Chapter Fifteen: The Phoenix Spreads Ashes
Squadron reinforced by squadron, the odds were pretty much stacked against Damien and his comrades. The goldenrod hero tried to count the numerous soldiers that surrounded the trio however was unable to keep count. The Angel knew that the only way they were getting out of this was if he had a major surge of powers to shoot out. He closed his eyes and attempted to summon flames into his hands however it was all for naught.
Oh this is freaking ironic.
"Why the hell can't you use your powers?!" Lia screamed.
"Two things. Firstly, I have no idea and secondly, the fact that you just told them that we're at more of a disadvantage wasn't the smartest thing on your part. No, it just wasn't smart period." Damien bluntly stated.
"Well doesn't this make my job more easier? Thanks for revealing that exciting piece of information." Phoenix stated with false sincerity.
The crimson hawk withdrew her signature longbow and charged a arrow made of her chaos energy while her squadron all took out various firearms. Lia whipped out her Tri-Claw and Vortex just stayed close to the demon incarnation.
"Listen kid, while you have no powers to use right now, I'll have to use my powers to help you." Vortex whispered in his ear while the dog nodded.
"Well, what exactly can you do?" Damien asked the rabbit who smirked.
"Just watch. Lia, hold them off as best as you can."
After that command, bullets rained down upon the trio however the Professor grabbed Damien by his arm and summoned a portal in front of them. The duo jumped in and it closed without another moment to spare. The jackal could only sweat drop from the brutal barrage that was coming upon her.
And I couldn't go with them?
Meanwhile, within the confines of the portal, Vortex and Damien walked through the unusual dimension that the rabbit had taken them to. It was just a white area with various open doors, it reminded him of some old movie he had watched.
"So where exactly are we and what are we doing here?" Damien asked in awe.
"You see, I have the ability to summon portals which I can then use to teleport into different locations or dimensions which is how I'm able to collect so much information on different life forms. The problem is that the more I use my ability, the more IQ points I lose so I must teach myself the things I had forgotten." the rabbit explained.
"But why can't you just create something to prevent that from happening?" Damien questioned.
"I may be a genius but I'm not a god. Things just happen and I have to deal with it." Vortex replied with seriousness.
The younger Angels sibling nodded slowly before turning to the many doors presented to the duo. Vortex led him through the paths before grabbing Damien's wrist and chucking him through one of the doors.
"Be gentle!!!" Damien screamed while going through the entrance.
"Finally, these guys aren't a walk in the park you know!" Lia bellowed from down below.
Damien grabbed one of the soldiers in mid-flight before swinging around and throwing him down a balcony. Volleys of ammunition came in his direction thus the canine flipped over it and slammed his foot into two of his attackers' faces. His feet left marks on their skin, the dog not caring as he back flipped and tackled the person directly in front of him.
"Peek-a-boo! I see you!" Damien exclaimed with joy as he knocked out his opponent with one swift punch.
Lia used her Tri-Claw to grab one of her opponents by their collar which she followed with a series of punches. Reinforcements came to help their comrade however the jackal threw the agent into them, the body slamming upon them. One of the G.U.N soldiers tried to attack from behind the Redclaw Leader however she just countered with a throw into a wall.
"This is just too easy for me." Lia said with a smirk.
"This really is fun, don't you think?" Vortex said from her side.
The goldenrod hero hopped upon a broken fraction of the air ventilation system, sliding down and hopping into the jackal's hands. She hurled him like a missile as he flipped and kicked a few soldiers on the parallel balcony. Phoenix decided that it was her turn to strike so she fired a rain of energy arrows which Damien and Lia smiled at.
"She obviously doesn't know about teamwork." Damien stated before jumping down to meet his teammate.
The trio began to run away from the arrows as they collided with the earth, tiles and dirt kicking upwards from the speedy projectiles. Damien nodded to Vortex who summoned a portal which the hound jumped into before appearing far ahead of them. A piece of concrete laid ahead of him so the dog leaped forward and landed forcefully upon one end of it, causing it to flip over and momentarily protect them.
"Good thinking Damien, it helped defend us from the arrows however how are we going to deal with her without your powers?" Vortex asked nervously.
"Well she has us outnumbered still and we're only hiding from her for the moment. Her arrows are swift but not very powerful and then the true matter is trying to lay any sort of hit on her." Lia explained.
"Easy, we use my powers people." Damien answered as static came to life within his palm.
Guns were aimed directly at the hiding place of the trio and hot lead just fired at the slab of rock between the two, small cracks forming from the power of the weapons. The flurry ceased momentarily which unfortunately gave Damien enough time to break out. He drowned his fist in dark violet energy and crushed his fist into the slab of rock.
"I'm back baby! Give your hero a praise!" the arrogant hero declared.
The opposition wasn't ready to deal with a powered up Damien, his claws blazing with deadly chaos energy. Phoenix jumped up from her post and fired arrows at the dog who summoned a barrier of embers to dispel the projectiles. He left the barrier up still before charging like a ram towards the soldiers, their eyes opened wide until he jumped over them.
"Here's a trick I learned during my personal training." Damien boasted.
With a swift motion of his hand, the barrier broke up into several fragments before gaining sphere shapes.
"Whoa, he's getting pretty good with his powers." Lia stated with shock.
"I have to agree, I may have only seen his powers once but that Nightshade character wasn't able to use such variations as Damien does." Vortex added.
The fireballs showered upon the soldiers who escaped their timely deaths barely before leaving Phoenix's side, the scarlet bird trying to hide an expression of anger. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't very good at doing that so her façade was completely blown.
"You three are really getting on my damned nerves! I'm going to kill you all and gain what I truly deserve!" the hawk screeched.
"Sorry birdie but you're going to have to go down. I'm still trying to learn to control my powers and learn who I am but you and your goons are getting in the way of that." Damien exclaimed.
"Do you honestly think I care for that?" Phoenix asked.
"No not really but I don't care that you don't care because I care that I care!" the dog proclaimed.
"Man, you really are stupid." Lia said from behind him.
"Nobody asked you desert mutt!" Damien exclaimed.
The jackal was ready to pound her fist into the dog's face however the rabbit held her back. Lia was really pissed at the dog though she sighed and let the two enemies talk.
"So are you going to come with me Damien or fight with me?" Phoenix asked.
"Can I choose to do both? The reason being because I want to please you after we fight." the Angel said with a smile.
"You deserve a kick in the groin for that one." the G.U.N agent said.
"Hey, it was worth a shot my enemy."
"Wait a second Damien, let me fight her!" Lia said, the dog turning to her with his coal black eyes looking into her amber ones.
"Go, show her how it's done."
Phoenix became tired of waiting for her opponent so she fired off multiple arrows at both hounds, Damien dodging each one while Lia blocked. However, one arrow sped past the two and was going straight in Vortex's direction. Unfortunately, he had no time to summon a portal so his only option was to hope for a miracle.
It never came.
"Vortex!" Damien cried as he ran to his side.
Lia growled at her current opponent and dived at her like a tiger would to its prey, the hawk easily cart wheeling out of the jackal's range. Phoenix fired three arrows at the Redclaw leader who jumped over them and aimed a well placed slice at her thigh. The hawk back stepped the assault and the hound stabbed the ground, easily getting stuck.
"Try this on for size." the G.U.N agent cried.
She fired a hail of arrows upwards which hit part of the roof, the fragment loosening until it began to freefall towards her opponent. Lia looked up and ripped her gauntlet from the ground, flipping out of the way before earning a punch to the face.
"You punch like a weakling." Lia said to insult and anger the hawk.
"Oh yeah?! Then I'll let my arrows do the talking!" Phoenix stated.
She pulled her longbow back and began to condense her chaos energy into one single arrow, the arrow growing larger and more powerful with each second. Amber eyes slightly widened though as a trained warrior, Lia learned to expect anything.
"Try shooting that at me." Lia commanded.
"My pleasure."
With that, the hawk released her enlarged arrow which kicked various objects up at impressive speeds and the jackal actually didn't see this coming. She rolled out the way of the attack however the hawk waved her hand and the arrow followed her movements. This wasn't looking good for Lia.
"You didn't think I had tricks up my sleeve as well. Pathetic jackal, you're doubting my abilities." the hawk sneered.
"No, I'm just confident of my own skills."
The jackal ran towards the agent who swerved her arrow to pursue the tribe leader. She leaped over the archer and stabbed her Tri-Claw into a piece of wood, flinging it separate herself from the attack. Unfortunately, the arrow demolished the wood easily and still maintained its speed. Lia jumped onto the air ventilation part and ran up before landing on the balcony.
Well guess this is worth a shot. Damien's done stuff like this before.
Lia ran along the pathway, arrow still in pursuit of blood. The jackal turned back every now and then to make sure she kept away from the massive object. When she got into range, she leaped off and went behind Phoenix before grabbing her.
"If I die, you die too." Lia said.
"Damn it!"
Phoenix vanquished her own arrow and unfortunately, she was left at a disadvantage. Lia threw her into a wall and stabbed her Tri-claw into one of Phoenix's ponytails before taking it off.
"Time to return the favor."
Lia began to throw an onslaught of bone breaking punches, blood beginning to spill from Phoenix's mouth and tears beginning to form within her eyes. Lia walked back a few feet and charged forward, ending the hawk's misery with a powerful uppercut which knocked her out cold.
Damien shook his head in disappointment, the rabbit had died and now Lia showed no mercy on the hawk. The arrogant dog left the bodies there to rest before walking out, Lia soon to follow his lead.
"Why must everyone die?"
Those were Damien's last words before leaving.
To be continued…
A/N: Pretty good chapter I guess. Vortex died and Lia pretty much violated Phoenix to the bitter end for letting the rabbit die. I hope you like it, I'll be sure to make the next chapter better.
On a side note, I am here to give you the chance of a lifetime! My teacher, friend and great author, Dark Maelstrom wishes to receive more praise for his writing so if it wouldn't hurt, may you please review? Feedback is needed for him and I to grow as writers. So review this chapter and his stories! Thanks! Bye.
