because of her... Her smooth face was completed with her clear and scarlet eyes. And then there was that face of hers... Didn't I just describe her face..? Either way, her smile was the most innocent smile I've ever seen! She's just... an angel! An angel sent from above! I knew it! She was perfect for me! I mean, check out that slim figure and-
"OWW!" I suddenly yelped after feeling something steaming hot suddenly jolt my back.
I whirled around to see Blaze staring back at me.
"Blade! Focus!" he growled, "What are you doing? You seemed as if you were all dizzy and spinning... Please stop goofing off! I'm sorry that I goofed off awhile ago, but that's no excuse for you to start doing so!"
I frowned... Why was Blaze so serious? If he was allowed to goof around, why can't I? He needs to learn that selfishness would get him nowhere.
"Shut up!" I snarled, "Quit being so serious! No wonder you can't win over Medea! You're REALLY annoying!"
I sighed... He really needed to learn to be less selfish... I continued to lift my heavy legs, hearing nothing but silence from behind.
All of a sudden, I felt a fist just smash into my back.
I whirled around to see Blaze angrily staring at me.
"What is wrong with you!" he growled, Medea trying to hold him back, "We were both friends for a long time yet I never saw you act that way before! You know what? I don't KNOW you anymore! You've never been this disrespectful before! Maybe it's not your fault... Maybe it's Ruse! She-"
I quickly executed a Night Slash at him. Nobody was going to soil that beautiful image of her. She's an angel, I know! She wouldn't do anything evil...
"B-blade!" Medea gasped, "W-what is the meaning of this?"
"Stand back, Medea," Blaze snarled, "He's NOT Blade..."
"B-blade..." Ruse suddenly called, I gladly offered up my attention to her, "Maybe you should climb up the steps and... uh... save your strength for Palkia... D-don't waste it on Blaze..."
I slowly smiled. Her voice was just too pleasant... She must be a goddess, not an angel... I immediately picked up the pace and climbed up, ignoring Blaze's shocked expression as he saw me obey... I heard him whisper something to Medea... Something about Ruse doing something but I didn't bother to do anything... Ruse gave me a command... I HAVE to follow it.
When we reached to the platform above, I could see a huge bipedal draconian creature just standing at the center. It was mainly pink in coloration, with a pearl on each of its shoulder. It had a long tail, and two small winglike appendages from its arms.
"Welcome," it said, it's voice seeming rather smooth and feminine, "You stand before me, Palkia, Guardian of Space, to prove yourself so that you can seek my aid in helping you reach XD002's domain, am I correct?"
I yawned back at her, to which she seemed to be a little offended. My mind was rather sleepy, what was all this that Palkia said? Something about... cupholders?
"HEY!" she yelled, "Did you come over to challenge me?"
"Huh?" I returned, suddenly feeling a huge urge to just go and speak to Ruse.
"Y-you!" Palkia snarled, "You are the hero Darkrai and Cresselia spoke of? Those... Those hypocrites!"
"Shut up!" I snarled, "You're being too noisy! Heck, what are you even talking about?"
Palkia froze. Medea froze in place. Blaze seemed to have his mouth hung wide open as he stared at me. Violet and Ace were whispering to each other about something of "reality being distorted in Spacial Rift". Only Ruse seemed to be aware of what was going on, she seemed to be sending some hand signals to me. She held up a finger and waved it across her neck, as if she was trying to behead herself. She looked like she was trying to warn me of something. A small chuckle escaped me as I thought about how cute she was while she was in distress. All of a sudden, I felt a painful taking sensation behind me. I whirled around to face my attacker.
"You... You disgrace me!" Palkia angrily scowled, "You CAN'T be the hero! Are you really taking this seriously? The world is at stake here and here you are acting like a fool before me? I cannot let this go unpunished! Face me this instant!"
She angrily let loose an Aura Sphere at me, which knocked me back.
I got up, how could this little pink dragon make me look like a fool in front of Ruse? She'll have to pay!
I immediately charged forward and stabbed her with Night Slash. The attack seemed to harmlessly bounce of her as she stared down at me. She immediately turned around and faced her huge tail at me, which began to whirl around with a cyclone.
"EAT THIS, YOU FOOL! AQUA TAIL PLUS!" she growled as she slammed down her tail at me, her sluggish movements made me laugh and easily sidestep the huge attack.
However, as soon as the attack hit the ground, huge volumes of water shot out from the ground in a wave, crashing down on to me, making escape futile.
"Eat my modified move, you fool!" she snarled, "If you do not take this seriously, then I have no choice but to show no mercy!"
The attack bashed at me with full force, leaving me panting and coughing. I slowly stood up, my knees shaking. I could still fight.
All of a sudden, the sunlight suddenly grew harsh.
"I guess I have no choice then... Blade... Wake up!" Medea called, "We will participate in this battle, but you have to go back to being yourself too! Please! If what you actually said was true!"
Palkia looked back at them, then back at me.
"Well, I can't believe anyone would standup for a sorry idiot like you, but this changes nothing... If you truly are the hero, I want you to change my opinion of you!" she snarled.
I charged forward, ignoring my comrades behind me. They would just get in my way. I hurriedly launched a Psycho Cut, though it didn't seem to do much damage. My mind felt so full that I couldn't seem to concentrate in this battle.
"Really? A second chance to prove yourself? You blew that too?" she sighed in disappointment as the pearls on her shoulder began to glow, "Then I have no choice... SPACIAL REND REMASTERED!"
She suddenly spun around, releasing the light that had built up in the pearls. The impact of the move was so strong it geared the space around her and hit each of us.
I fell back, coughing along with everyone else.
"H-how can this be?" Blaze coughed, "Spacial Rend was designed to hit only one target... Why is it this strong?"
"Because I'm using modified moves," Palkia bowed, "I'm sorry, but your friend pushed me to this limit... Is he really like this? Is he really the hero?"
I slowly stood up...
H-hero?
I opened my mouth to speak.
"It doesn't matter," Palkia replied, turning away, "I'll end everything with the next move... When this battle is over, I will not allow any more visits from fools like you."
Palkia immediately jumped up and suspended herself in mid-air as she seemed to charge up a Spacial Rend attack.
"Blade! Quickly! Interrupt her with a Psycho Cut!" Ruse suddenly called, snapping me out.
I did what she commanded me to, and... oddly enough, I was able to concentrate and actually managed to land a blow against Palkia.
"We're just getting started, see," Ruse cackled.
Palkia locked her gaze to Ruse in confusion.
"Hmm? There seems to be a different air about you..." Palkia mused.
"Don't stand there waiting! Use Stone Edge!" Ruse commanded, flinging herself up with Psychic.
I struck Palkia with Stone Edge, which she managed to easily dodge. However, as Palkia dodged, Ruse was still floating in mid-air. As Ruse began to fall down to the ground below, she smirked as she rotated in mid-air, launching a Shadow Ball at Palkia. The blow from the attack was massive as she managed to get up close to the legendary dragon before attacking.
"Why is he able to do something like that?" Blaze muttered, "When Ruse commanded him... Ruse... Ruse?"
"No doubt about it," Ace snorted, "Mistress must've already made a move to claim him."
"What?" Violet gasped, "H-how come I didn't know?"
"Well, she didn't want you in the way," Ace continued, "She was going on and on about how she would need Blade to be her trophy to prove her superiority against Rose."
"Then... The reason why Blade was acting out of character... was because of Ruse?" Blaze gasped.
"She does pack Attract," Medea replied, "I should've figured sooner..."
Ruse landed exactly beside me. With a confident smirk, she told me to hoist her up and throw her up in the air. I did so, in which she used the opportunity to land exactly on the other side of Palkia as she crashed down to the ground.
"Hurry! Close in to him from that side with Psycho Cut! I'll take care of this side!" she smirked as she charged up a Shadow Ball.
I closed in on to Palkia as she was about to stand up, slamming into her with Psucho Cut. On her other side, a barrage of Shadow Balls crashed onto her too. The reaction between the two attacks caused a hazy smoke to cover Palkia.
In the haze, I couldn't see anything. I couldn't see Ruse, but I knew Palkia was somewhere in here. All of a sudden, I could feel a gigantic hand grip my waist and lift me up in the air.
"Hmm... What is up with you?" Palkia mused, "Awhile ago, you seemed like one of those incompetent fools, yet now you fight seriously... What are you?"
She crushed my body with Dragon Claw as she smashed me down to the ground, forcing all her might in a downward push.
My insides felt like screaming, but a humongous Shadow Ball made her drop me at the last minute.
"Ehehe, he's mine! Back off!" Ruse smirked, her figure enveloped in a glowing black light.
"You've done something, I can sense a foul play at hand..." Palkia suddenly turned to her as she launched a Dragon Pulse.
To her surprise, Ruse batted away the attack like it was nothing.
"Hmm... I'm surprised you didn't recognize the fact that I used Calm Mind several times while you were distracted, I mean, it's only the oldest trick in the book..." she paused as she snapped her fingers, "Now, eat this! PSYCHIC!"
The force sent Palkia and me flying off away from her direction.
"Blade!" Blaze called out to me, snarling at Ruse, "Why did you hit him?"
"Oops, accident," she cackled as she hovered up in air.
Blaze began to move. He started off by quickly firing off a Flamethrower at Palkia. Palkia simply dodged it, and hovered up to the sky.
"You... you're definitely the one that's interfering with destiny," Palkia snarled at Rose as they both levitated.
Medea took the opportunity to launch a Fire Blast at Palkia, which she dodged without even batting an eye.
"What do you mean?" Ruse cackled as she began to make four Shadow Balls rotate around her.
"You... You're finding some sort of way to manipulate that Gallade, am I correct?" Palkia snarled as she began to prepare a Spacial Rend.
"And what if I am?" Ruse giggled as she summoned another four Shadow Balls to rotate around her, vertically this time.
"What if you are? The consequences are grave, I tell you!" Palkia growled, her Spacial Rend nearing its charged up state.
"Hmph, a little satisfaction for my lust won't change a thing... Silly legend..." she snarled as she launched all her Shadow Balls everywhere, "You're not the only one with improvised moves, see... Shadow Ball plus Psychic! Fear my combination! MINEFIELD OF SOULS!"
The Shadow Balls flew around at such power and velocity, bouncing off each other, making prediction of their course impossible. All of a sudden, they stopped in mid-air, suspended by Psychic.
"Teehee, careful now... Each of these Shadow Balls are controlled by me! They lack quite a punch with all the Calm Minds I put into them... One wrong move and you'll go boom!" Ruse sinisterly snarled.
"W-what kind of attack is that?" Blaze shuddered.
"It's... that incomplete tactic she tried to learn back then," Ace gasped, his eyes finally growing wide, "Back when she wanted to get back at Rose and Blade... Yet... She failed to master it that time."
Even I began to feel doubts on Ruse... She didn't look like an angel now, she was a lot like a serpent now...
Despite everyone's fearful expressions, Palkia merely smiled.
"Fool... Do you think that I would be fazed by such a simple trick?" Palkia quickly launched herself towards Ruse. She quickly dodged all the Shadow Balls, all of them beginning to follow her as she drove closer.
"Unfortunately, you took my bait..." Ruse smiled as she snapped her fingers, "Shadow Ball plus Teleport... CLAYMORE!"
Quickly, she teleported four Shadow Balls under Palkia, suddenly striking and blowing up upon contact. A black haze covered her, rendering Palkia unseeable.
"Pssh... Legend? This was too easy," Ruse cackled, "I didn't even need that pathetic pawn of a Gallade to finish you off!"
"What?" I suddenly snapped, her sentence tearing my mind in pieces, "I-I was... a pawn?"
"Yes! Blade!" Blaze suddenly smiled, "That witch, Ruse, used Attract on you! You were then captivated into doing her will."
"Blade! Please choose me over Rose," the voice suddenly shattered in my mind.
I was used.
I was being used.
"What happened?" I returned, a more commanding tone finally showing itself.
"Meh, you disgraced Palkia and doomed us all," Blaze explained.
"But Ruse," Medea continued.
"Suddenly went into that sort of rage and defeated Palkia," Violet continued.
"Defeated?" a voice suddenly returned, "I am far from defeated... Ruse."
With a swift blast of a Spacial Rend from the hazy smoke, Ruse got knocked down to the ground.
"You said that Spacial Rend was supposed to hit one target, there you have it... Focused all the energy that would've been used in a blow that affected the entire field on you," Palkia snapped.
Ruse fell down to the ground, fainted from the blow.
"M-milady?" Ace rushed to her side.
Violet didn't waste any time though. She immediately used Spite on Palkia, knowing that the battle was far from over.
"Smart move... however, should you be really afraid of Spacial Rend... instead of a physical attack like this?" Palkia sneered from inside the haze.
She emerged sideways and slashed at Violet with Dragon Claw, knocking her out.
"I see that you've emerged from your shell, Blade!" Palkia smiled, "Prove to me now, prove to me that you are truly the hero Darkrai speaks of!"
"Ace!" I commanded, "Lift me up there, will you?"
Ace grunted and lifted me off my feet.
Palkia smiled as she began to prepare a Dragon Pulse, "Charging so recklessly?"
I then told Ace to use Close Combat while I jumped over Palkia, latching onto her wings. I immediately looked down at Blaze and commanded him to make use of Medea's Drought and fire off Flamethrower.
Blaze and Medea worked in conjunction and launched their fire attacks at Palkia, significantly damaging her despite the Water and Dragon-type coverage she had.
She looked up to see Ace charge into her in Close Combat.
"A wise tactic, employing yourself as the bait... But, sadly... Ace is your hole here!" Palkia smiled as she unleashed Dragon Pulse up into the sky, "DRAGON PULSE..."
I scratched my chin, wondering why would that help her. All of a sudden, the attack re-emerged from the other side, hitting Blaze, Medea, and Ace all in a straight line.
"This is my dimension! I have the home field advantage... You are all floating in this dimension, which happens to be a loop... Having lived here for a long time, I know where these attacks exit and enter," Palkia smiled, Ace having fainted from the blow.
Close Combat lowered one's defenses, so I suspect that Ace couldn't take it... However, Medea and Blaze hung on.
Palkia shook me off and began her move to strike down on Medea and Blaze.
"You can't escape from this!" Palkia bellowed, "AQUA TAIL PLUS!"
She slammed down her tail in between the two. Blaze took the last opportunity to launch a Blast Burn and Medea launched a Will-o-Wisp. They knew that the attacks would hit, but render them open to Aqua Tail, which would still hit if they had dodged due to Palkia's variant of Aqua Tail.
Her tail smashed between them. Missing both of them, however, waves erupted from where she smashed it down, engulfing both !edea and Blaze.
"I've done my part, Blade! The rest is up to you!" Blaze called before fainting.
I opted back to my feet and charged at Palkia.
"Really? The tactics you showed me awhile ago impressed me, now you're back to charging at me," she taunted.
I smirked and slid under her, between the huge gap under her legs. As I did so, I used Night Slash on both her legs to bring her down.
"Think again," I returned, "Now... I'll prove to you who I really am with this last attack!"
One of my arms glowed white in Psycho Cut and one of them glowed black with Night Slash.
I charged straight to her and first slashed her with Psycho Cut, then with Night Slash. After hitting her with both, I jumped up and rolled in the air and slashed downwards with both arms glowing with Leaf Blade.
"TRIPLE BLADE," I chuckled, "Well, I had to improvise too...Seeing that you were doing so too..."
Palkia slowly stood up. Looking down at me. We looked at each other seriously, our gazes not parting from each others'... Then, she began to smile.
"I am truly impressed, Blade..." she bowed her head, "I apologize for judging your behavior earlier... It appears that... you weren't yourself... But right now, I truly believe... that you are the hero."
A bright light enveloped the entire battlefield. When it had faded, everyone was back in good condition.
"Yes!" Blaze raucously interrupted, "You're finally back! Way to end it just like old times!"
I smiled back at my friend, happy that whatever mistake I had made was out behind...
Speaking of mistakes...
"RUSE! Get back here!" Blaze suddenly roared.
I whirled around to see Blaze grabbing Ruse by her neck.
Bkaze angrily yelled at her,"I swear! Play funny once more and I promise, you will be-"
"Put her down, Blaze," I calmly told him.
"But," Blaze tried.
"Violence is not the key to solving things," I smiled at him, when I turned to Ruse, however, I kept a stern glare at her, "And neither is theft!"
Ruse shamefully hung her head down.
"Ruse," Violet rushed towards her, "You shouldn't have done something like that... It was so... selfish of you!"
"Heck! I wanted to prove myself to that witch, Rose!" Ruse snarled back at her, "I didn't mean any harm! Besides, I'm a nobody... I wouldn't give up this pride of having beaten her!"
"Nobody?" Palkia suddenly interrupted.
Everyone fell silent.
Palkia slowly walked towards Ruse. Her face was stern as she stared down at Ruse, but it soon softened.
"Ruse, do not be concerned with this pride of yours!" she scolded, "For... Ou are not a nobody! You shall also play a part in saving this world!"
"M-me?" Ruse choked.
"Yes, all the friends you have here..." Palkia knowingly revealed, "All of your destinies are intertwined... Fear not, Ruse, for even the nameless have worth."
Ruse fell silent. She hung her head down.
"I messed up badly, did I?" she shamefully asked.
"That is all in the past," I replied, much to her surprise.
"Oh, Blade..." she turned her head away from me, "Then, please accept this apology... I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused you!"
"That's fine," I replied.
"What?" Blaze muttered, "She literally used you as a puppet and you're okay with-"
"Blaze," Medea warmly nuzzled her snout against him, "You know that there are times when forgiveness is necessary? Besides, I like people who have hearts that can forgive."
Blaze fell silent after hearing Medea speak.
"Well, I wish you a safe trip back home," Palkia smiled.
She opened up a small hole back to the mountainous area outside, gesturing for us to go.
"Return back and meet up with the rest... Darkrai and Cresselia will take care of the rest," Palkia smiled.
We bid her farewell as we stepped out. The sunlight shone brightly down to us, much to my relief. We were back to our world.
"Well, can't keep Rose waiting, can you?" Ruse smirked, "Let's go home then!"
I smiled.
"Yeah... Let's go guys," I grinned, breaking off into a run.
"Hey! Wait up!" Medea giggled chasing after us.
All of a sudden, we all stopped moving. A sudden headache stopped all of us in our tracks.
"Threats detected..." a cold voice monotonously stated, "... Warning... Abnormal reaction within sample lifeforms... Activating failsafe... zzzzZzzzzzZ."
"Agh!" I screamed, "What is this pain!"
"I-I don't know!" Blaze screamed, "I feel it too!"
"Error! No port found for interdimensional travel... Threats may override system! Error must be eliminated! Activating failsafe conversion! Error 606! Installation cannot occur... Target selection complete. Target: Ninetales... Level: 85, Gender: Female, Ability: Drought... Blood type: O... Conversion activated!" the loud voice continued, our headaches growing at the volume of its voice.
Suddenly, Blaze opened his eyes despite the headache tearing at us. He whirled around in time to see a huge lightning suddenly strike down on Medea, suspending her inside.
Inside the huge lightning, she screamed and writhed in pain.
"Overwriting previous personality value... Personality value: A64B_MEDEA_(Hex)," the voice continued, "Installing Shadow Personality value: [shdw/A64B_NINETA_(F)_(Hex)/shdw]... 89 percent... completed..." the voice lifelessly stated.
"What is happening?" I screamed as I struggled to move towards Medea.
"I-IT H-HUUUURTS!" she writhed, tears slowly pouring out of her petrified figure, "P-PLEASE! BLAZE! D-DO SOMETHING! I'M... MELTING... AWAY!"
"No!" Blaze yelled, "Meddy! STAY FIRM! I'll stop this from-"
Another black lightning struck at Blaze, hitting him away.
"Installation complete," the voice stated, "Previous personality value successfully overwritten... PROTO-64, activate elimination now!"
The headache disappeared. Everyone immediately stood up, Blaze rushed to Medea's side, kneeling beside her unconscious figure.
"M-medea!" Blaze called as he stroked her hair, "A-are you okay?"
All of a sudden, she began to move. The tips of her hair and tail suddenly shifted to black. Her eyes immediately opened into lifeless red orbs burning with a lust for destruction.
She immediately struck Blaze away.
"Threats, detected," she stated, her face turning into a malicious sneer, "Elimination imminent!"
Note: I couldn't help it! I just wanted to see Medea go evil! That must mean one thing now... Boss fight time! Either way, the artwork for Shadow Medea can be found in a link at my profile... Head there should you wish to see my not-so-great sketch. Well, how was this chappie? Like it? Hate it? Or you just don't care? Leave a review! Every opinion counts! Seeya! Gotta go and collapse into bed now!