DUST AND THE SWEEPER

Chapter 10 - Cassius

"That's crazy talk," Blinx denies. "You're my buddy, Dust. Cassius is just anotha' part o' ya. Not the whole body."

"I was," says the assassin. "Without that child's side, this body is mine now. All it took was a simple rewind to bring me back in physical form."

"Is that even possible…?"

"It is from the looks of it," Ahrah answers. "If what I've gathered is true, that means Benito's grip over the Big Crystal allowed him to rewind Dust's memories to a time long before he became who he is. Cassius was older than Jin, so memories predating his may have been accessed and reacquainted with current events."

"Very good, Ahrah. It's a pity I'll need to discard you along with the Time Sweeper. First, I will cut you both into pieces the same as the youngling who challenged me. Then, I will offer a quick death to the man who resurrected me."

The intercom pings and Benito hops online from his seat in the throne room. "Gee, I bring you back to your old self an' this is the thanks I get? Well have fun trying to catch me after you bump off goggles over there!"

"Benito…," Blinx grunts, "I ain't plannin' on lettin' him take ya down. I'll do it! Soon as this mook's done here, you're next!"

Shocked at such claims, the tyrant's chuckle quickly turns to a fit of hysterical laughter! "AHAHAAAA, Blinx! If you really wanted to kill me, you could've done it when I stole your girl all those years ago! Unless you pull the trigger on your friend there, you can kiss this mission goodbye."

Blinx looks to Cassius, whose already preparing a swing, motioning his new blade leaving two lines of fire on the floor like a hunter issuing a challenge to its prey.

"Please Cassius," Blinx quietly pleads. "I ain't exactly well-versed in spiritual stuff like Granddad an' Ahrah here, but I know Dust's memories are yours too. You took down your ol' boss even when he tried to bring you back to his side. You met so many good people like Fidget an' yo' girl Haley. That's something the whole anti-lizard war couldn't give ya. Why don't we at least take out porkchop togetha' like pals? Besides, ya like me, dot'cha?"

For a moment, the assassin pauses and bows his head. "I do. Which is a shame I have to deliver you to the gates of Elysium, or wherever your kind goes. You, as well Fidget and the Underground, have been wonderful allies. However, you're also the very same people who have held this part of me back from doing what must be done. Disposing of that wretched abomination of a species who've dictated everything we've done in our lives…! Such kindness can no longer be permitted. I will continue Gaius' quest. And with all these resources your kind has provided, nothing will stop me from finishing it."

Stunned, speechless, and conflicted, Blinx feels sandwiched between trying to save his friend and kill the part of him that helped make him who he is. He isn't even certain who Dust is anymore, not even if the man he was partnered with all this time ever had these thoughts in the back of his mind. If so, he thinks, Dust, or in this case Jin, are truly remarkable heroes. Whatever happens next, either way, Blinx will have to fight for them. At the ready with Ahrah held tightly in his grip, he sighs…

"Well at least I know where the stubbornness came from."

SWOOSH

Blinx unleashes a whirlwind so powerful that it blows back Cassius until he reaches the large window behind him! Before he can crash through, the strong currents pull him and his sword forward, struggling to keep hold of the ancient blade. From a few darts for his surroundings to the ceiling, one good flame wave melts the hinges of the chandelier bringing it down when Blinx takes notice and hops backward before it crashes onto him! His wind gush from Ahrah pushes the structure toward the assassin, only for him to slice it in half on his way to perform a direct chop, which Blinx guards against! Each heavy swing forces the Time Sweeper back until he's back first on the statue of Benito. Cassius' next slice with enough speed to completely sever the stone nearly connects to Blinx's ears when he ducks and trips the assassin. Again, Ahrah blasts him with a full brunt of storm force air pinning him against the floor! However, they're interrupted when the statue begins sliding forward, almost crushing the lot when they roll out the way! The dust from the broken stone makes it hard for Blinx to even see where he is until he puts his goggles on just when Cassius comes swinging at him with flames spreading around him! He leads him back into a narrow corridor where each slash breaks the electronics along the walls, including the lights. Once outside on the catwalks, Blinx swerves from against the guard rails to the walls, then hops over a flame wave, then another to the side, carefully walking backward toward the elevator behind him. He trips as Cassius comes close to slicing his head off, held back by the legendary sword locking with the other.

"What feels worse, Blinx," Cassius asks. "That you have to kill one of your closest friends, or that he wasn't your friend to begin with?"

To answer his question, Blinx kicks him in the stomach away. He crawls into the lift, reaching Ahrah forward to press the down button. However, as they descend, Cassius sabotages the elevator, melting the magnets holding it together. The more it goes down, the more the struts come apart like celery. Blinx can easily feel the structural integrity loosening. So he tears open the doors and jumps out onto the next catwalk while the lift's still at a steady pace. After a few glances, he keeps his pace to a different area, only for Cassius arrive, melting through the platforms above to slam down to his floor, bashing the Time Sweeper in the nose with an elbow flipping him against the surface! While dazed, Ahrah takes control over his movements to guard against the flurry of attacks coming at them at full speed! With three strokes, he carves out a makeshift slope under Blinx's footing, sliding him down to the next level onto his face where worker Tom Toms are startled and scurry into the rooms.

"Ouch," Blinx yipes! He's almost pinned between the metal grating and Dust's foot when he comes down. The two of them are forced in the middle of the gap as the first catwalk collapses under its own weight. Then another. Then several more until they form a stack snapping off the hinges on the walls, all while Cassius continues to swipe at Blinx in their descent! As they freefall deep into the tower, they notice Aegis' core at the very bottom beginning to reactivate. The path down there gets narrower the further they get, allowing Blinx to grind between his boots on the thick cables leading to the brain. Cassius follows him, barely avoiding the walkways crashing around them!

Just beneath the battle overhearing the commotion, the Time Sweepers accompanying Cinolook up and find Blinx struggling against the brainwashed Mithrarin as he continues to summon flame after flame to burn him, whirled back by Ahrah. One of the grates smashes next to the soldiers as Cino gets Aegis to reactivate with a surge.

"Guys…Dust…was brainwashed," Blinx yells as he ducks, bobs, and weaves from each flame wave!

"I'm about to start a power surge," Cino announces. "Get ready!"

With the press of a button, backup power underneath the tower kicks into high gear, lighting up the rods from the bottom to the top of the core of the facility! Seeing all the wall panels folding and flickering at once, Blinx leaps off the main processor, followed by Dust jumping onto the walkway neighboring the Time Sweepers. Knowing he's being manipulated, Aniki uses non-lethal means to stun him, firing his cannon with very minimal force to at the very least blow off Fafnir. Yet every shot is deflected and an inferno is sent the Cat-Sith's way! Blinx, meanwhile, had barely caught onto a loose cable that snaps off. Luckily, he lands gut first on one of the wires, which also comes apart and swings him deep into the lower levels under the huge machine until there is pitch blackness.

He's flung off onto the floors where he drops Ahrah and takes a moment to recover, barely lifting himself from such a landing. The floor tile he rests on lights up when enough pressure is applied, giving him just enough vision to grab the sword in front of him next to the corpse of the Time Hunter, mangled and bloodied in his own crater. Suddenly, all the lights flash around him, including those far above him to the upper levels. In Benito's throne room, doubling as a control center for the Tom Tom Gang, the computers begin to flicker and the Big Crystal, the star-shaped mineral behind their leader's chair, is electrocuted and cracked! Parts surrounding it break down instantly from the surge!

"What was that," barks Benito.

"There's been a power surge from the central processing chamber," says one of the workers. "We can't get a connection to the Big Crystal without Aegis."

"Those kitties aren't slick. We'll handle 'em the ol' fashioned way."

He flicks a switch in the arm of his chair, descending down a lift with shifting walls and arms to bring him safely down to the core of the building. Cassius is forced back toward the elevator where he jumps down in his hunt for Blinx while the Time Sweepers who attempted to stun him have their attention pulled to Benito. Wordlessly, he brings his head down to aim the crystal shard in his crown, sending a pulse wave that instantly freezes everyone in the vicinity besides Cino, still operating at the controls!

"YOU," the engineer shouts as he pulls his gun and shoots at Benito's head, only for it to get frozen from another wave along with himself! Cockily, the tyrant gets out of his seat to look at Cino face to face.

"Looks like God was on your side too, huh," he chuckles. "Just another mistake comin' back to haunt me."

Just then, he's grabbed tightly by the throat from the one he mocks who faked his pause and tells him, "You got that right, boss!"

He punches his former leader in the dome where the shard rests, cracking it and sending a shockwave that unpauses all the Time Sweepers and missiles headed toward the wall! Cino keeps punching Benito in the face against his chair when he presses the up switch to send the two of them back to his office! The engineer flies upward from the velocity of the lift, then plops onto his stomach before the crowd of Tom toms staring down at him in confusion.

"Well don't just stare at 'im," Benito orders. "Kick the traitor's…"

But just when he's about to order execution, the door to the control room bursts open where Picaro, Lena, Chron, and NecoJi are marching out! They set their weapons to stun, knocking out all the men as soon as they unholster their weapons! Cino of course gets back on his feet to deliver another blow to Benito's chest until they're both locked in an evenly matched fistfight! They wail at each other before the so-called "traitor" is rewound to his starting position on the floor. Luckily, Picaro had cocked his launcher arm, shooting right at the pig, who casually tilts his head to the side dodging the shot.

"Heh. Great shootin'," he says with a smirk. But at that moment, he overhears a loud crack behind his shoulder. The Big Crystal's been breached with a bright shining glow now emanating from the chink in the material! While he's distracted, Lena bolts to him and speed kicks his side, sending him straight into his prized possession, shattering it to huge pieces! Even bigger than the power surge, the destruction of the Big Crystal sends a time wave so massive that it breaches the outside of the tower and across the valley! Past the city walls toward Half and Half Village, the vibrant colors of the spike give the civilians outside something pretty to look at. While further towards Aurora, the animals all look up at once and the birds are startled.

Eventually, in the main town, the Elder drops his staff and his jaw, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily as the memories flood back to him. The memories of Cat-Sith appearing on the planet before and him battling an ancient creature alongside them and the Chief Executive, who at the time was relatively young. Corbin's nearby taking notice of the old man hyperventilating and asks him, "You ok, Grandpa?"

"…Y-yes," the Moonblood nods then smiles. "Yes, just…startled from the show in the sky."

Benito barely recovers from getting knocked into the crystal that hard, but he's not giving up. His shard is still active and he uses it to pause everyone in the room while attempting to rewind the Big Crystal back in place. But it doesn't work this time. He grabs whatever pieces of it he can before getting back in his chair and descending, making sure to shut the hatch while he's at it. Thankfully, the people in the control room don't stay frozen now that his gadgets are fried.

"Blinx's in trouble," says Cino. "Benito must've rewinded him to when he was an assassin."

"WHAT," Lena shouts in disbelief!

"He went in the shaft beneath Central Processing. We'll find 'em there."

Looking around the pitch dark chamber, Blinx gets his bearings with each lit step from the pressure plates. Somewhere far beside the tubes at the center though rests his Sweeper, still intact and putting weight on the floor pad in perfect view.

"Your Sweeper seems to be intact," says Ahrah.

"Let's hope it's got enough juice to…"

CLANG

Somewhere above the Cat-Sith and the sword is Cassius lurking about in the shadows. They hear him landing somewhere, but there's no indication as to his precise location. The Sweeper is perfectly reachable, however. If Blinx can just sprint for it without stopping, or at the very least not deviate from a straight path, he can grab it and use it to revert Dust to his proper self. He knows it'd be much easier since the pacemaker within the Mithrarin was modeled after a Sweeper. Perfectly functional. "Only way to find out," he thinks to himself.

Listening out with Ahrah held tight, making sure not to shake or make noise with his breath, Blinx takes a few measly steps forward; each tap causing a light to shine not only helping him see but also signaling Cassius to his exact position. Luckily, Blinx knows the same will happen to him too. Even though he can easily sprint for it in a few seconds, this takes ages for him to get halfway with him needing to stop every few moments to monitor his surroundings. All is quiet apart from the hydraulics used for the plates, adding to his signal.

At that moment, a flurry of fire comes breezing past him! He doesn't know which direction it came from, but it was so close he knew Cassius had to be near him. Frozen, he listens again, then abruptly, he swings Ahrah behind him! A loud CLANK between swords echoes across the room, and the assassin strikes a few times before he leaps back into the dark. Blinx, not even thinking, sways a gust of wind his way, smashing the platforms but not hitting Cassius in time! Again, he freezes, then after a few moments continues onward. Every now and again, the light from Fafnir taunts the Time Sweeper from a distance, and each step on the plates keeps informing the assassin where he is. The least he can do is keep moving and pray he isn't caught. Once he's close enough, he can use a whirlwind to drag the Sweeper with a strong current.

"You can't fix what isn't broken, Blinx," the hidden Warmblood taunts.

Multiple waves of fire come hurdling around the Cat-Sith as Cassius comes from out the darkness into the circle to attack him! He twirls his blade around in a disorienting way, striking only when it seems Blinx is unfocused, but he's still paying attention. Every time either of them bring in a slash, they lock swords. Each one leaves a spark from the ancient metals clanging until Blinx can't stall any longer. With one huge swing, Ahrah unleashes a storm around them that blows away the flames and shatters the platforms, leaving them in absolute darkness the rest of the way He pushes Cassius back into total blackness to make his way to his gear. Unable to see but hear his steps, the assassin channels as many fire bursts from where he was standing; some of which successfully landing near him to light the path. Luckily, Blinx's memory serves him well. He quickly makes it to his Sweeper, strapping Ahrah on his back, then turning a hard 180 to pause Dust on his way to chopping him in half!

"YES," Blinx shouts as he leaves his friend stuck in mid-air. He prepares to rewind time, targeting only the Warmblood to ensure he's physically and mentally whole. But nothing happens. Not even going forward helps as it only inches Cassius further to kill him.

"No…," he moans.

"I don't understand," says Ahrah. "Why can't you revert him? Unless…"

"Unless it's cause he's already rewinded!"

Unfrozen, Cassius finishes his chopping motion but misses on the way down! He nearly singes Blinx's stomach when he swipes at him with Fafnir, but the Time Sweeper kicks him back in the chest!

"Like I said. You can't fix what isn't broken," he barks with a smirk.

"Ok. Can't rewind him since he's Cassius," Blinx ponders. "Can't fast forward cause he'll just move fasta'. Dere's gotta be some spiritual mumbo jumbo, or…"

At a quick glance, it seems there's no way of stopping the Warmblood when he notices his chest cavity is partly open from the kick. Then it dawns on him. "The Pacemaker…," which itself is a Sweeper battery, like a memory card. As outlandish as it sounds to him, if Blinx can reset or disable it somehow, surely it would work to bring his friend back to normal. Or at least he hopes it will.

With no other options, he keeps swinging to tire the Mithrarin out, whilst the chamber floor is set ablaze by the fires of Fafnir! At this point, not only does the Cat-Sith need to concentrate on guarding from the attacks, but now he has to avoid stepping in the flames. Everything rides on his and Ahrah's synergy. They send the broken tiles Cassius' way with a flurry of wind, yet the firestorm he creates melts them! Seeing the loose cable still hanging by a thread above him, Blinx tosses Ahrah to sever it and drop it on Cassius, but he sees it and leaps to the side! Switching to his Sweeper, the incoming debris from the crash is vacuumed and launched at the assassin, yet even with a good number of hits landing and damaging his armor, he doesn't stop. Indeed, when Jin fought this warrior, it was a great feat to overcome, only strengthened now that Cassius is using augmentations.

[REACTIVATING MAIN GENERATORS]

All of a sudden, the room begins transforming around the duo, rotating the wall panels and shifting the floor panels. Every step becomes a lopsided mess as Blinx ties to get to better ground, reaching a raising platform while Cassius chases after him! They're taken to a deeper end of the facility where the mechanics of the station continue to stretch, bend, rotate, and fold as if Aegis' brain is regaining its thoughts. Some Tom Tom guards nearby at the control stations witness the changing environment and the two duelists duking it out on a sliding floor panel. Close to them, one of the pistons nearly comes to slam into them, forcing Blinx to slow down time itself to avoid the connection. He ducks and weaves through several rods coming his direction, then steps over a pipe while everything is slowed down, reaching another conveyor. He resumes time itself expecting Cassius not to follow him, yet even with everything moving at a regular pace, somehow, the assassin avoids all the machinery, leaping, flipping, and bending over each piece until he reaches Blinx!

After a few quick swings with Ahrah for the legs, Blinx kicks Cassius in the chest again, further loosening the plating around it! He attempts another strike at him while he's stunned, but his leg gets grabbed and he's swung back-first against a girder beside them! The Time Sweeper collapses to the floor, barely able to move from the pain in his spine. As if mocking him, the Warmblood kicks him off into the catwalk underneath them. He follows swiftly to keep toying with him, not content with finishing him off with Fafnir. He lifts the cat by the shoulders, slamming his head into the wall, then the metal railing of the walkway, then tossing him further in front of him! Blinx almost loses Ahrah with such a drop, though he thankfully uses his Sweeper to rewind him back in his grasp. And just in time as Cassius comes inches away from chopping him, blocked by the Cat-Sith's saber mod. He backs up, slowly standing up as they come close to the large window at the end of the room. With a roar, Cassius leaps and comes down to lunge into him when Blinx swerves to the side and bats him in the neck with his Sweeper, sending him through the glass to go flying outside!

"OH NO," Blinx screams, rewinding time so that Dust and the window are rewinded back in place. In those precious seconds, however, he forgets his friend is trying to kill him, giving the assassin enough time to snatch Ahrah from Blinx's back and wind push him out instead!

"AAAAAAGH," he yells as he falls out the gigantic tower! Luckily, he's just close enough to the slanted roof at the side of the building to slide and keep himself steady by digging his saber in the metal! Seeing him down there only annoys Cassius, who starts sending more flame ways his way to whack him off or burn him alive! While held, Ahrah attempts to resist Dust's commands and force his way into his mind to piece him back together, but the killer is so fixated on Blinx that the sword can't fully communicate.

"Ahrah, can't ya resist him," Blinx asks loudly.

"I cannot! This is still the body of the Mithrarin!"

Cassius forces himself out after the Time Sweeper, sliding down to smack him off with his boot, but misses. They both soon go falling down the roof against their backs; the assassin constantly trying to slash at the Cat-Sith with two swords while Blinx keeps his guard up with his saber! Once they reach the end, it'll be game over for both of them. Fortunately, as luck would have it, there's a sky roof towards the edge of the slope! Blinx braces himself and readys his Sweeper saber to crash into it; both him and Cassius bursting into a lounge with a few more guards vacating their desk when the two smash down! Everyone but them retreats, and the Time Sweeper tries to get up from the sheer dizziness of it all, only to get lifted by the tail and slung into the cabinet!

"Take pride in your final moments knowing you're the bravest and most challenging opponent I've ever faced, Time Sweeper."

One wind burst from Ahrah throws Blinx across the room, slamming so hard into the metal door that he dents it!

"It's amusing. For someone so small, you have accomplished more than the General in such a short span. He so eagerly thought we were family. And yet he was too stupid to see, I only took pity on him and let him succeed so he could be rid of those reptiles."

Blinx tries to get back up, but he can't. His spine is in so much pain he can no longer bear to stand. Cassius takes a swing at him, which his partner blocks, yet he holds it at a bad angle. The clock where the main batter is hidden is chipped and pulled apart, then struck again as the capacitors starts leaking and cause a small fire from the tip of the Elysian blade. He pats his arms and rolls to his side trying to put out the flames when he notices the crystal from his weapon is out; just barely keeping the saber mod online.

"I enjoyed this exchange while it lasted, Blinx," Cassius gloats. "But I'm afraid this is where it ends. Truly, you've been a great friend. You've upgraded my body and told me there's an entire universe out there worth exploring. For this reason, I grant you a quick death."

He raises the hilts of both Ahrah and Fafnir with the wind sword unable to will itself free.

"BLINX," cries the blade!

"Die well, Time Sweeper!"

And with one final motion of both blades, Dust comes inches away from murdering his own friend when Blinx, out of desperation, without thinking, grabs the crystal with his tail and lunges it deep into Cassius' chest! The assassin drops his swords and screams out in horror and agony as electricity begins to burst from his augmentations! He rips out the crystal, tearing open his chest, exposing the broken pacemaker inside! And after leaking enough blood and getting shocked so much his new eye goes from warm green to black, the battery explodes blowing him away from Blinx into the rubble behind him! His hat splits in half, and his helmet breaks apart when it crashes to the ground!

Quickly, Blinx forgets his pain from the attack and scurries to his friend's aid, hooking the remains of his Sweeper into the nodes of the pacemaker.

"Oh no, I didn't mean all this, Dust," Blinx panics. "Com'on! Get up!"

He starts up the gadget like a power box to jumpstart the Mithrarin's heart. No luck the first time but he keeps upping the settings to be sure.

"Com'on, com'on Dust," he mutters with a tear. "You've gotta be in there, man! Think what Fidget would say if she knew you were dead for real this time! Haley needs ya! Ginger would think she's lost ya again! Please!"

Still no answer. Not even Ahrah is responding, but he gives Blinx an idea. The Time Sweeper wires the sword with a separate cable, then starts the process all over again. The divine energies of the blade emit an aura that flow into Dust's cavity, yet still no pulse. In just an hour, the Cat-Sith not only fended against the darkness within what could be considered a brother from another world, but it seems he's killed him too. With tears in his eyes, perhaps for the first time in his life, Blinx sets his head on Dust's mangled chest as one final goodbye...

Cough Cough

The Mithrarin coughs, barely opening his eyes. The Sweeper stops working and Ahrah gravitates back up. To Blinx's surprise, he's pat on the back and greeted by a smirk.

"And I thought crying wasn't in your vocabulary," Dust says.

"DUST," Blinx cheers, hugging him tightly!

"OK. You can loosen up a little. I'm in a lotta pain right now."

The Time Sweeper wipes his tears and helps the wolf up. "Phew… That was a close one. Ya had me goin' for a sec."

"It seems destiny is still on your side after all," Ahrah says as he rests on Dust's back.

"I remember all my thoughts going backward and then nothing," Dust exclaims holding his wounds and barely standing straight. "Benito tried to rewind me. How'd you even stop me?"

"Dumb luck," Blinx shrugs. "I was more worried if you'd even survive. I thought I could fast-forward or rewind ya, an' Ahrah tried to get in yer head, an' we just couldn't…"

"You're crying again."

"No I ain't…," he sniffs. "These are manly tears. I'm just real happy you're back someh-OW!"

Blinx nearly collapses to his knees trying to hold his back.

"I guess Cassius really had you going for a ride, huh," Dust smirks kneeling to the Cat-Sith.

"Cassius is a piece'a work. You'd know that. Half'a you literally is him."

"Doesn't feel like it anymore. In fact, I feel better, apart from my exposed ribcage."

"…You do…?"

"I see," Ahrah ponders. "It seems Benito hadn't just reversed Dust to a previous stage in his life. He has somehow disabled Jin's soul to allow the assassin's to take hold. Your final strike may have, in technical terms, shut him down."

"Is that even possible," Blinx asks.

"Well it happened," Dust answers. "I don't pretend to know how any of this works, but it sounds reasonable."

The dented door to the lounge opens where Picaro, Lena, and NecoJi enter, immediately stunned at the damages and the bloodied fighters before them. Lena herself bounces seeing how injured they are, quickly asking, "What the Hell happened here?!"

Blinx simply responds with, "If I tell ya now, you'd better grab some popcorn from that cabinet ova' dere."

"No time for that now," Picaro says. "Benito's escaping. We gotta find him."

"Princess," Cino calls from Lena's communicator. "Our guy's heading to the weapons factory! You can still make it if you hurry up!"

"Copy that," she nods. "Blinx, Dust, can you still…"

Right when she turns to face them, they've already left, somehow slipping by her and their allies with the remains of Blinx's Sweeper going with them.

"Oh yeah," NecoJi grins. "They're good."