Chapter 16
MDX-00001-"MECHA" Part 3
Miles jumped out of the way as the dragonslayer launched a wave of water from his mouth towards him. The chaos wielder tried to charge, but quickly ducked in order to avoid getting hit again.
"Blast it!" He thought as he dodged another attack. "This guy's fast...He can keep up with my moves and keep me in one spot...Can't even get near him..." Miles ducked under another blast and made a quick dash towards the wizard, but he jumped back before Miles could reach him, firing another blast, which Miles barely managed to dodge.
"Ugh! Get over here and fight me like a man!" He shouted before ducking under another blast.
"No way! It's funny watching you run around like a maniac! Teehee!" Max said with a giggle while a small vein popped on Miles's head. "You should've seen the look on your face! It was pri-" A sharp punch in the cheek sent the dragonslayer flying, knocking a hole through the wall. Max groaned as he got up from the debris and saw Miles, pissed off as heck and his hand glowing with chaos energy.
"Shut it water boy! I don't know what your beef is with me, but I don't have time for this! Either you take this seriously or I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!" Max pouted as he got on his feet, still clutching his now aching head.
"Owchie...Geez! You didn't need to hit me so hard..."
Have you ever been so angry that you wanted to beat the living snot out of the closest person to you?
"SHUT UP AND FIGHT ME ALREADY!" Max got up and dusted his clothes, glaring at the chaos wielder.
"Fine! I'll enjoy beating a big meanie like you into the ground!" His hands enveloped themselves in water. "I told you in the beginning I didn't want to fight...I was just gonna tire you out, but now you forced my hand!" Miles smirked as his chaos energy started glowing brighter.
"Still don't know why the heck you're doing this, but that's fine by me!" Both parties jumped towards each other. "I'm taking you down!"
Going to another section of the ruins, you could hear the sounds of splashing water and the sound of a sword sliding against the rocky surface. Unlike Miles and Max, these two warriors didn't waste anytime with chit-chat.
Tip and Leonidas were constantly trading blows as they fought. Many of the torches were out out thanks to the godslayer's water based attacks. The angel's sword came down and struck the godslayer's shoulder, but he was sent back by a blast of black water. Leonidas air dashed after him and hit him with an overhead kick, slamming him into the ground. Leonidas raised his hand and shouted "Water god's grand slam!" before slamming his fist into the angel's stomach, forming a small cloud of smoke.
The smirk on Leonidas's face was replaced with a bewildered look. On the floor was a rather large crater from his punch, but Tip wasn't there. Before he could react, a bolt of lightning hit his back and sent him into the wall. The godslayer recovered quickly, but was met with an onslaught of punches. Tip quickly stood on his hands and started spinning like a top, his feet repeatedly striking Leonidas in the face multiple times before landing one strong kick in his chin, sending him flying.
However, Leonidas's feet slipped on the floor and he slid to a halt. He dashed towards the angel, who had just gotten back onto his feet, so he didn't have anytime to react. Leonidas elbowed Tip in the jaw before grabbing the back of his head, slamming it into a nearby wall. Tip grunted and reacted by sending a kick to his face, making him topple back a bit before receiving a devastating punch to the stomach that sent him flying back. The godslayer skidded to a halt as Tip got back onto his feet, both panting heavily.
"Not bad for an angel…" Leonidas said, wiping a trail of saliva that slid down his mouth. Tip used his sword as a crutch while he glared at him. This young man who could control black water…the water only Poseidon should be able to harness. Tip had read a lot about these kind of people in Lady Palutena's study. And speaking from personal experience, Tip could see and feel why he deserved the title "godslayer".
"I could say the same about you…Not every day I get to meet a godslayer…" Leonidas stood upright, a bit confused. His expression morphed into an amused one as he chuckled.
"I shouldn't be too surprised…You are an angel after all. You'd have to know about the existence of godlayers." Tip dusted his tunic. "If I wasn't here to make you atone for your sins, this meeting would've probably been much more civilized than this…" The six winged angel raised an eyebrow, the grip on his blade still as tight as ever.
"You've been talking about my "sin" for a while now, but I don't remember doing anything to you..." The godslayer's amused look faltered.
"How stupid do you think I am boy?" Leonidas's voice raised, prompting the angel to take a step back. "I saw what you had done with my own two eyes...All that was left of it at least." Tip stood upright as Leonidas's water engulfed his hand again. "I shall cast judgement upon you boy...To avenge the death of all those who were slaughtered that day!"
?
"I'm sorry, but could you repeat that la-"
"Water god's howl!" A blast black water erupted from Leo's mouth, hitting Tip head on. The angel crashed into the wall, but he quickly recovered and rolled away to avoid getting hit again.
"Looks like this is just a misunderstanding...Too bad this Leonidas guy won't listen to me. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to make him!"
"Hold on dude! I don't wanna fight you!"
"Shut up and fight back already!"
"N-Whoa! Careful! Just let me explain!"
"SHUT UP AND FIGHT DAMMIT!"
Matthew dodged Orion's watery punch for what felt like the thousandth time that day. Orion was fast, wasting no time in trying to beat his opponent into a bloody pulp. Unfortunately, Matthew seemed to be able to dodge everything he's thrown at him so far. And to add insult to injury, Matthew hadn't even unsheathed his sword.
Needless to say, the whole thing pissed Orion off pretty well.
The mage roared as he tried to punch Matthew again, only or him to dodge and have him end up punching a hole in the wall. Orion tried to relentlessly attack the young king only to miss every time. Matthew ducked underneath a punch and rolled under his legs, running to try and get as far away from him as possible.
"Get back here!" The water mage cried as he chased after him. Matthew picked up his pace as Orion started lauching several water balls towards him. Now normally this wouldn't seem very dangerous, but one shot had completely turned a fallen stone on the ground into dust.
Let's just say that Matthew didn't even want to know what would happen if he got his by one of those.
"Will you calm down and listen to me?!" A blast of water flew above his head, narrowly missing. "Hey! Careful with those things! Look can't you-Ahh! Stop that!" Orion pounced towards the young king, trying to land another punch, which he missed.
"Get over here and fight like a real man!" He roared as he continued to chase after him. "You're gonna pay for what you did!" Matthew gulped as he ran deeper into the tunnel. Just what did he do? Was this about his…disappearance?
"Look dude, I don't know what you're even talking about! Can't you just calm down and-"
"Stop lying to me already!" Matthew flinched when another ball of water flew past his head. "I'm avenging everyone you took away from me that day! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Okay, know Matthew was really confused. Did his disappearance really kill that many people. Judging by all the times Deryk scolded him about it, he was pretty sure he would've mentioned something about that...
...Something wasn't adding up...
"Does this have anything to with...my title?"
"The hell are you talking about?!" Orion shouted, missing another punch.
"You know..Me...Who I a-Wahh!" Matthew slipped on the wet floor from one of Orion's water blast. Smirking at the opportunity, Orion pounced towards him and landed a strong punch in Matthew's stomach, knocking the air out of him. A magic circle appeared in front of the wizards mouth as he took a deep breath. Matthew recognized the move, but was still too incapacitated to react.
"Water griffin's song!" He shouted, releasing a current of raging water from his mouth. Matthew was blown back by at least twenty meters, crashing through one of the walls. "Listen here kid!" He yelled, chasing after him. The hole he made led to a large dark room, being supported by various pillars. The only source of light was the large skylight on the ceiling. Orion looked around, but he couldn't find Matthew...but he knew he couldn't have gone far. "I don't know what the heck you're talking about! I couldn't give a damn about what your flippin' title is, nor do I care!" He yelled, sniffing the air as he searched around. Picking up a familiar scent, the slayer smirked. "You know you can't from a griffin's nose, right? No creature has better senses..."
"Oh. So that's why that magic of his looks familiar." Matthew thought from his hiding place. A large pile of debris he conveniently found before Orion barged in. "Griffin Slayer Magic. It's even rarer then God Slayer Magic or even Demon Slayer Magic! Guess reading Master's old scroll finally paid off." A relieved sigh escaped his lips. "Well look on the bright side Matthew. This doesn't have anything to do with my "vacation"..." Matthew's eyes filled themselves with a new found determination as he watched Orion getting closer. "I still don't know why he wants to kill me though, but I do know he's blaming me for something. Time to find out what!" At the sound of running water, Matthew subconsciously gripped his saber.
"Found you, brat!" Orion shouted before taking a deep breath. "This time I'm finishing you of for good! Water gri-" A loud boom knocked the griffinslayer of his balance. Matthew blasted out of the debris with his blade in hand, and falling towards Orion at full speed. Before the slayer could react, Matthew drop kicked his head into the floor before jumping to a safe distance.
"Gonna take more than that to keep me down!" Matthew stated triumphantly. Orion, who still had his face buried in dirt, let out an animal like growl before looking up.
"So you decided to fight, huh?" Matthew held his firm grip on his sword while the mage slowly got up. "Well then, I guess it's time to get serious!" His hand and arms engulfed themselves in his water. Matthew took a step back. The sheer magical ability he was letting was overwhelming! "Look here kid-"
"Matthew." The white haired boy stated. "My name is Matthew." The mage rolled his eyes.
"Fine. Matthew. I don't know what the bloody heck you're title has to do with anything about this. What are you? "The destroyer of families"?" The young king blinked. Now he knew this wasn't about the thousand year hiatus.
"Uh~...No~. I'm the king of hearts." He replied. The griffinslayer let out a chuckle.
"How ironic. Someone with such a beautiful title commits something so horrid!" He spat.
"Hold it buddy!" Matthew said, finally having enough of his wordplay. "I don't know what the biscuits you're talking about! Stop speaking in riddles and give me a straight answer already! What did I do?!" Orion he was about to burst.
"You seriously don't remember?!" He roared, spooking Matthew a bit. "Fine then! Maybe this will jog your memory!"
"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR DESTROYING OUR GUILD!" Orion, Max and Leonidas all declared at the same time. All prompting the same question from their opponents.
"WHAT?!"
"You tricked them into thinking they destroyed their guild?!" He Leonard shouted after learning what his leader had done. Said leader had smirk on his face as he sat back on a chair, completely enjoying the man's exasperated expression.
"Don't be so surprised Leo. I've done much much worse in the past." He said, recalling many of the twisted lies he told before...He loved every single one of them. "Besides, if they succeed, I'll have one less headache to worry about."
"T-true..." The scientist mumbled...
!
""If they succeed", my lord?" Leonard asked. Though he immediately wished he didn't. The tyrant's face lost his smirk as glared at the scientist, who swallowed nervously. "I-I think I just swallowed my own tongue!"
"Unfortunately, while the Master Emerald is in my grasp, I'm afraid the wizards might not be able to beat them...Even if the guardian does decides to intervene." Terren said. Leonard tilted his head in confusion.
"Why wouldn't they win?" He asked. The tyrant sighed as he typed into the computer.
"Call it a hunch." He said. "I have a feeling that I made more enemies than allies today."
"Water griffin's metal talon!" Matthew ducked under Orion's punch, but the wizard was quick and struck him with another one at lightning fast speed. He elbowed Matthew's jaw before kicking him in the side of his head. Matthew flew back a bit, but he regained his balance and used his feet to come to a stop.
"Man this guy's tough! His punches feel like getting trampled by a rhinoceros!" The mage charged again, but Matthew was ready this time around. Matthew jumped over the punch the griffinslayer threw and kicked him in the jaw. Reaching the ground before the mage could regain his balance Matthew took his blade and let out a loud "Hiya!" As he slashed him with his sword. The mage was sent flying as Matthew smirked. "How you like that buddy?!" Then a horrible realization struck him. Matthew looked at his saber. The cut should have pierced the skin pretty deep, so he expected that the blade would have some blood on it...
But there was no blood.
Now that he thought about it, hadn't seen any blood since his fight with that Cerberus...The heck was going on?
"I'm not your buddy, pal!" Matthew's eyes widened as Orion re-surged out of nowhere and delivered a heavy punch in the kid's gut, knocking the air out of him and sending him into the air. "Water griffin's song!" He yelled releasing a current of water from his mouth. Matthew had no time to dodged and the attack hit him head on. Matthew was almost sent flying from the ceiling, but Orion ended his attack quickly to prepare another one of his punches. As Matthew fell down, a familiar voice ringed in his head.
"You seem to be in the middle of a predicament."
"Jo~y, you're back in my head. How nice." He thought sarcastically. "What happened to "fight win defeat your enemy" yadda yadda?"
"Water griffin's wing attack!" Orion yelled as he smashed his fists into Matthew's skull, launching him down into the floor and forming a rather large crater.
"My poor choice of words was because I was still rather dormant. The large amount of chaos energy here in the Mystic Ruins has slowly started to awaken me." The voice said as Matthew got up.
"Most people would be scared or even freak out about having a voice in their heads, but considering the fact that I've literally been in Hell, it doesn't really surprise me. You know I have no idea who or what you are, right?" Matthew replied as he jumped out of the way of another wing attack.
"I shall tell you my name after this battle. Which you should concentrate on winning."
"Thanks for the tip genius." Matthew charged towards Orion when he was preparing a griffin song and rammed his head in his stomach. The wizard lost his breath and clutched his stomach in pain, falling to his knees.
"Alright, time for a magic trick of my own!" Matthew yelled, readying his fist. It gained a light red glow, both from his crest and magic. "Red Burst!" He yelled. Orion looked up only in time to see Matthew's red fist collide with his face, sending him flying through the wall. Matthew panted as his hand lost its glow. "*Whew* I haven't used that one in years...Guess I'm getting rusty."
"Yes. You should consider training in mystic arts more often." The voice said. You know, now that Orion's water wasn't drowning it out, it sounded...feminine. "The thousand year gap has made a large rift in your magic capacity, which explains your immense fatigue."
"..."
"Matt-"
"Who are you and why do you sound like a girl?" He must have been going crazy because he was pretty sure that the voice had just face palmed, if that was possible.
"It's...complicated. Look Matthew, now's not the timw for this! Your battle's not over yet! Look!" Matthew saw that he/she was right. Orion was getting up from the rubble, growling as he fixed his jaw. "I believe you made him angry."
"Gee, ya think?!" Matthew yelled back as Orion started coming. "Look dude, you need to calm down. I never even got near your guild, much less destroyed it! Heck, I didn't even know it existed until now!" However, the mage wouldn't listen. He was too enraged to even process what he just said.
"You're dead..." The ground cracked underneath his feet when he stopped, water gushing out his hands and his eyes were practically bloodshot. "YOU'RE DEA-"
"CHAOS SPEAR!"
Orion's rage was cut off when something crashed through the wall and crashed into him. The impact sent him down to the floor. It wasn't chaos energy though, it was Max.
"The heck?" Matthew whispered as both slayers groaned. The young king looked at the hole formed from Max's entry and saw Miles.
He looked as pissed off as Orion.
"You little brat! Don't go accusing me for something I didn't do!" Matthew raised an eyebrow.
"Miles?" He asked, getting his attention.
"Matthew?" He asked back.
"You know it's not nice to lie to other people you know." Max said, getting up and waving a disapproving finger at him. "You should learn to tell the truth more often. It gets you in much less trouble." A large vein ticked on Miles's head.
"I didn't do-"
"Ma~x..." Orion growled as he got up. The dragonslayer ignored Miles for minute and smiled cheerily at him.
"Hi Or! How are you do-Aah!" He shouted as Orion put him in a headlock and violently gave him a noogie, surprising everyone.
"What the hell are you doing Max?! How can you just let the guy knock you around like that?! You let something like this happen again and I'll rip your spine out through your mouth!" Max, Matthew, Miles and even the voice shuddered at the mere thought of such a punishment.
"O-ow! I-Im sorry Or! Can you p-please stop! Owchie!" Matthew and Miles sweat dropped.
"Are they always like this?" Matthew asked no one in particular.
"From what I can deduce, yes." The voice replied. Miles turned away from the two bickering mages (Orion had somehow managed to put Max in a master lock now) and walked over to his teammate.
"Looks like you've had a lot on your plate too." He asked. The king nodded.
"Yeah. But by seeing how pissed of you looked, I'm pretty sure you had a harder time than me." Matthew deduced. Miles muttered something the king couldn't hear, but he didn't really care. "Well, that only leaves-" Another loud crash was heard, getting the attention of all four. In total, eight eyes (plus the voice) watched Tip and Leonidas roll in wrestling each other, landing blows left and right. The four sweat dropped as the godslayer and angel's serious battle turned into more of a comical anime wrestle.
"You idiot! I've only been off Skyworld for a few days! How could I destroy your guild?!"
"An angel who lies isn't worthy of such a holy position! Repent of your errors now!"
"Uh~ Guys?" Max said, making the two stop in mid-brawl. Realizing their embarrassing position, they both shuffled off of each other and rushed back to their respective groups.
"Well that was embarrassing. Way to make us look like kids Leo." Orion said, earning a glare from the godslayer.
"Says the guy who was wrestling his own teammate!" Matthew and Miles shouted at him. Tip joined and glared at the wizard trio.
"Looks like this whole thing was planned..." He said. Max heard him thanks to his dragon senses and smiled.
"Yep! We have Terren to thank for that!" He replied happily.
There was a brief moment of silence...before Leonidas smacked the back of the dragonslayer's head.
"TERREN?!"The hero trio shouted as they were finally putting two and two together. Matthew wasn't as surprised at the revelation, Orion had already told him technically, but now he realized just what Terren had really done.
"Well that cat's out of the bag..." Leonidas said blowing his hair out of his eyes.
"You morons!" Miles shouted, pointing at the three. "That backstabbing lowlife lied to you guys! We didn't do anything!" Orion crossed his arms.
"The guy took us to it's remains. We saw the entire place burned to ash." He stated.
"But we didn't do it!" Tip shouted
"Ri~ght. Like we're gonna believe that!" Max yelled. Matthew groaned as his teammates kept arguing with the water trio.
"This is getting us nowhere." He thought.
"It would appear that this is just one large misunderstanding..." The voice in Matthew's head said. "Matthew, did you feel anything whenever Orion would hit you? Like that time with Tip?" Matthew put a hand on his chin...Now that he thought about, every time Orion hit him, he could feel the pure rage and sadness he put in his punches, making them feel even more painful. "Exactly."
"Ah! Stop reading my mind before I even respond!" He heard a soft giggle in his mind. Apparently this "awesome entity" as he called it once wasn't all that serious.
"Come o~n. Can't a girl have a little fun?"
"So you are a girl!" The now recognized as female voice giggled before Matthew heard her sigh.
"*sigh* I'm kidding, calm down. But what I said still stands. Orion is too blinded by his emotions to comprehend what really happened." Matthew raised an eyebrow.
"I thought fighting with your emotions was a good thing..." He whispered.
"It isn't if you let your emotions cloud your judgment. That is the first requirement of being a warrior."
"Okay, that is it!" Orion shouted, getting Matthew and his team's attention. "We have had enough of this! We're settling this right now! Three-on-three!" He and his team readied themselves to fight. "You're all gonna pay! Ready boys?"
"I shall avenge my guild even if it costs me my life!" Leonidas said.
"We're gonna beat you 'til you're black and blue!" Max said, earning a confused glance from his comrades. "Wha~t? You guys stole all the cool pre-battle taunts..."
"Well in that case..." Matthew started as the hero trio stood their ground. "We're gonna have to knock some sense into you morons!"
"We may not be the most experienced team, but we're still more than enough to beat you!" Miles said, his hand glowing with chaos energy.
"May Palutena give us strength! We won't lose to anyone who sides with Biostar!" Tip said. Max pouted.
"Even they have cool taunts..." Orion smacked the back of Max's head.
"Focus Max." He said, earning a nod from the dragonslayer.
At that moment, time seemed to stand still for the two teams. Each with their weapons/magic ready to use. One could cut the tension in the air with a knife.
"Alright kid! Let's do this thing!"
"Time to get through to that thick skull of yours, griffinslayer!"
"Prepare for divine punishment angel!"
"I don't care if you are a godslayer! Prepare to face the light!"
"We'll show you what happens when you mess with the Fairy Wing guild! I'll make you slip before you run two feet!"
"I'd like to see you try! I'll run circles around you punks! Bring it on dragonboy!"
With that trade of insults, the brawl to end them all has finally begun.
But we'll get back to that in a bit.
*dodges tomato*
What? It's not the end of the chapter yet. Be happy jerks.
Within the mystic ruins, there are many grand monuments, many of which have marveled both archaeologists and scientists alike.
However, there is one that no amount of science can explain. One that has been blessed to float among the clouds and home of one of the greatest sources of energy of all time. Angel Island.
Home to the Master Emerald...
And it was Marcus's next target. The chained biker growled as he sliced the jungle branches with a machete. He had just pulled a "miraculous" recovery and had already requested to go on another mission...After having taken the perfected smash serum that is.
"Why is it always *slice* jungles?..." He growled as he made his way through the "over sized botanical garden" as he called it. "Why can't it ever be a nice long open road? Perfect for *slash* my bike...Heh. Angel Island my ass!"
After what felt like an eternity of cutting trees, a stone platform appeared in his line of sight. The biker smirked. He had finally reached the emerald altar.
And the Master Emerald.
"Score one for team Biostar!" He exclaimed as he made his way to the altar's stairs. "That stupid echidna couldn't even see through on lie! *pfft*"Wise and powerful sage"! Priceless" He cackled as he took his first few steps up the altar.
"Is my wisdom truly something to have so much doubt?"
Marcus stopped dead in his tracks. The word "crap" echoed in his head thousands of times before looking up. Standing at the top of the altar was a large red echidna, who towered tremendously over him. He looked young, but the scars on his face proved that he had seen his own fair share of battles. He wore a ceremonial cloak and was watching the biker with his black eyes. What really terrified Marcus though was the fact that he was sitting criss-crossed and still towered over him...and the fact that he was levitating three feet off the ground.
"P-Plato!" Marcus exclaimed taking a step back in shock. "What are you doing here?" His face quickly contorted into a forced smile, one that the echidna ignored.
"My job, guarding the Master Emerald." He said. His voice boom with the authority of a god. "Ever since your last visit, I've been consulting with the Master Emerald..."
Marcus gulped as the echidna stood up. Now Marcus had been stupid to challenge many things in the past, but challenging Plato? That was the same as having a death wish.
"...And I don't like what it's been telling me..." His hands erupted with dark blue chaos energy, making Marcus jump back in fear. "Did you really believe I was as gullible as my ancestors?!" He yelled, making the Master Emerald's energy lash out in a vortex of energy. Marcus took a few more steps back to avoid getting hit by the unstable energy. He knew that even with the smash serum, he didn't stand a chance against someone who was literally called "a god among man"!...Er...echidnas. Among echidnas.
"I-I..." Marcus tried his best to come up with a decent lie, but the sheer pressure of all that raw chaos energy was making him woozy.
"Now, leave my sight before I kill you where you stand!" He bellowed, making the energy flicker even more ferociously. "I MEAN NOW!" The energy practically erupted like a roaring volcano, knocking Marcus down. He quickly made his way back onto his feet and ran with his tail behind his legs. Seeing the threat to the Master Emerald run away screaming like a little girl, Plato, called off his chaos energy. A small smile was on his face. "Looks like my hunch was right...I hope it's not too late."
"Water god's howl!" Leonidas roared, managing to hit both Tip and Matthew. It was too early to celebrate thought, as Miles came up and rammed him in the gut, knocking the air out of him. Miles continued with a flurry of rapid punches, but was interrupted when Orion elbowed him in the face and kicked him away. Leo mouthed a quick thanks before Tip released a large burst of lightning from his blade, sending the two flying.
Matthew went after Orion, but Max appeared out of nowhere and tripped, making the young king land on his face. He laughed a bit at his expense, but was interrupted when Miles showed up and head-butted him. He helped Matthew up up and motioned to the dizzy dragonslayer.
"I'll handle this guy. You go and help Tip over there." Matthew nodded and ran towards the angel, who was being held in a master lock by Orion and was about to receive a pummeling from Leonidas. Miles watched as the young king kick him away. Before the chaos wielder could see more however, something rammed into his back, knocking the air out of him and elbowed the back of his said, sending him to the ground. The blur growled as he looked up from his spot on the ground. Max was standing over him, his hand covered in water and a not too pleased expression on his face. "You don't know when to give up, do you dragonboy?" Miles growled.
"Nope. And I'm darn proud of it!" Max stated before taking a deep breath. "Water dragon's-" The dragonslayer couldn't finish however. Miles charged up his chaos energy while he was still on the ground and jumped back up, upper cutting Max with chaos filled fist. Miles reacted quickly, head butting the slayer, sending him back a bit.
"I'm finishing this now kid!" Miles exclaimed, readying another punch. Unfortunately, Max recovered quicker than he expected, and the water dragonslayer ducked under his attack, proceeding to punch him in the face afterwards.
"Gonna take a lot more than that!" He replied, punching Miles's gut and knocking the air out of him. The dragonslayer brought his head back as Miles clutched his stomach in pain. "Water dragon's-" Miles looked up just in time...to receive a devastating head but to the nose. Compared to his, this one felt like getting hit by a tsunami. "Hammer!" Miles was sent flying back into one of the stone pillars, making a large crater on the pillar's surface. Miles groaned as he got up, clutching bleeding nose...
Wait a minute.
Touching his nose again, it felt fine. Well, it still hurt like hell, but it wasn't broken, nor was it bleeding.
However, he couldn't concentrate on the topic for that long. Max was already charging towards him at full speed. Miles ran towards him as well, but the chaos wielder had other plans. When the two got close to each other, Max swung a punch at him, but Miles slid under his legs and tripped him. Miles's hand glowed with energy and he grabbed the back of Max's shirt, pulling back up before slamming his hands into his back.
"Chaos pulse!" He yelled as a surge of chaos energy burst from his hands, sending Max flying. Miles ran after him, stopping briefly as Matthew and Tip ran passed, Orion and Leonidas following shortly after them in high pursuit. "Hope they know what they're doing..."
"We have no idea what we're doing, do we?" Tip asked as he ran alongside Matthew, dodging a ball of black water thrown by Leonidas.
"Nope!" The young king cheerfully replied as he jumped over one of Orion's water balls. "But I do have a plan. Tip, you're the one who's been fighting that godslayer until now, right?" The angel nodded. "Then you must know his moves better than I do."
"Not really..." Tip replied, glancing at the aqua trio. "Most slayers usually have the same moves..."
"Hey!" Orion shouted. "I heard that! And why must you always run away from me kid?!" As the two dodged another attack, an idea formed in Matthew's head. The king of hearts skidded to a halt, surprising both Tip and the slayers. What surprised Tip the most however was that his eyes had flashed purple for a split second.
"Then I guess you won't mind if I do this!" Matthew shouted, his hands starting to glow a bright blue color.
"What the?..." Tip muttered...It reminded him of when he fought Matthew.
"Blue Echo!" The king yelled before clapping his hands together, launching an earsplitting sound wave in the slayers direction. While the blast itself didn't push them back far. And for a second Leonidas and Orion didn't feel anything. That is until they started covering their ears and screaming in pain. To a normal human, the sound produced by Matthew's attack was pretty unbearable, but you could still survive it. Now for someone who has a heightened sense if hearing...Well, even Max was trying to block out the sound.
"My eardrums are blee~ding!" Max cried before getting punched by Miles.
"Gah!...Dammit kid!" Orion growled as he and Leonidas were still tending to their wounded ears.
"Goddess of light, grant me your power!" Leonidas opened one eye to see Tip raising his sword, lightning sparking out of it through all sides. His eyes widened, but the godslayer didn't have time to react. "Heavenly blade, Sword Beam!" Tip shouted before swinging his sword horizontally, launching a large arc of energy in the two slayers direction. Orion noticed it later than Leonidas let out an audible "Crap!" before he and Leo got hit by the blast, getting blown back as the attack sent them into a wall. Miles saw a golden opportunity and kicked Max in front of the blast, hitting him as well. And since water conducts electricity, it was a very pretty light show...Well, if you took out their screams of agony that is.
"Yes!" Miles shouted, pumping his fist into the air. The slayers groaned as they slumped together on the wall, nearly unconscious. "That was tight!" He yelled before running towards Tip, who was sheathing his blade. "Where'd you learn how to do that?!" He asked ecstatically. Tip chuckled as his friend hopped up and down in front of him.
"Calm down Miles!" He replied letting out a laugh. "I wouldn't even had managed to land that move if Matthew hadn't..." Tip trailed of. Miles followed his gaze to see Matthew, fallen on the floor.
"Matthew!" The both shouted before running to the fallen boy. They crouched down and Tip put him in his lap. "Matthew, are you alright!" The angel shouted in the king's ear, causing him to groan.
"Still alive...But I don't think I'll be able to hear for a while..." Tip pouted before dropping him onto the floor. Matthew let out an "oof!" as he made contact with the floor.
"Well excuse me for being worried..." Tip said as he got up. Matthew sat up straight and clutched his head. Maybe the girl voice in his head was right. He did need to practice magic. It was taking way too much out of him. Miles helped Matthew back onto his feet.
"So now what?" Miles asked. "We got no leads as to where R.O.B. is and I can't sense the emerald anymore." Matthew put a hand on his chin.
"Your right Miles..." He started. "Actually, given certain circumstances, I don't think the emerald was here at all."
"That would be safe to assume, since it appears that the enemy knew what we were after..." Tip said. "Question is: How?"
"I'm starting to think our "United Forces" aren't as united as we thought..." Miles muttered. "It was probably an inside job...We're gonna have to tell Octavio about this, along with the fact we fai-" A loud growl interrupted them. The trio turned to see Orion, using the wall to help him stay up. He glared at the trio, occasionally glancing at his unconscious comrades.
"He's still conscious?!" Matthew yelled.
"Griffins are known for their persistence when it comes to hunting." The voice said. "And apparently, you're his prey."
"You destroyed our guild...Humiliated my team...You're gonna pay..." The slayer wheezed. "You're all...gonna pay..." He tumbled forward, but managed to keep his balance.
"Dude!" Matthew yelled as Orion summoned his magic. "Do you seriously wanna keep fighting?! You can barely stand!"
"Look Orion, this has gone far enough." Tip started. "We had nothing to do with destroying your guild, but I can bet you Terren did." The griffinslayer shook his head.
"Stop lying to me! You took away my family! My friends! Everything!" He bellowed. Matthew felt part of him die when he noticed the tears in his eyes.
"The heart of a warrior can be a dangerous thing Matthew." The voice said. "Never forget that. The day you do is the day you are no longer worthy of the title "king of hearts"."
"I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY!" Orion cried before charging towards the trio. Miles and Tip dodged his punches easily, but when he tried to hit Matthew...he took the blow. It seemed as if time had stopped for the king after that. He just stood. Orion's punch wasn't enough to send him back, so it just stayed at his cheek...
And then he felt it.
That small twinge of sadness mixed with hatred. Agony mixed with rage. This was Orion's heart. His soul.
Matthew gently grabbed his hand and pulled him off, surprising everyone. He calmly walked passed the griffinslayer, who was still staring at him, completely flabbergasted.
"Believe what you want Orion." He started. "But know this: We didn't have anything to do with your guild getting destroyed. Nor would I ever do something like that. And if you keep holding a grudge like that, it will eat you from inside...And I may not have known anyone there, but I doubt they would want to see like this."
"Shut up shut up shut up!" Orion screamed, panting heavily. "How dare you speak that way to me! I'll kill you! Do you here me?! I'll-"
It all happened in a flash. Orion's enraged expression had become a shocked one as he fell down to the floor, unconscious. The hero trio looked up to the tall red echidna who stood behind Orion's body. His right hand burned with bright yellow chaos energy. Apparently he had preformed some kind of chaos ability to knock Orion out. The trio took out their weapons, cautious of the large and menacing echidna. He chuckled as he called of his chaos energy.
"Calm yourselves...I am a friend, not a foe." He said. The trio lowered their weapons, but still stared at the echidna indifferently. "My name is Plato. I am the guardian of Angel Island." Miles took a step back, which did not go unnoticed by the guardian. "I suppose you're well aware of our ancestor's friendship, correct?" Miles's friends watched him nod.
"You must be Knuckles's descendant..." He whispered. Plato smiled as Miles started walking towards him. The echidna ruffled his hair when he came near.
"It's an honor to meet you, descendant of Sonic. My grandfather would tell me many stories of the blue blur...Although..," He trailed off, crossing his arms and tilting his head in confusion. "You're not what I expected." Miles could hear Matthew snicker...only to get smacked in the head by Tip.
"I-I know..." Miles replied, rubbing the back of his head. "It's complicated..."
"No need to explain my boy." Plato said before walking towards his team. "Besides, I'm not here to talk..." He put a hand behind his back. Matthew and Tip subconsciously grabbed their weapons, but were confused when they saw him take out a computer component...
Shaped like a heart.
"The heart chip!" The two cried out. Miles quickly dashed next to them to see for himself. They were right. It was a small red component that seemed about the size of a normal human heart. What's more is that it was in perfect condition! "Where'd you get this?!" Matthew asked.
"I found it inside a robot that I found a few days ago. To my surprise, the Master Emerald told me to take care of it until I met this young boy over here." He replied, pointing to Matthew. The king of hearts tilted his head.
"Me?" He asked. "Why?" The echidna pointed to the boy's right hand. More specifically, the crest on it. "Oh."
"Hold on…." Tip started. "The Master Emerald told you to take care of it?" The echidna let out a laugh before patting the angel's shoulder.
"Just as you have the gods and goddesses to consult and speak too, I have the Master Emerald." A melancholic smile formed on Plato's face. "Many people might not know this, but the Master Emerald is a completely sentient being...It's had its fair share of laughs and heartaches." He seemed lost all of a sudden, staring into space. Matthew faked a cough, getting the guardian's attention.
"So uh~ Plato, was it? If you're the guardian, what are you doing all the way out here?" He asked. Plato only closed his eyes and smiled.
"'Tis one of the many abilities I learned from my mentor, chaos duplication. A very advanced technique." Miles appeared in front of him almost instantly.
"You can do that?!" He asked, eyes sparkling with excitement. "Can you teach me how?!" Plato laughed before patting the boy in the back.
"All in good time er..."
"Miles."
"Miles...I've heard that name somewhere."He shrugged it of before pointing to the large skylight above them. "But that's not important right now. You all have a mission to accomplish." Miles nodded, before remembering about an unconscious trio of wizards.
"What about them?" He asked, gesturing to Orion's unconscious body. "We can't just leave them here..."
"Not to worry." Plato answered, slumping Orion over his shoulder with ease. "I'll take care of them until they wake up. And I'll tell them the truth. The real truth." The chaos wielder nodded, a small glint in his eyes showed that he had hope for something else.
"And the Chaos Emerald?" Plato only frowned, more than enough explanation for the heroes.
"Well fifty/fifty is better than nothing I guess..." Matthew muttered as he took out his communicator. "Hey Octavio! You mind beaming us back? Come on Miles." The blur nodded before going next to his team. "Thanks Plato. Take care of them, okay?" The guardian smiled.
"Caring for those who tried to kill you...You truly are the king of hearts." Matthew scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now." He said before walking to the other two fallen wizards. "I suppose I can keep them near the altar for now. I wonder how they'll adjust to this time period…"
!
"Wait WHAT?!" Matthew shouted before a bright flash of light began enveloping him and his team. "What? No! Not yet! Plato! What did you mean by-" And with that, they were gone. The guardian sighed as he slumped the unconscious dragonslayer next to Orion. Maybe he should've kept his mouth shut…
At the Brazilian HQ, if one would pass by the female dormitory, they would here the soft sound of a young girl crying.
Siren wiped her eyes for what felt like the billionth time today. How long has it been since she woke, she had no idea. All that she remembered was a small talk she had with a certain angel...
She bit her lip to try and stop herself from crying, but alas, no avail. She just couldn't believe it...She had spent the last few years of her life in a living hellhole and the only person who ever had mercy on her, the only person who even tried to help her was...was...
She buried her face in her pillow, no longer being able to hold in her tears. Why? Why did Lucaria of all people get caught? It just wasn't fair! And knowing Biostar...She's probably...dead already.
Siren cried even harder into her pillow. "*hiccup* It's just not fair..."
"Hate to break it too you, but life's not fair." Siren raised her head. Her puffy red eyes widened at the source of the voice. Deryk leaned on the door to her room with arms crossed. His head was lowered and his eyes were closed, almost as if he was in deep thought.
"It's you..." Siren whispered. "That kid from before..." Deryk opened one eye to look at her.
"Judging by your current emotional state," He started. "I take it someone's already told you the bad news..." Siren lowered her head, tears already forming in her eyes. "There's no need to cry Siren."
"I'm not *hiccup* crying..." She stated, her voice failing her terribly. "And how do you know my name?"
"I was on that mission too in case you've forgotten." He said. "Though I believe you aren't familiar with mine. You can call me Deryk." Siren glared at him little before sighing in frustration.
"Is that all you have to say?" She spat. Deryk could practically the venom in her words, though it didn't seem to effect him in any way. Deryk met her gaze with a glare, one that frightened Siren a lot more than she would expect. "W-what is it?" The heck? She was stuttering?! It was just a kid! Why was she feeling so terrified?!
"Do you really think you're the only one who misses her?" He asked. And like that, all that fear went away. She tilted her head, confused. "Before she was transferred to G.U.N., Lucaria was a field agent here. One of the bests actually. When I started out, she was much like a mentor to me..." Deryk avoided eye contact with Siren, but he could tell she looked sorry for him. "She would always try and treat me as if I was her son...I'll admit, while I didn't always enjoy it...I guess I can say she's the closest thing to a mother I had."
"Deryk..." Siren whispered.
"She's still alive." He stated boldly, catching Siren by complete surprise. "I guess you can call it a hunch...but I have a feeling we'll meet her again. Soon." Siren didn't know if he was making this up just to try and make her feel better or not. But there was something about the way he said...Something that made her believe him. "So stop crying. You'll meet her again soon enough." He walked out the door, but not without hearing Siren whisper:
"Thank you..."
"...this time period..." Matthew blinked. He was back at the base...Before Plato could answer his question. Looking around, he noticed Tip and Miles had already run towards Octavio's lab. He sighed in frustration before running after them. "Hey! Hold up!"
Octavio put the finishing touches on MECHA's arms before tightening the screw on his joint one last time. He tapped the robot's shoulder with an approving smile. "Good as new MECHA! You won't be leaking oil anytime soon." MECHA nodded, his face completely devoid of emotion.
"Thank you." He replied with his emotionless expression. Octavio had an uneasy smile. It was kinda weird being thank by someone who technically couldn't "feel" appreciation, but it's the thought that counts he guessed.
"Professor!" Tip's voice cried out, getting both Octavio and MECHA's attention. Him and Miles busted through the doors, panting heavily as they stopped in front of him. Ovtavio smiled at the two boys. "Professor! We got the heart chip!" The angel handed the component to the good doctor. Who examined it with a solemn look on his face. Both Miles and Tip gulped. Was it damaged? Was even the heart chip? Thankfully Their worries were lifted when Octavio laughed.
"Perfect condition and completely compatible with MECHA!" He said, taping the component. "You've all done a great job." At this point, Matthew had finaly managed to catch up and made his way yo the group.
"Thanks for waiting for me..." He grumbled, earning sheepish looks from his friends.
"And what about the Chaos Emerald?" None of the makeshift team dared to look at him. Matthew scratched the back of his head, Tip thought the floor looked very interesting all of a sudden and Miles looked away, whistling the Green Hill Zone theme. Octavio sighed. That was more than enough explanation for him. "Oh well... At least now we can officialy make MECHA a smasher. MECHA, can you lay down on that table and shut down for a bit?" The robot nodded before proceeding to the table. Octavio turned to smile at the trio.
"So this is it?" Tip asked, earning a confused look from his friends. "You teamed us up for one mission. Now we're gonna go on our own, right?" The two other members of the makeshift team opened their mouth to say something, but realized he was right.
"That's sucks..." Miles started, kicking the floor lightly. "I had fun fighting with you guys..."
"While it was a short amount of time," Tip started. "It was quite the experience."
"It was a pretty cool adventure." Matthew said, putting a hand on his chin. "What do you think voicey?"
"Sol." Matthew raised an eyebrow. "My name. Amaterasu Sol. But please, just call me Sol." Matthew smiled. "Go ahead. I already know what you're idea is anyway."
"Well, why don't we make our own team?" Matthew said, earning a surpissed stare from everyone. "Come on guys, we had a great time together and we all make a great team. I'd bet we'd get the jobs done a lot faster if we work together more often." Tip and Octavio pondered on the thought for a minute.
"You don't have to ask me twice!" Miles said, dashing to Matthew's side. "I'm in!" Matthew looked at Tip who had his eyes closed in thought. He opened both with a smile on his face.
"Oh, why not? If it means more eventful days like this, I'm game." He said. The trio looked at Octavio, who still looked a bit indifferent about the thought. So the three gave him the most deadly and secret weapon known to man, the puppy-dog face.
"...*sigh*If you all insist. Very well." The trio cheered, which made Octavio smile. "So what are you guys going to call yourselves." Miles was going to open his mouth, but the other two stopped him, a worried look on their faces.
"Actually Doc...we have to tell you something." Matthew started. The doctor raised an eyebrow. "You see, I think Terren knew what we were going to do." Octavio did a double take. If had been drinking something, he would've spit it out by now. "The way he ambushed us with these three slayers (Don't ask. I'll explain later.) was way to carefully planed to be a coincidence."
"We think there may be a double agent here at the HQ." Octavio paled. A double agent? Here?! Terren was known for dirty tricks, but this?! "We didn't mean to alarm you..."
"No. You boys did a good job." He said, motioning them to go. "Go ahead and take the rest of the day off. You deserve it." Tip and Miles mouthed there thanks and left, but Matthew stayed behind. "Matthew, is something wrong?" The boy nodded. "Well, what is it"
"Well, you see, we met the guardian at the ruins..." Matthew said, earning a chuckle from the professor.
"Oh, so you've met Plato. He's a bit neutral on sides, especially if it involves the Master Emera-"
"And then he mentioned something...About those slayers...How they would have to adjust to this time period." The doctor's glasses fell off. He stared at Matthew for a second, his face completely pale. "Do you know what he meant?" The professor stared at him for a few minutes before sighing.
"I suppose I would have to have told you sooner or later." Matthew stared at him confused for a second. "Matthew...
You weren't the only one who came from the past."
Deryk stared at the contents of the folder thousands of times. Images from all the previous king of hearts before Matthew and quite literally a universal encyclopedia about him. But when Deryk saw a certain folder that was marked by Biostar, his eyes widened. He read and re-read the contents for what felt like hundreds of times, but he couldn't understand what it meant.
"Just what's so important about the summer solstice?"
"Heart chip installation complete! MECHA joins the battle for earth!