Episode Seventeen
Into the Inky, Black Madness, A Score to Settle with the Witchblade?
A sound soul
Dwells within a sound mind
And a sound body
"Father, enough with the secrecy. We are at the midnight hour of this conflict and we deserve to know why the magic tools are the highest priority and not fighting the coven," Kid said.
There was a long silence.
"Well all you had to do was ask," he replied. Kid let out a heavy sigh of frustration and waited for the explanation.
"We have reason to believe that Chandra has the Alchemizer in her possession now. This particular tool is dangerous enough to destroy the entire world if it falls into the wrong hands," he said.
"Then why not just destroy it?" Black Star asked.
"Some of Eibon's creations were no more than machines. Once he teamed up with the Witch Arachnae, he started to produce creations of a different caliber. There are tools out there that cannot be destroyed by any means that we have. That is why we went through all the trouble to apprehend the Witchblade. He may be the only person in existence able to destroy these particular magic tools. Although their original design was to be useful, they have become a hazard and a nuisance over the years," his father explained.
"What does the Alchemizer do?" Kid asked.
"It allows whoever is controlling it to convert matter from one thing into another. It was originally designed to help supply clean water for people across the world that did not have it, but if put into the wrong hands…" his father trailed off.
"It could be used to destroy," Kid said, "and what more, there's no way to predict exactly how she plans to use it. It still doesn't answer the question as to why we are guarding magic tools in a box if she already had what she needs."
"She doesn't have everything that she needs. Like Brew could only be operated by the Eternal Spring, the Alchemizer also requires a key of sorts. The Witchblade had this particular key on his person when we apprehended him and was not able to retrieve it before he escaped," his father explained.
"It makes sense now," Kid said simply. His mind was racing with a thousand thoughts a second so he decided to keep them inside until he could make sense of them.
"I still say we should be out there with them. My talents are being wasted waiting in this room for Witches to show up. I'll take them all out before they set foot in the Acacemy!" Black Star boasted.
"You may have spoken too soon. It looks like a few of the Witches were able to get past Rain's team," Liz pointed out. Kid turned his eyes to the mirror and saw that what she said was true. That meant that if their guards in the hallway did not pan out they would have a fight on their hands.
"That's not all," Soul added, "Look!"
Kid began to count them: one, two, three, four, five…six Witches. They were walking down the guillotine hallway that led up into the Death Room. Two Warlocks. Four Witches. All of them were wearing black cloaks with red trim, and it looked like they were out for blood.
"You are not welcome here, Witches. Turn around and go back the way that you came," Kid said, stepping forward. As always, Liz and Patty were faithfully at his sides, hands on their hips.
"Please forgive his manners; by all means—stay!" Black Star exclaimed. They all looked at him with bewildered looks on their face. Even Lord Death himself had a proverbial eyebrow raised.
"But prepare yourself to be utterly destroyed! Do you have any idea who you are dealing with? I am the great assassin Black Star and killing Witches is somewhat of a hobby of mine! Are you ready? Ready to be defeated?" he asked. The Witches and Warlocks looked at each other and then back at the team.
The energy from their souls began to surge and burn together much like the soul resonance of a Weapon and Meister. Kid expected the unexpected from their coven at this point. Not much was known about them. Mow many? How well-trained? What were they capable of? But if what his father had said about Chandra, their leader, was true then these were six of her most powerful Witches and they were in for a very dangerous fight.
"Liz! Patty!"
"—Right!"
"—Right!"
The transformed on cue and he caught them, holding his twin pistols in hand, training them on the Witches and Warlock's before them.
"You ready, Tsubaki?" Kid heard Black Star asked. With a determined, yet smiling nod, she found her way into his hands taking her traditional enchanted sword mode.
"Soul Eater?" Kid heard his father ask.
"I'm ready, Lord Death. I've been itching for a fight for longer than you can imagine. Dangerous as this might be—I have a feeling it's going to be really cool. I wish Maka was here to see this," he replied. He spit his toothpick aside and took the form of a Death Scythe—personal Weapon of the Grim Reaper.
Kid found himself wishing that Maka was there too. There was no arguing that his father was leagues and scores more powerful than she was, but it was the nostalgia of the entire event that appealed to him. The last time that the seven who had stood against the Kishin Ashura had been together was seven years ago. If she were here to wield Soul, it would have been a reunion.
"Maka. Wherever you are. I hope you are safe," Kid muttered under his breath. He was tired of waiting. Witches in the Death Room! The very fact that this atrocity had been allowed to happen was disgusting enough as it is.
He decided to pick two and focus on them. The two on the end—the ones closest to him would do just fine. He aimed and fired bolts of his wavelength at their faces and was not surprised when the group of six scattered, and his shots went awry. His eyes stayed fixed on them as they conjured red bolts and flames in their hand for a retaliatory attack.
He summoned Beelzebub, his skateboard, and dashed towards them at full speed, firing shots the entire way. He forced them to split. They dove to the left and right and tried to make him choose between targets.
"Hurricane Flick!"
With a kick-flip and spin he hurled Beelzebub at the Warlock who had jumped to the right. While spinning in the air he trained his eyes and his aim on the Witch who had jumped to the left. Time seemed to slow for him as adrenaline pumped through his veins and harnessed his senses to their full potential. He pulled the triggers of his Pistols as fast as he could manage and felt the bolts of his wavelength go out from him and into the backside of the Witch who tried to dodge. He heard her cry out in pain as the bolts assault her frame.
Since he was in mid-spin, he lost sight of her and took his attention to the Warlock. He was satisfied to hear Beelzebub smack against his skull as he turned and saw the Warlock stumbling backwards from the blow. He tapped into his inner sharpshooter and fired a single shot through each Pistol, aiming for the Warlock's ankle.
Both bolts hit their mark taking his target's feet from under him and crashing on the floor of the Death Room. Before he had time to celebrate his body spun so that the Witch was in his sights again. He didn't bother trying to take another shot at her because had had landed on the ground.
He spun on his knees and held his pistols out to his left and right and fired again at his two targets. They were up on their feet and came lashing out at him with fiery, electric spells in their hands. He kicked off of the ground doing an aerial flip and firing down on them, hitting and missing sporadically. He brought the barrel of the pistol down on top of the Witch's head and did a spinning kick to the Warlock who tried to attack him from behind.
He whirled again, pistol held out to catch the Witch in the jaw, but she ducked below the swipe, jumped away and then at him again. He was caught in a melee struggle with her. He could tell that she had hoped to catch him off-guard with a close-range attack. He could also tell that she was surprised to see that he was just as proficient at close-combat as he was at ranged-combat.
He parried her attacks and gave her a shoulder-dash when she left herself open. He took aim to take a kill-shot but the Warlock was approaching him fast from behind. He rolled forward to avoid the Warlock's attack and kept his attention on the Witch before him. He fired off a couple more shorts hitting her in the torso, leaving her temporarily stunned. He spun Patty in his hand and pistol whipped her across the face, used the momentum of the swing to do the same with Liz, and continued the spiral to sweep her feet from under her. He crossed his arm over his body and fired shots blindly behind him, knowing the unsuspecting Warlock would walk right into the onslaught. With the Witch still in midair from his sweep, Kid performed a forward flip-kick, bringing the heel of his boot crashing into the chin of the Warlock behind him from underneath. He continued the attack and stomped on the Witch's chest before jumping as high as he could in the air.
He put the Witch in his crosshairs and opened fire, sending a relentless barrage of soul wavelength energy down into his foe. Dust and smoke started to rise up from the place where the Witch was lying flat on her back. Kid finally stopped shooting as his feet hit the ground and he struck a pose, pistols pointing at the general direction of the Witch and Warlock.
"I expected better from the son of the Grim Reaper," said the Witch.
"What?!" Kid exclaimed.
As the dust began to settle and clear he could see the Warlock standing with a sinister smile, and the Witch pulling herself to her feet. She was a little worse for wear, but all-in-all she was intact and mostly unharmed.
"Impossible!" Kid scoffed. One did not simply walk away from an attack like that. He smiled a little and worried less when he saw the Witch wince and cradle her side with one of her arms. She stumbled a little and the Warlock helped her maintain her balance.
So their not invulnerable…that's a relief.
"All of that power and you barely managed to singe my clothing," the Witch added.
"That was just the warm-up, I assure you," Kid replied. The Witch and Warlock's eyes went wide when he said this.
"You were right to expect more from the son of the Grim Reaper. I just needed to stretch my legs so that I didn't pull any muscles before the real fight began," he said, deliberately yawning to shine them on.
"You're joking, right!?" the Warlock demanded.
"Did you forget that I helped to defeat the Kishin Ashura? I'm much more powerful now then I was back then. Did the two of you think that you had even the slightest chance of victory here?" he asked. When they were silent he decided to fill in the blanks himself.
"Oh! You did! You actually thought you could win! How sad…no matter. You were going to die either way, right?" he asked.
"Geez, Kid! You really know how to talk trash when you want to," Liz observed.
"Get 'em, Kid!" Patty added with a giggle.
"You have no idea what's happening here, Reaper Boy! You're all dead and you don't even know it," the Warlock shot back.
"Why? Because you have possession of the Alchemizer?" Kid asked. Again he saw the looks of shock and awe come into fruition across his foes' face and he was loving every minute of it.
This must be what Black Star feels like all the time…no wonder he loves to fight so much.
"You may possess the Alchemizer, but we have the key. In order to get that key you're going to have to defeat us. With two-on-one odds, the two of you can't even manage to touch me. How do you propose you'll walk away from this room alive again?" Kid asked.
The looks on their face changed from shock and awe to sheer terror. Now was the time to strike, Kid knew, but he was just getting started with the fun. He dashed forward spontaneously and struck, burying the barrel of one of his pistols deep into the abdomen of the Warlock.
"Your leader walked you into an impossible situation—there is no version of this that ends with you on top," Kid taunted. He brought the other pistol into the chin of the Witch, dealing her a vicious uppercut. He followed up by doing a jumping, upward knee-thrust into the Warlock's chest before extending his leg in a full-on front kick.
With both enemies airborne, he crossed his pistols aiming them at their backs and pulled the trigger, launching them even higher into the air. He was going to have to perform another mid-air attack, one that hit both enemies. He didn't waste any time, but vaulted himself in the air, higher than his enemies and right between them.
"Speaking of your leader, I notice that she's not here to help!"
He used his pistols to power-slam his enemies back to the floor of the Death Room and watched with a certain satisfaction as their bodies hit it with enough force to make cracked craters. He descended down to the floor, floating like a petal falling from a wilting rose before he began to spin. He crossed Liz over his chest, Patty over his back and spun like a top.
As he landed, he continued to spin and used the butt of his pistol to whip the Warlock in the jaw, sending him spinning and stumbling on his feet. He did a sweep, knocking the Witch off of her feet and in the air, continued to spin, dealing the Warlock a roundhouse kick before coming to a stop, both pistols pointed at the Witch and pulled the trigger, firing particularly powerful, concentrated soul wavelength shots into her face—one of his signature kill-shots.
He heard the Warlock growl and try to dive tackle him from below. With ease he jumped, and stomped his feet just as the Warlock dove. Kid took the time to be precise in drive his heel into the back of the Warlock's head, face-planting him into the floor of the Death Room. He placed his twin pistols at the Warlock's back and fired over and over again. He kept firing and firing with intent to blow a hole right through him when—
"Shadow spear cannon!"
"Ah!"
Pain. Immense pain. Kid looked down and saw the shadowy silhouette of a spear protruding from his chest. Someone had hit him with a very powerful spell from behind. He tried to move but the shadow silhouette of the spear transformed into dozens of shadowy ropes that wrapped around his body holding him, and his arms in place.
"Kid! You have to break free!" Liz wailed.
"Can't breath…" he complained as the shadowy ropes began to squeeze him tightly. He could feel the strain on his ribs as they threatened to crush him like a python crushes its prey.
"C'mon, Kid! You have to fight it! You're a Grim Reaper! You can't go out this way!" Patty exclaimed. Kid knew that he was in no condition physically to break through what with a shadow spear having gone through his back, out his chest and around his body. He began to resonate his soul wavelength with his Weapons to give him some extra power.
"Soul shock!"
The black shadows began to buzz and snap with electric, soul wavelength energy that was not his own, severing the connection between him and his Weapons. He screamed and would have writhed in agony were he not completely held in place by the shadowy bonds. Now that he could feel the damaging wavelength course through his own, he recognized his assailant easily. He had, after all, hunted him before.
Witchblade…
"Everyone stop or I'm going to rip Reaper boy here into several large pieces," Liir said. He used his magic to lift Kid in the air to display before the rest of them. As he must have planned, the fighting stopped and all eyes were in Kid.
Broken. Bloodied. Beaten.
Gilgamesh had Nail by his ankle and was currently slamming him against the ground like a ragdoll over and over again. He held tightly to Hammer for the first couple of slams, but soon he dropped his Weapon and was alone. He tried to use his arms to brace for impact but being flailed around sometimes left his skull to take the bulk of the impact. He felt the blood leaking out of his nose, mouth and ears and he knew he was dying—he wasn't sure how much more he could take.
Finally, at long last the giant threw him to the ground. He hit the bricks with such impact he felt them roll up and break under him as he left a long gash in the walkway. He was done. He couldn't move a muscle and doubted if there was a single bone in his body not broken.
"Nail!" he heard Hammer cry out. He couldn't tell how far away he was because his ear canals were filled with blood. Both of his eardrums were probably busted. This is not how it was supposed to end. He felt strong arms cradle his head and shoulders. Through blurred, bloodied vision he looked up and saw a familiar face.
"Hammer…" Nail managed to say.
"Don't say anything; save your strength," Hammer said between sobs. Nail felt warm, wet tears drip onto his face. He must have looked even worse than he felt.
"Hammer…run…" Nail warned. Gilgamesh was more than they could take on. They were outmatched—finally. Nail's only regret is that he wouldn't be able to turn Hammer into a Death Weapon as he had promised. But he had died trying. That much he could say for himself.
"No you idiot. We're in this together. Til the end!" Hammer said, gripping him affectionately.
"What a touching moment—say your goodbyes to each other while you have the chance," Gilgamesh bellowed with mad, maniacal laughter. Hammer laid Hammer down, propping his head so that he could see the giant standing over them laughing with the bloodthirsty glee of victory, his own hammer resting along his colossal shoulders.
"You bastard!" Hammer screamed. He charged the giant and Nail tried to warn him but he didn't have the strength to do anything but bleed. Hammer transformed his fist into an axe-head and got ready to strike, but was easily knocked away by the giant. He heard a crash somewhere out of sight and watched helplessly as the giant approached.
"I've had my fun with you; you're finished! I'm going to put you out of your misery now," Gilgamesh said. The giant raised his hammer overhead and prepared to bring it down for the finishing blow. Nail watched his life flash before his eyes and found himself filled with regret having wasted his potential. The only good things in his life that he had were his friends: Tsarvich, Vyse, and Hammer—especially Hammer. He could not have asked for a better partner and friend. He tried to smile but he was pretty sure his jaw was broken as he closed his eyes and accepted his fate.
CRASH!
"Oh no you don't! I'm not finished with you yet!" Hammer exclaimed. His arms were crossed above his head, fists transformed into axe-heads. He had dashed over and stopped the finishing blow intended for his Meister in the nick of time. He stood sturdily, knees bent, feet making impressions in the crumbling earth below.
"Ah! Insect! I'll crush you!" Gilgamesh bellowed in rage. He pulled his hammer away and Hammer noticed something. There were two dents—no, wounds—in the head of the hammer where his axe-heads had penetrated. They were dripping blood on the ground and suddenly it made sense.
He rolled to the side and Gilgamesh's foot missed. He lost his footing and feel to the ground, shaking the entire neighborhood they were fighting in. Hammer had to test his theory again. He rushed forward, feigning an attack for the giant's head. When he tried to swat him away Hammer dove up, forward and flipped in the air, transforming his hand into an axe again and brought it down onto the head of Gilgamesh's hammer once again.
"Argh!" the giant roared in pain and fury. Sure as he had suspected, the hard, metallic hammerhead gave way under Hammer's blow. He smiled as blood gurgled out from the bleeding hammerhead. He was so elated was nearly mashed into the ground as the giant's huge hand slammed the ground where Hammer had once stood. He flipped back, distancing himself from his opponent. He smiled as he watched the bulky giant stand to its feet and cradle its injured, bleeding weapon in his hands.
Upon closer inspection, Hammer noticed something. The weapon never left his hand because they were connected. There was a small coupling of flesh that tied his arm to his Weapon. Hammer had a good idea of what would happen if he were able to sever the coupling. The only problem is that now he had no Meister to wield him and he doubted very seriously if he could get close enough to the giant without being crushed.
"Nail! I know that you're hurt, but if you have enough in you for one more attack we can beat this guy! You hear me? Get up!" he yelled. Gilgamesh knew that Hammer was being truthful and began to chase him through the streets, smashing the ground with his fist now, instead of his weapon. Hammer knew why too. The weapon itself was strong enough to withstand almost anything, but not Hammer. Hammer was a particularly strong Weapon and had yet to run into something he couldn't break.
"Nail!" Hammer echoed, "you have to get up! This fight isn't over! Your Weapon needs you! You hear me? Nail!"
The seconds seemed to float by for an eternity for Tsarevich. He held his ground and looked at the fiery onslaught coming his way. He had to act and quickly. There was no where to run, hide or evade the ocean of flames cascading towards him. If he ran to meet his foe head-on, the flames would lick the flesh from his bones in seconds. Fleeing was such a foreign idea to him with Vyse's assassin instincts invading his way of thinking. Still, it appeared to be his only option.
"Vyse, knuckle-duster mode!"
"Right!"
Vyse melded around his hand, creating steel glove that came to Tsarevich's elbow and had blades running along the outside. He began to increase the frequency of his soul's wavelength and Vyse, on cue, began to resonate it. Tsarevich turned to his left and ran towards the wall, doing an aerial flip, landing his feet on the wall, knees bent. He propelled himself towards the wall across from him, drawing his fist back. He punched with all of his might as he broke through the wall of a classroom.
He tucked and rolled as he landed and kept moving, knowing for sure that Chandra would be hot on his heels. Up, up, up the stadium seating stairs and out the window. He crossed his hands over his face to shield his eyes from any pieces of breakaway glass.
Freefalling reminded Tsarevich that there were on one of the highest points of the entire academy and that he had quite a long way to fall. He saw one of the red spires approaching close and had an idea.
"Vyse, kama mode!"
Vyse said nothing but did transform into a kama which Tsarevich used to spike through the stone, anchor himself and keep from falling. So there they were, dangling off of the side of the academy having turned tail and ran. Vyse transformed into his human form and caught Tsarevich by the hand before pulling him up onto the spire.
"Well that was just brilliant," he complained.
"I know how you feel about running away, but we were out of our league," Tsarevich admitted.
"You've disgraced us both by fleeing from battle," Vyse replied sourly.
"Listen to me! I know! Believe me I know how much it bothers you. But we're still alive, right? We can still fight!" Tsarevich said.
"Fine. What do you suggest we do? It looks like kishin-spawn have overrun the city. Maybe we should start there," Vyse suggested. Tsarevich looked into the city below him bathed in the light of the setting sun. Everywhere there was noise, fighting and screaming. Fires sent billows of smoke into the air like pillars before filling the air with smog.
"Hmm," Tsarevich said, thinking aloud to himself.
"It looks like Rain's team took quite a beating," Vyse said, pointing down at the entrance of the school. Tsarevich looked and saw a few of them lying on the ground, a few of them picking others up to their feet and, as Vyse had said, it looked like they had taken quite a beating. Tsarevich focused his soul perception and looked, making sure that all of them were okay. As he had hoped, he saw seven souls glowing in the distance.
"They're all alive and it looks like they're regrouping. We would only get in their way," Tsarevich replied.
"What about Hammer and Nail? Where the hell were those guys when we were fighting Chandra? We could've used their help!" Vyse growled. Tsarevich shrugged.
"Who knows where those two slackers are! They were supposed to be guarding the other hall with us," Tsarevich added. Tsarevich turned on his soul perception and took a look around. He was able to see souls through the Death Room and gasped.
Most of the souls were easy enough to recognize: Black Star, Tsubaki, Soul Eater, Death the Kid, Liz, Patty…there were also a multitude of Witch souls. One, two, three, four, five, six—
"Oh my God," Tsarevich said, unable to articulate his surprise.
"What?" Vyse asked, his eyebrows up.
"He's back," Tsarevich said, staring deeply into a soul he knew all-too-well.
"Who?" Vyse asked.
"Who do you think? Liir," Tsarevich replied. Vyse understood immediately. They had a score to settle. They may not be ready to take on the leader of the Witch coven, but they were sure enough capable of taking out her guard dog. Tsarevich still felt unexplainable sympathy towards Liir, but it was not enough to keep him from taking him out—especially when he had proven exactly which side he had chosen.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's bust right through the ceiling and strike at him when he least suspects it," Vyse suggested as he got ready to jump over to the domed ceiling of the Death Room connected to the spire they were standing on.
"Wait! There's something else," Tsarevich started.
"What now?" Vyse complained.
"Professor Aurion, Stein and Marie are in the hallway standing outside of the Death Room," Tsarevich explained.
"They're supposed to be there," Vyse pointed out.
"Chandra just walked right past them! There's no way they would let her get past them without so much as a fight! Something's wrong," Tsarevich said.
"So what are we gonna do?" Vyse asked.
"Chandra is making her way inside of the Death Room right now. Let's go and check on them. After that—we have a score to settle with Mr. Witchblade," Tsarevich said, clenching his fist.
"Now you're speaking my language," Vyse said with a smile. And with that the two of them made their way back through the window, through the classroom and through the hallway. Tsarevich only hoped that nothing terrible had happened to them.
Nail could hear Hammer calling out for his assistance. With the urgency in his voice he had, no doubt, figured out how to beat the giant. The problem was Nail was not sure he had the strength to pull himself to his feet. Every time he tried to move it sent waves of pain through his body. He had to though. He had to! If Hammer was right, all he had to do was get up for one last attack. Then he could lay down and continue dying.
It was no use. The pain was too unbearable—it was crippling. He thought he might lose his mind over the pain. About the time the thought crossed his mind he started seeing things again. Shadows moving about here and there. Maniacal laughter somewhere in the back of his brain. Bloodlust creeping into his consciousness making him itch to kill. It was fear, he knew, but it felt like freedom too. There was strength invigorating him that he could not explain.
The Madness…
He knew that's what it was. He had paid just enough attention in class and to what Hammer had said to know the danger of The Madness. It was enticing. It offered power, but it would consume ones mind and ultimately their soul.
But what choice do I have?
Maybe once, just for a little bit, he could stop resisting and let the Madness in, but only enough to give him the strength to fight. But did he have that kind of restraint? Was he playing with fire? What if he did lose his mind in the Madness? Was their no coming back? It didn't matter anymore. His body was broken and there was no other way to help his Weapon. From what it sounded like, Hammer would only last a little longer against Gilgamesh.
Here goes nothing…
Nail stopped resisting the Madness. He felt it flow into the corners of his mind like water spilling from an overflowing sink across a linoleum floor. There was no way to describe what was going on inside of him. It was rampant chaos. A million thoughts all at once, and all of them fearful, flooded into his psyche and when he tried to put up the gates it was too late; he was losing himself in the inky darkness as he stood to his feet.
Hammer looked and saw Nail slowly pull his injured body to its feet and smiled. It was all over now. If he had enough strength to pull himself up, he would have enough to take one more swing at the giant. Hammer only glanced at Nail; he kept his eyes fixed on Gilgamesh and charged him head-on.
"I will crush you!" Gilgamesh roared bringing his fist down as Hammer approached. At the last possible second he dodged to the left, diving across the street, tucking and rolling before jumping again towards Nail who was standing, shoulder slumped, head towards the ground.
"Get ready, Nail!" Hammer dove and transformed at the same time, spinning directly towards Nail. He did not move until the last second and Hammer thought for sure that he would not catch him. His Meister reached out and caught Hammer in one hand twirling him between his fingers, then in a hand-over-hand motion before finally allowing Hammer to rest in one arm across his shoulders.
As always, their souls connected—but something was wrong—seriously wrong. Nail's thoughts and emotions were black and inky. They were really hard to perceive. Everything going through his mind was tainted somehow, and thus it began to taint Hammer's thoughts.
"Nail! What's going on? What's wrong with you?" Hammer asked, resisting the flow of the thoughts and emotions he once allowed to freely enter his mind. There was no time to answer as Gilgamesh brought his own hammer crashing down at Nail who remained motionless.
"Nail! Don't just stand there! Do something!" Hammer wailed. The Meister looked up at the oncoming attack and stood his ground, unwavering. At the last moment possible, he swung Hammer in a high arc, diverting the path of the hammer to smash into the pavement beside them. He retaliated by jumping upward and swinging Hammer axe-first into Gilgamesh's chin.
"Whoa!" Hammer exclaimed. Nail was a strong enough Meister but the blow was so brutally powerful that Hammer bent under the weight of the blow and sent Gilgamesh off of his feet only a few feet off of the ground. Nail jumped up and flipped frontward, smashing Hammer into Gilgamesh's face and sending the giant smashing into the ground below them. Again the blow was unusually powerful. Hammer knew the physical limitations of his Meister better than anyone, and the attacks that Nail was performing was far beyond his natural abilities.
Suddenly Nail began to laugh maniacally—hysterically—like he had lost his mind. He began to strike at the giant indiscriminately, knocking him to and fro but not doing any kind of real damage because he was striking at the wrong places. Hammer reached out to try to get his attention, but the inky, dark swell of his consciousness was pressing on him more than ever.
What the hell is that?
Suddenly, it hit him. He knew beyond shadow and doubt what it was. It was what was giving his Meister supernatural strength and allowing him to trade blows with the mighty kishin giant. It was also what was taking over his mind and his soul. Hammer realized that he must have done it out of desperation. He couldn't find the strength to get up to his feet one more time and then—the Madness.
Hammer was not sure what to do. He needed to stay in his Weapon form so that they could fight the giant, but the longer that his soul wavelength remained in proximity of Nail's the greater the risk he face of slipping into the Madness. Still, he had to find Nail, wherever he was amidst the bloodthirsty chaos flooding his mind, and rescue him from it. This meant that he would have to dive headfirst into the terrifying presence before him and hope that he had the strength to find Nail, and resurface. It meant staring insanity in the face. It meant risking his very soul. While it's not the decision he would have made on his own, he could not, in good conscience, allow his Meister to face this burden alone.
"Hold on, Nail! Here I come!" Hammer shouted, hoping that in all of the noise that was screeching and screaming inside of Nail's mind, he could hear his voice. And with that Hammer dove off of the precipice of his mind, headfirst into the red and black sea of confusion that had invaded Nail's mind. Down, down, down he descended into the cold, wet, inky Madness where he hoped he would find Nail. He looked around and could not see a thing. As he feared, he was all alone. He was lost! How could the lost hope to rescue someone when they needed rescued themselves?
You're not giving up! He could hear his voice of reason speaking to him from some distant place, reminding him of his courage and of his commitment to his partner. Nothing would deter him. If he had to look death and insanity in the face to spit in its eye to make sure that his Meister did not stand alone, that is what he would do. He found a place deep inside of himself, and locked the things that meant the most to him away where nothing could find or hurt himself. And with that tucked away he continued to let himself sink inside the thick Madness that had formed around his Meister.
He ignored the hands of wraiths and shadows reaching out and clawing at him and continued his swim downward. Even though the thickness of the Madness had change from water, to ink, to tar. Every motion forward required every ounce of will that Hammer possessed. He could feel the poisonous wavelength begin to pollute his own, seeping through his very pores. He gagged at its taste when he tried to take a breath, and decided it was better to let his lungs burn.
He looked ahead and could see something not too far from him. A light, perhaps? It may be another trick of the Madness. So many times he imagined he and Nail safe somewhere far away from the inky black and from the battle itself, only to have his dreams dashed to pieces by the reality that the Madness had become. Still, he pressed on; still, he persevered.
As he inched towards the lights the thick, tar-like liquid Madness formed into deformed hands that pulled, tugged and scratched at him, trying to keep him away from his goal in mind. Just ahead he could see Nail's silhouette. He was sitting with his hands wrapped tightly around his knees—alone.
I'm coming, buddy! Hold on!
Hammer let out a determined scream of rage as he pressed on, ignoring the forces at work trying to keep him at bay. If he had to move a millimeter a minute, he would not give up. When he felt the fear start to overtake him he remembered what his inner voice sounded like when he was brave and when he was courageous. He remembered his secret place that no one—nothing—not even the Madness could reach and it emboldened him to know that he was never truly lost.
And finally he was free of the pull from the Madness and he found Nail standing on the shore of his own subconscious. It was a white void. There was no temperature. There was no sun. There was no sky. There was only an empty white void—and Nail. Nail saw Hammer and looked up hopefully. As Hammer smiled and approached, Nails shied away from him.
"What's the matter, buddy? Don't you recognize me? It's me: Hammer," Hammer said. Nail looked up at him like a little kid looks up and someone they don't trust. He was fearful. Hammer looked closer and he could see all of Nail's insecurities laid bare before. He knew now, for the first time, the real reason that Nail was so lazy and refused to even try at things. It was a fear of failure. Failure lead to rejection; rejection lead to insecurity; insecurity lead to loneliness. Everything that Nail really was at the core of his being was suddenly so obvious to Hammer. He wondered if Nail could see him in a similar fashion.
All of his fears and insecurities exposed for him to see. At first the thought was threatening and as Hammer tried to retreat, but he noticed instantly the black, inky Madness was starting to creep into the one place they shared where they were free from the Madness and he instantly stopped. If there was one person in the world that he trusted with such vulnerability it was Nail. He only hoped that Nail would feel the same way. The last thing that Hammer wanted to see was the Madness slip into the one place that the two of them had left to share.
"Go away! I don't want you here! This is my place!" Nail said. It was not with his own voice though—it was with the voice of a child.
Oh boy…
"Nail…don't be afraid. It's me: Hammer. You're best friend. I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me," Hammer said. Nail's eyebrows went up. He recognized the name 'Hammer' and started to peak his head over his knees at him. Hammer smiled and waved at him the way one would wave at a shy little kid. He hoped that this would work because already the Madness was starting to drip from what would be the ceiling of this place inside their connected minds.
Nail smiled and the leaking Madness retreated to wherever it had come from. Hammer came and sat alongside Nail who looked up at him shyly still. Hammer put his arm around him and the two of them sat there for a while.
"Do you know what's going on right now?" Hammer asked.
"We're fighting," Nail replied simply.
"That's right. How are we doing?" Hammer asked, though he knew the answer, he wanted to see how perception Nail was. With his consciousness lost in the Madness, he hoped that his subconscious would still be intact.
"Alright I guess," Nail said, kicking at what would be the ground in the place they were at. Hammer smiled. This was something that he could work with.
"I can tell you what you need to do to beat this guy," Hammer said. Nail looked up at him again with boy-like curiosity.
"What?" he asked, wide-eyed.
"He's tricky one, this guy. You see his body is impenetrable, but his weapon is not. I was able to break it with my axe. There's a small coupling attaching his arm to his hammer. That's why he never switches hands and why he never uses his hammer to block," Hammer explained. Nail smiled with surprise and flashed a grin looking more and more like a little boy the minute.
"You're right! He does! What do you think will happen if we cut the coupling?" Nail asked, on his feet now, staring down at Hammer. Hammer felt warmth in his heart seeing Nail like this. They had been friends since they were boys. Nail was more daring then. He was not afraid of failure like he was now. Hammer didn't want to dwell on that right now, because Nail could surely sense what he was thinking and he did not want him to retreat again.
"I think that we'll show this guy who's boss, and that nobody messes with the mighty Hammer and Nail!" Hammer said, using the most excited voice he could muster. Nail gave his signature sneer and clenched his fists.
"Let's get him!" He exclaimed. And with one mighty swing, the giant Gilgamesh met his ends at the hands of Hammer and Nail who were lost deep inside of the Madness, perhaps never to escape.
I'll find a way out of here, friend. I promise you that.
At that thought he noticed that the Madness was inching closer and closer towards them. It would take what would seem like ages, but eventually it would totally consume them and there would be no going back. They had already retreated to a place so deep inside themselves Hammer doubted if they would ever see clarity and sanity again. Still, he would not let despair overtake him. He would continue hoping and continue fighting for as long as he could. He knew that he could trust Nail to do the same. And as long as they had each other, the Madness was not something that would overtake them.
The sky began to fill with dark gray clouds before it finally broke and began to rain and storm upon Death City. At the city's entrance a slain giant lay upon the ground and a Meister with his Weapon stood victoriously over him. The clever kishin giant had transferred all of his blood and organs into the weapon and covered it with a hard shell that he thought was unbreakable.
Still, the Meister's Weapon was superior, and they had proved the victor. The Meister's body was broken, but would heal, and after he fed the souls of his fallen foes to his Weapon they would become more powerful than ever before. In his Madness he could see countless souls around him—human and kishin egg alike—and they all looked so promising and delicious.
He let out a hysterical laugh as the thundered rumbled in the distance and the rain began to wash the blood off his body and his Weapon. He began to hack away at what remained of the giant's neck. He wanted its head as a trophy. After many mighty swings the head finally disconnected. The crazed Meister bagged it and fled the city finding whatever place he could find safety and solitude. He would hang the head of the giant outside wherever he decided to make his dwelling as a warning to all who threatened him and his Weapon.