Fall Seven Times

by Ulquiorra9000

AU. Sequel to Across the Worlds. Mizuki's life became unexpectedly dull and routine once she helped vanquish Nihil and redeem Azrael. And without her powerful curse, what can she do to enforce the Planeswalker Code? Is there even a point? She'll have to answer those questions fast or face oblivion once a horribly familiar army begins to sink its claws into Kamigawa... On hiatus.

19. Chapter 19

FALL SEVEN TIMES

by Ulquiorra9000

Chapter 19

"How long d'you think the coalition can hold out against that thing?" Mizuki asked tensely. She couldn't tear her eyes from the massive wurm creature that snaked its way toward Battalion C's warriors.

"I couldn't say," Ayano said, "but I'd wager not very long." Her mana aura still radiated strong pulses of green and white mana. Even after healing herself and Azrael and Mizuki, her power was still formidable. Did the sight of Kamigawa's destroyers galvanize her power?

Almost definitely.

Ayano urged her horse toward the battle at a mad sprint, but already, Battalion C's warriors clashed with the Phyrexians once again. Companies of samurai galloped on their steeds to meet the mechanical horrors halfway, their banners fluttering, their armor enchanted by battle mage spells. A handful of budoka monks joined the samurai, their brawny bodies blessed by vine-like kami far beyond human strength.

Blades clashed.

"We need a plan for that wurm beast, if Battalion C's commanders don't have one already," Azrael said. "A disorganized response won't last long."

"No kidding," Mizuki said faintly. She watched as the huge wurm scooped its toothy maw along the ground, and it gobbled up a handful of Battalion C's warriors just like that. The other samurai and mages around the wurm scattered hastily, but that left them open to Phyrexian flanking attacks. The samurai only barely fended off the assault.

Then Mizuki's eyes widened. "Oh!"

Ayano tensed. "What is it?"

Mizuki actually grinned. "Why not repeat ourselves? That wurm thing uses its mouth to fight. Remember what we did to Akuta-Ne?"

Azrael made an amused noise. "I certainly do. But I loathe to admit that this creature is even more fearsome than Akuta-Ne was. And we didn't even destroy Akuta-Ne with those enchanted fireworks. We just drove it away."

Mizuki's gut clenched. "I know, but..."

Ayano glanced over her shoulder. "We made do with whatever we could find at Yamai-no-Zenju," she said boldly. Her eyes were like steel. "But this is my father's coalition, a proper defense force. We will have military-grade provisions on hand. We only need to acquire them."

"Good point." Mizuki felt herself relax a bit. "So, are you gonna summon Higure again?"

"Only if I need to," Ayano said. "I don't want to risk his life unnecessarily. And we still have to save some resources for the actual battle at Minamo. What we have here is the prelude."

"I understand," Azrael said.

"And after all..." Ayano smiled. "You two do a fine job fighting with me. Have faith. We will drive off the Phyrexians today."

Damn it all, Ayano's spirit was infectious!

The sounds of battle, the metallic clashes, the screams, all filled Mizuki's ears and shook the air as Ayano's horse joined the fray. The front line grew blurred as clusters of Phyrexian cyborgs and samurai and monks struck each other's armies. Bodies fell everywhere in flashes of mana and slashes of katanas and oily claws.

"Where is Battalion C's heavy ordinance?" Azrael shouted over the din. As he spoke, he threw out his fists and hurled mini-fireballs at nearby Phyrexians.

"Let me see... over there!" Ayano steered her steed toward a caravan of supply wagons, further from the front lines. She brought her horse to a halt and dismounted.

Mizuki got the cue to dismount. "What's the plan, princess?"

"This is a supply wagon for Battalion B," Ayano explained. "Backup ammunition... for incendiary trebuchet loads."

Mizuki watched in awe as Ayano collected a few heavy bags from a wagon. "What's in them?"

"Black powder mixed with various chemicals and compounds, and enchanted for maximum impact," Ayano said. "This ammunition is actually an akki invention, as are the trebuchets that fire them. At Minamo, you will see Battalion B making use of this technology."

Mizuki thought of the akki goblins, the hard-shelled, long-nosed denizens of the Sokenzan Mountains. Rarely did the akki cooperate with humans and kitsune, but clearly, a clan or two in the coalition had struck a deal. Maybe the looming Phyrexians had inspired the mutual trust?

So even the akki were feeling the pressure.

Ayano dragged the ammo bags to Azrael, then held out her arm and infused Azrael's skin with her mana. Her green-white mana aura flickered from the strain, but it held. "Azrael, this should let you carry these heavy bags," she told him. "Get to that wurm. Mizuki and I will escort you."

Azrael looked over at the marauding wurm and nodded. "Of course."

Ayano collected two spare horses from the supply caravan, and once she and Mizuki mounted up, they set off and escorted Azrael's horse across the grimy battlefield. Stray arrows, sword swings, and spells kept shooting past Mizuki, and she had to duck to avoid a few of them. If this was the pre-battle, the main conflict for Minamo would be insane!

Every one of Mizuki's instincts screamed at her to get away from the massive artifact wurm, but she bared her teeth and kept pressing on. She had to trust Azrael to take that horrible thing down!

A nearby Phyrexian humanoid roared and swung its long claws at Mizuki's horse, trying to cleave it in half. Mizuki already had her sword out and knocked aside the cyborg's claws, then slashed its head off in one clean stroke. She barely finished when a thopter descended on her with its claws outstretched. Mizuki pointed her sword tip and took careful aim. A thin mana helix vaporized the thopter.

Ayano, meanwhile, blew apart any Phyrexians that got in her way, her katana showing no mercy. "Almost there!" she cried. "Azrael, get ready!"

By now, the three were deep into Phyrexian formations, and the coalition warriors were too far to provide backup. That left only a narrow window to get this done before the Phyrexians cut Mizuki off entirely fromt friendly lines. Only seconds left...!
Among the chrome-armored Phyrexians stood a cluster of porcelain-armored golems, and they lumbered forth to intercept Mizuki's squad. Some had four arms, others bearing whip-like barbed chains or maces.

"White Phyrexians!" Mizuki hollered. "Watch out for 'em!"

Azrael threw out a decent-sized fireball that slammed right into a large Phyrexian golem. But the flames only left a shallow, charred indent on its chest. The beast brushed off the attack and swung its mace.

Ayano hurried over and placed herself between the golem and Azrael. Her enchanted katana stopped the mace cold, and Ayano's arms trembled with the effort of keeping it at bay. "Azrael! Now!" she shrieked.

A safe distance away, Azrael leaped off his horse with sudden grace and speed, propelled by his blue-black mana. He actually landed on a large golem's shoulder and jumped off, long before the golem realized what was happening. Then, Azrael ran a slalom through several more befuddled blue Phyrexians and closed in on the massive wurm's open maw.

Ayano's green-white spell glowed bright on Azrael's arms as the man carried the two heavy ammo bags to his goal. Then, just as the wurm's many eyes spotted Azrael, the artificer hurled both trebuchet ammo bags right into the wurm's open mouth.

As the bags flew through the wurm's maw, Azrael took careful aim and fired two tiny fireballs from his bracers' rubies. The fireballs swallowed up the ammo bags deep in the wurm's throat.

Bright reddish-white light erupted from between the wurm's armor plates, so bright that Mizuki, Ayano, and the Phyrexians briefly covered their faces and winced.

A deafening chain of explosions rocked the wurm from head to tail, and flames shot from between its plating. The creature shrieked and squirmed in agony as more explosions tore it apart from the inside. It went limp and rolled over, black smoke pouring from its mouth.

Mizuki couldn't help a cheer. "Ayano! We did it!" she shouted gleefully.

The Phyrexians, however, backed up and made deep, metallic noises in their throats. Were they... laughing?

With a groan of effort, the wurm stirred, then uncoiled its body. Even its head came apart, its two bodies slithering loudly on the battlefield's boot-flattened dirt.

Azrael got back on his horse and raced over to Mizuki and Ayano. "Something is wrong!" he shouted. "The wurm -"

Ayano was paper-white, her eyes wide. "We seem to have underestimated our enemies once again."

The wurm had fully split in half, each new wurm thinner than the first one but fully functional. One had murky green-black mana in its throat, the other, vivid green-white. Both wurms roared in anger and hunger.

Mizuki took a deep breath. "RUN!" she screamed.

The surrounding samurai and battle mages drew back from the two wurm halves, but already, the other Phyrexians were advancing and cutting down the Kamigawa defenders. Worse, each wurm half slithered across the battlefield, and each gobbled up the coalition's warriors wherever they found them. One spread a noxious vapor that rendered the samurai defenseless, while the other seemed to grow with each person that it devoured.

Ayano raised her katana. "I am Ayano Hatsumoto Kirinji, scion of the Kirinji clan!" she shouted. "If you want to survive, rally around me! Generals, gather your men!"

Mizuki flinched as a wave of white mana radiated from Ayano's body while she spoke, and the Phyrexians faltered, surprised by the mortal girl's boldness.

Galloping hooves answered the call.

"We hear you, princess Kirinji!" boomed a familiar voice.

Mizuki laughed with relief when she saw tai-sa (Colonel) Kokuda and his forest samurai approach, all mounted on stags. Green mana pulsed on the stags' hooves and antlers, and Kokuda carried his banner in one hand, his katana in the other.

The forest samurai got to work.

Where the other samurai and battle mages faltered, Kokuda and his men charged in and reversed the tide. Cyborg samurai, kitsune, and artifact horrors shrieked as samurai blades split them in half. The stags charged with utter ferocity, and they lowered their antlers to impale Phyrexians on their points.

More warriors of the coalition converged on Ayano and tai-sa Kokuda, shouting in defiance and rage. The Phyrexians snarled and regrouped to attack the massed samurai en masse, and the melee resumed. And once again, the two wurm halves snaked over and began devouring the samurai and monks two or three at a time.

"First squad! Take out the green-white wurm! Get mage support," tai-sa Kokuda shouted. He pointed. "Now!"

At once, twelve of his men charged at the wurm that was growing with each person it consumed. Along the way, a number of monks and mages joined them, their colorful robes billowing as their steeds raced to catch up with the samurai. The mages threw out their hands and plated the forest samurai with enchantments, and other battle mages hurled fireballs or lightning at the marauding wurm.

The wurm grated and roared in pain as flames and lightning burnt away its armor plates one at a time. It thrashed around, and its metallic tail swatted away a few kitsune samurai, shattering their armor and bones alike from the sheer force. In retaliation, three budoka monks, all swathed in forest kami, hurried over and seized the wurm by its tail. The kami clearly strained against the wurm's strength, but their plan worked: the wurm was trapped in place, totally vulnerable to attack.

With their stags' hooves kicking up dirt with each gallop, the forest samurai closed in on their target. Heavily-modified katanas slashed off pieces of the wurm's toothy maw, or else pried off armor plating from its head. The wurm shrieked again and thrashed about, but it couldn't escape. And it couldn't deal with so many samurai at once, attacking from such a wide angle.

The coalition forces cheered as Kokuda's men finally tore through the wurm's inner mechanisms, and black oil gushed everywhere as the wurm was torn apart under the katana blades. With a final gurgle, the wurm's pieces scattered on the hoof-flattened battleground.

Then the other wurm half reared itself and roared.

Noxious, green-black mist spread and rolled across the battlefield like a fog. Samurai, monks, and mages alike staggered under its effects, and Mizuki stared in horror as their skin bubbled and blistered, and then the flesh started to rot. And just as quickly, the lesser Phyrexians began cutting them down where they stood.

Not even Kokuda's men escaped. His first squad tried to gallop away to safety, but half of the samurai and their stag mounts crashed to the earth as the wurm's vapors hit them. The stags rotted to bone in seconds, and the samurai wailed and choked in their armor. Melted flesh oozed from between the armor plates.

Mizuki regrouped with Azrael and Ayano. "We gotta do something!"

"Its mouth is open," Azrael told her, his fists clenched. "On three, Mizuki."

"What - oh!"

"One, two, three!"

Azrael threw out a punch and launched a large fireball that arced gracefully through the air. The great ball of flame landed right in the wurm's mouth, and the metallic beast choked and grunted in pain. It jerked back, its mouth charred and smoking, its plating starting to melt.

"Hell yeah!" Mizuki pointed her Fiora sword and pumped all the mana she could into the tip. A seething, oversized helix of red and white mana (and a bit of black, blue, and green, thanks to the mages' assistance) shot right into the wurm's mouth. Again, the wurm roared and drew back in agony, but Mizuki kept up the pressure, her teeth bared, her hair fluttering from the spell's ambient pressure. She felt her blade's mana wearing thin with alarming speed, but she didn't dare let up yet. That stupid wurm had killed too many people already!

Something broke in the wurm's mouth, and its noxious vapors vanished. With molten metal bleeding everywhere, the wurm kept retreating, and several lesser Phyrexians gathered around it to defend it.

"Slay them!" tai-sa Kokuda roared.

All the rest of his forest samurai charged at the Phyrexians head-on, aided by several kami-enhanced monks, kitsune blademasters, and a squad of ronin samurai clad in bulky red-green armor. Mizuki watched in awe as these assembled warriors engaged the remaining Phyrexians, trading deadly blows with frightening ferocity and speed.

The injured wurm raised its tail and slapped down, crushing a kitsune and two mercenary ronin to death. In retaliation, five of Kokuda's samurai galloped over and sliced off the last ten feet of the wurm's tail, and black oil bled from the amputated metal.

Then, the ronin raised their swords into the air. In a flash of mana, their katanas grew even larger, their steel blades now gold in color and humming with red-green mana. The ronin urged their horses onwards, and the men fearlessly hacked at the wurm's head, taking off pieces all over.

The wurm snarled and snapped out its jaws. Its teeth tore one samurai in half, and the nearby Phyrexians sliced apart another samurai just as easily. But the remaining ronin arced around the battlefield and joined Kokuda's men. The combined force assaulted the wurm's flank, and their blades tore off its armor plates one by one. Meanwhile, the kitsune blademasters and monks kept the lesser Phyrexians at bay to buy the samurai more time.

With a final roar, the wurm disintigrated into a pile of oily scrap metal. The lesser Phyrexians faltered, and were mopped up in a matter of minutes.

At last, the coalition's battalion C held the field alone.

Various officers called for casualty reports and reformed their units. It wasn't a pretty sight in Mizuki's eyes: barely a quarter of the battalion was left, and many survivors were badly injured, or their mana was totally depleted. There was only so much that the medical kitsune could do for them; many would march into battle hobble by injuries, or mana-less.

"Look at that," Mizuki commented. "Victory, even if it was hard-won. Am I right?"

Ayano nodded shakily. "I don't know if this remaining force will be enough to support battalions A and B at Minamo. But we will have to try."

"We still have hope," Azrael added. "If we won once, we can do so again. Minamo will be free."

Mizuki nodded. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

*o*o*o*o*

Mizuki admired her Fiora sword on horseback as she rode with the ragged remnants of battalion C. Its enchantment had nearly been worn out in the battle, but at Ayano's insistence, her sword's mana (and that of Azrael's bracers) had been fully recharged at the hands of a few support mages. And as a further precaution, Ayano had Higure's summoner scroll on hand and primed for use. The Kirinji scion had endured a smaller battle against the Phyrexians, but neither side would hold anything back at Minamo.

The pleasant morning sun kept tempting Mizuki to forget just what she was getting herself into.

Ayano, tai-sa Kokuda, and a few other officers led the battalion across the rolling hills, and the air grew even more damp as they pushed onwards. Finally, Mizuki heard the distant, rumbling roar of the famed waterfalls. Here we are!

Battalion C's warriors rode over the hilltops and began a steady trot to unite with battalions A and B, both of which were much larger than C. Mizuki felt a thrill of excitement as the massive coalition came together. Myriad samurai of many clans and ronin mercenaries, plus kitsune blademasters and mystics, archers of all races, monks, trebuchets, beast tamers, and even a few kami marched together against the Phyrexians.

The united army marched over a few more forested hills and beheld the massive Minamo waterfall and the other, lesser waterfalls.

Up ahead loomed the mammoth Minamo Academy that sat perched on the biggest waterfall, encased in protective blue bubbles of mana.

And the seemingly infinite army of blue and white Phyrexians that stood between the coalition and the besieged school.

Murmurs of anger, fear, and dismay swept through the coalition, and Mizuki felt her heart drop. Whatever the size of the coalition, there must have been four Phyrexians for every warrior! And they all turned to face the coalition and began marching for a counter-attack, totally fearless and inexorable.

The coalition accelerated as its warriors raced forth to meet the tremendous Phyrexian army. Near the coalition's middle, Mizuki rode with Azrael and Ayano on either side, and she felt like a leaf being tossed into a storm. Like Morrel used to say... angels watch over us!

Especially since the rocky ground began to shudder and shake, and then several metallic wurms emerged, all roaring in the open air. Three, four, five, six...

One had been a serious problem. But this?

Mizuki felt faint. Dammit... how are we supposed to do this?!

She steeled herself. Keep going and find out.

*o*o*o*o*

Radiah Albazan stood atop one wurmcoil siege engine's head as the two hundred-foot-long beast fully emerged and reared its head like a spiny steel cobra. Her pale blonde hair fluttered in the damp wind, her bony porcelain staff held in her gloved right hand. Her black leather armor insulated her from the chilly, damp air of the waterfalls. She smiled broadly.

As I thought! The defenders of Kamigawa saved me the trouble of hunting them down. That's right, people, try and take your school back. Now I've got you all in one place.

She watched as her army launched its opening assault. Phyrexian samurai, cyborg war hounds, horrors, golems, and mechanical hulks traded blows a thousand times over as the Minamo Waterfall continued to thunder on and spray water over the battlefield.

Tidy solutions were always Radiah's favorite.