As one, Jet and Ruby ran at the unarmed Dennis, scythes outstretched. Ruby struck first, firing a bullet from her scythe to gain momentum and swinging towards the right. Dennis evaded the deadly metal blade but was slashed by Jet in return, who caused a blazing slash across his aura-covered chest from the other side. The two attacked in tandem, Dennis blocking one only for the other to hit him.
The pair swirled around him in dark shadows, no doubt of Jet's semblance, neither being hit by Dennis' wild kicks into the abyss. Ruby emerged from the shadows and struck once, twice, three times. Dennis blocked all three and punched the small girl in the chest quickly, causing her to fall back into the dark tornado surrounding him. He turned just in time to get knocked flying by a red laser blast from Jet, who stood behind him, palm outstretched.
Dennis leaped back, but his two opponents kept up the pressure, preventing him from catching even a breath. A fireball from Jet that he took with his aura to duck a swipe from Ruby, then leaped out of a whirlwind of steel from Jet only to be hit from behind from Ruby, god knows how she got there so quickly.
He managed to escape and ran back a bit, thankfully they didn't pursue him. Dennis watched as Jet and Ruby stopped and turned towards him. They had barely taken any damage at all, even the solid blow he'd dealt Ruby only amounting to 5% of her aura. Jet was down to 70%, though Dennis knew that was due to self-inflicted damage more than anything Dennis had done.
He felt his own aura struggling weakly, and the 5% indicator meant that even with his experience, these two far out-classed him now. This was insane.
Jet caught his breath even as Ruby stood next to him, both watching their opponent started to glow with a similar red light to Jet when he was in peril. Jet let out a gasp. Of course!
"Ah shoot." Jet cursed, as the glow increased in both brightness and power.
"What?" Ruby asked, turning to look at him.
"Remember how I gain armour when my aura's low?" Jet replied, as Dennis' form within the light began to grow. "That seems to be a common trend here. Most people, they fight unarmed, until their aura is low, then they transform, restore their aura, and that's the true fight."
"Transform?" Ruby asked, worried, as the form of Dennis began to grow. Horns appeared on its head.
"Be careful. This is how I got so strong, because most of my early fights were with these guys." Jet warned. They watched as the light faded, revealing Dennis in a truly demonic form.
His crimson skin pulsed with strength behind bronze, wickedly spiked armour. Dennis hair had grown to tattered locks which flowed loosely around two bone white horns that had burst from his skull. His eyes were now a blood red colour, and he grinned as he brandished a sword with a blade the length of Crescent Rose. He now stood at twice the height of Jet, and truly looked intimidating.
The demon bull-rushed Jet with alarming speed, slamming into him and forcing him to shield it even as Ruby dodged out of the way. She twirled Crescent Rose and slammed into Dennis, connecting with him multiple times, though his aura blocked all of them as he continued raining blow after blow on the dazed Jet, his incredible defences truly being put to the test. Ruby realized that she was useless against this enemy!
"Ruby, MOVE!" Jet yelled, and Ruby knew what was coming. She dived out of the way as his Red Pulse blasted Dennis away, knocking him flat on his back. Looking up, Ruby saw their opponent rise and look at her, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jet rise out of the corner of her eye and meet her gaze. He quickly signalled for her to come to him, and she obeyed, using her semblance to dodge past Dennis.
'We have to use Danse Macabre. That's the best way to beat him.' Ruby heard in her head. She nodded, watching as Dennis turned around. She felt Midnight Rose near her feet, and braced herself. Whilst she hated that feeling of dark power, sometimes it was necessary to obtain victory for the forces of good. Even to the point of self-sacrifice.
Ruby stepped onto the blade and prepared to spin as she was lifted up. She was at one with Jet. Ready to unleash a power beyond normality.
"Try this, Dennis! Final Phase!" Jet yelled, and Ruby saw the familiar tornado formed around them. "Danse Macabre!"
The shadows emanated outwards as they spun, Ruby hearing a yell that only meant Dennis had been hit by the attack. As soon as they died down, Ruby looked for their opponent.
He hadn't taken a single point of damage.
"Try again, pipsqueaks!" he roared, smashing both of them with one long sweep of his sword. Ruby and Jet were sent flying, both slamming painfully against the wall. Ruby watched her aura go down to 50%, while Jet neared critical at 5%. She got up, but then saw Jet struggling to rise. This was a problem. How was she going to beat Dennis without Jet? Ruby really wanted to give Jet the win, but she knew her attacks did nothing for Jet.
She had to figure out a way to revitalise or heal him. But there was no… way?
An idea formed in Ruby's head, and she gulped visibly once she realised what it entailed. She whispered in Jet's ear as he stared Dennis down.
"Jet, use Dark Ultimatum." she whispered.
"What?!" Jet hissed back. "Ruby, I will not sacrifice you!"
"I'm useless against this guy." Ruby muttered. "Besides, I'd give you more than my aura if it meant we could finally win the whole thing. Remember what I said last night? Let me help you more, Jet!"
She meant that statement.
"On your wish be it. I'll trust you." Jet said sadly, as Ruby stood in front of him, ready for his strike.
"You two lovebirds stop twitterin' yet?" Dennis asked. "C'mon Jet, let's dance."
"I will. But first, I need to end my girlfriend's suffering at the hands of this combat." Jet replied, and Ruby watched his shadow raise the scythe. "Dark Ultimatum!"
Ruby felt the slash across her back. Almost instantly, she collapsed in agony as the pain set her nerves alight in a cold fire. She curled up into a ball as it slowly died down, but looked up to see her own aura having been eliminated, and Jet's being restored to full.
She watched with grim satisfaction as Dennis stood there, speechless.
"Now fall!" Jet roared as he ran at the giant, who raised his sword uncertainly. With a radiating aura, Jet swung Midnight Rose, whose laser blade crashed through the aura protecting him, striking one, two, three, four, five blows in a brutal combination of slashes, stabs and swipes with his scythe.
His opponent, though twice his size, fell back under the powerful assault, his aura plummeting. He did his best to block the lightning quick attacks made by Jet, but where he made one movement to block with his giant sword, Jet made three attacks, Midnight Rose making trails and flashes through the air when the blade connected.
Considering it had only been yesterday that his arm had been injured, Ruby wondered if Jet was feeling any pain because of it. She finally stood up, the pain diminishing bit by bit, her aura slowly returning after having been drained by Dark Ultimatum.
Ruby saw Dennis' aura drop harshly again, and marvelled at the strength she'd given to Jet. She was still feeling a harsh sting, but she was able to stand now. She noticed that Jet's aura was plummeting towards zero as she did so, but she didn't panic. Dennis had already transformed, Jet hadn't. This match was as good as theirs.
"Now for what you expected me to do before!" Jet yelled, putting distance between himself and his opponent before surrounding himself in shadows for the second time. "Come forth, Jet Black Phantom!"
The Dharc armour materialised with a flash that dispelled the shadows around it, and Jet immediately fired off a hailstorm of icy blasts from the dust crystals behind him, providing an impossible-to-dodge blizzard that froze Dennis in place. For all the giant's strength, he couldn't break free, and a second blast knocked his weapon from his hand.
He could only watch as Jet strode towards him and raised Astro Reaper, before he was hit so hard that his legs were smashed out of the icy locks Jet had placed on him. His aura finally spent, Dennis began to shrink as his skin resumed its normal colour. Jet turned and walked back to Ruby as the man behind him smoked from the blow he had dealt. He bent low, still in his armour, and whispered in her ear as he passed.
"He never stood a chance against us. Such is the power of the Roses of Darkness."
He said us. Even though Ruby hadn't participated much in the main part of the fight.
It truly showed how much Jet valued her presence.