Chapter 23 - Balance of Souls
"We're getting close."
"We've been close for the past few days. It's not getting us anywhere."
"We're not to engage." – Fusion Six cut him off. "Only to observe and report. What I meant, was, that we're getting too close. He might notice us."
"Yeah, well, considering who's been following us to get to him, we're the least of his concerns. And that's another thing." – Fusion Doyle answered. "You did notice who's been following us, right?"
"I'm not an idiot." – Fusion Six gave somewhat of a non-answer.
"Well, you didn't say anything about it, so I was wondering. We aren't doing anything about that?"
"Our orders don't concern him."
"And his orders were to stay by Fuse's side."
"Our orders don't concern Fusion Demongo." – Fusion Six firmly repeated.
"You think he's after Demongo?" – Fusion Doyle speculated. Though, Six did not respond. However, having worked together for the entirety of their existence, they were pretty in tune, and Doyle didn't need a verbal response to know Six's silence meant a yes. "So we're following Demongo, and Fusion Demongo's following us… yet, he's not doing anything, either. What do you think he's waiting for?"
"Likely for Demongo to make his move."
"And what if we get caught in the middle?" – Fusion Doyle asked. Six did not respond. He probably didn't know what to do either, Fusion Doyle assumed, and silence was his way of showing it.
"A big ol' Demongo sandwich. Fusion Tetrax would have loved to see this…" – Fusion Doyle mumbled.
Focus, he told himself. Remember how she explained it to you.
Naver, without breaking his stance, let go of the Aerial Slicer, holding it up in the air with his force of mind instead. The gust of energy was now all around the sword, holding it up, but that wouldn't do. He willed the power to shape itself around the sword's hilt, like a fist, gripping the blade tightly. He made the force swing the blade, and his telekinesis did just that, striking the tree in front of him, but it barely did any damage a real slice would do. The force of the strike recoiled and reflected back at Naver's brain. Something was off. The blade was just moving sideways, no real force of impact there. He called it back to himself and gripped it with his real hand, then did the same motion without using the telekinesis. Yep, it was definitely different. The sword got wedged in the tree. He pulled it out and did it again, and again, trying to figure out why was it not the same. He paid close attention to the movement in his wrist, even though his arms were getting really tired.
That was it. The wrist. When he struck with the sword, he wasn't just swinging his arm around and letting the blade follow it, no. He was bending the wrist accordingly – that's where the real power of the slice was coming from. Alice was right. When you do something over and over again, your brain automatically does it without paying attention to the intricacies of the moment. Guess that's especially true when you don't even remember ever learning the action…
Naver let go of the sword again, this time immediately gripping the hilt with the telekinesis. For his wrist movements to translate to the mental energy, he'd have to use two types of telekinesis at the same time – one moving the sword sideways, and one turning it at the hilt. That was much harder, and for some reason, it still wasn't working. It was just too hard to make the slice from right to left while also pulling the tip of the hilt from left to right. Not that it was too hard to juggle different types of motion – if he concentrated, he could do it just fine – it was just that the hilt wasn't moving so easily. It was hard to pull the tip of the hilt against the weight of the entire rest of the sword.
He thought about how to move items more effectively, and recalled Shala's advice to apply physics to his swing. He considered what that would mean here… If he pulled the hilt from the tip, and pushed it at its its neck, therefore applying opposing forces at opposite ends and making it turn around more, that'd work better, right? It'd definitely emulate the sword slicing motion he was doing with his real hand. But that also meant that it was three different types of movement he'd have to be doing at the same time. So, he got to work.
Not only were his biceps and forearm tired from the physical swinging, jerking his hand around him in the air, he was getting mentally exhausted as well, and the back of his neck started getting stiff from straining his head too hard. He was also getting sweaty, and all of that was on top of the headache the overuse of the power was giving him.
However, on his sixth attempt, the sword sliced clean through the tree. Naver felt it – this time, he did it right, and it was probably even more powerful than a physical swing. The tree that he had sliced through started falling, right in the direction of the little yellow critter sitting there and watching Naver practice. Naver wanted to warn Cheese to get out of there, but there was no time, so he tried to catch the tree with the telekinesis – except he was too stressed out and it slipped through his projected fingers. Lars' death flashed through Naver's eyes as the tree fell on top of Cheese.
Naver dropped down to his knees. It happened again?! This time, not even under a Fusion attack? HE DID IT HIMSELF?
"Timbeeeeeeer!" – To Naver's desperate relief, Cheese yelled as he got up from under the leaves. If Naver hadn't already been on his knees, he'd have fallen on them again.
"Cheese?" – Naver asked.
"Yess-ah." – he obliviously responded.
"Never… scare me like that. Okay?"
"Okay." – Cheese said with zero thoughts in his mind. "Never scare Never."
"It's Naver."
"Naver scare Never." – Cheese corrected himself.
"Okay, whatever." – Naver sighed from the stress he had just gone through. "Let's just go." – he said as he summoned the hoverscooter again.
Alice looked around. "Third passageway to the right, then I'm gonna get to a crossroads. And from then on…" – she thought to herself. "…I'm gonna get out from the middle of a forked path and gotta turn back into the left branch." – Alice recalled as she took a turn to the right on her hoverboard.
She felt something. Was that a vibration just now? Impossible to tell for sure, since she was riding a stupid hoverboard. And she'd extend the window of possible attack if she kept going by foot. Anyway, would the hoverboard be attracting the Undertaker Worms? Alice hadn't figured out how they navigate, but sounds and vibrations were her best bet, and a hoverboard would definitely be sending ripples through the ground. If only she had a weapon besides the Sonic Smacker… because with this one, not only would she risk causing another cave-in on herself, it would probably attract even more worms…
She decided to go on foot for a distance. The pros outweighed the cons and at least she'd be able to tell if she was about to be under attack. Although, there was no need to worry. She had already gotten to the metal plating of Huntor's Nest that was visible from the caves, and she could even see the entrance wide open, awaiting her.
Reaching the safety of an otherwise cold and unwelcoming room could only be compared to slamming down into one's bed after pulling several all-nighters in a row. Alice had pulled one herself the night before, not being able to get a proper rest with Cheese around, but even before getting to something resembling a bed, just the feeling of safety and the opportunity to drop her guard was enough to let all the stress out.
"Well, well, well. Look who's decided to drop by." – she heard a familiar voice. Who else to welcome her here but Noah Nixon himself, Providence's youngest veteran, part-time superhero sidekick and one of her two best friends from the outpost?
"Heyyy!" – Alice yelled as they hugged each other. "Of course, you're still alive and kickin'. How are you? How have things been?" – she asked him.
"How did you think I would be when you had me abandoned and replaced by that other guy?" – Noah jokingly retorted. "Although, things have not been as exciting here as they have been with you. I mean, when you popped up when that airship was falling? I was at the edge of my seat."
"I was wondering if you were watching that." – Alice noted.
"Dude, half the outpost gathers in the control room when there's stuff going down. It's like, the only thing to do around here anymore." – Noah told her.
"So things are pretty quiet here?"
"Well, I wouldn't say we were lying on our backs doing nothing all this time. There's a Worm attack occasionally, and we do what we can to keep the Fireswamps and -Pits monster-free. Fortunately, there haven't been any casualties since you left. Good thing, considering everything."
"Yeah, you guys could use a break after what happened at the outpost." – Alice remembered.
"Hey, if deaths suddenly start spiking again, we'll know who to blame." – Noah joked.
"And just two minutes ago you were complaining about me neglecting you… make up your damn mind, already." – Alice told him as they both chuckled. "So where's Cindy? What has she been up to?" – she inquired as they headed into the base, with the exit door closing in behind them.
"Oh." - Noah flatly said. "You're gonna love this." - he told her while contorting his face into a wicked grin, leading her towards the medbay of the facility.
"Hey. Cheese?" - Naver asked. He had doubt in his voice because he was wondering if Cheese was even capable of small talk at all. Cheese, meanwhile, was sitting on the Naver's neck and shoulders and holding onto his hair as Naver rode the hoverscooter through some narrow and fragile terrain in the Firepits mountain pass.
"Hey Never." - Cheese replied in his usual manic and carefree tone. The fact that he even remembered his name (though, not exactly correctly) meant he was capable of communication, right?
"So, what have you been doing here in the Darklands? Do you even like it here?"
"I love it here. There's horsies, and bunnies, and kitties, and doggies, and… and Bloo, and Never."
Naver was touched.
"Whoa!" - Naver exclaimed as he had to slow the scooter down to pass through an extremely narrow road. A pit of deadly blazing fire awaited him down below, were he to fall.
"Guess we know why they call this place the Firepits, huh. Better go on foot from here, right, Cheese?"
"Yes-ah."
Naver hopped off the jetbike and Cheese even hopped off Naver, opting to go for a walk on his own.
"Now, be careful and don't fall off the cliff, okay, Cheese? Cause I'm not sure I'd be able to catch you if you fell."
"Okey." - Cheese told him, but the first thing he did when he got on the ground was pitter-patter his tiny yellow feet right to the edge of the cliff and bend over, looking down. Not that it wasn't an interesting sight – besides the burning chasms you could fall into to your doom, there were criss-crossing paths along the mountainside below them leading up and down various hills and plateaus.
"Cheese!" - Naver yelled. Cheese jumped on the spot, nearly falling off. "Cheese! You're gonna give me a heart attack! Come on. I can't trust you to walk on your own." - he scolded Cheese as he held his hand and the two of them walked along.
A young teenage boy, with no memories of who he might have been, holding hands with something resembling a feral yellow hobbit, crossing a volcanic mountain pass on an island filled with dinosaurs during an alien invasion… Only on Earth would you see sights like this. Even though the ridiculousness of the situation didn't escape Naver, it also felt somewhat… comforting? Maybe holding hands and having to take care of someone else himself was what he needed, after all this time of others taking care of him.
"Never."
"Yes, Cheese?"
"I want chocolate milk."
"I don't have any."
"Can I have some chocolate milk?" - Cheese tugged Naver's arm. "Please?" - he added, and tried his best to give a polite smile, which for Cheese resembled an insane grimace.
"But I don't have any with me! I don't even know if I can get any on this island!"
"But you gave me chocolate milk!" - Cheese protested.
"What?"
"You. Gave. Me. Chocolate! MILK!"
"I did no such thing!"
"Yuh-huh! You did! You did!" - Cheese insisted.
Naver wondered if "chocolate milk" was Cheese code for something else, like how "doggie" and "kitty" was reserved for Fusion Monsters. Shala had tried to give pass water off as chocolate milk once when he asked for it before, but Cheese spat it all out on Shala's face and knocked the bottle out of his hand when he tried that. So why was Cheese so sure that Naver had given him chocolate milk before?
Wait… before? Could it be?
"Uh… Cheese…" - Naver bent down on his level so that he'd make himself clearer. "When exactly did I give you chocolate milk?" - Naver suspiciously asked him.
"Um… yesterday?" - Cheese unsuredly told him. When he saw Naver's face, he realized he gave the wrong answer. "Day before yesterday?" – he tried again.
It was clear that Cheese didn't have a distinguished perception of time.
"Well, that's so great…" - Naver sighed as he stood back up. "First ever clue that I get on who I was and it had to be Cheese… I'm Naver getting it out of him…" - he told himself. "Oh, god. Now they got me doing these puns. But this could just have been more of Cheese's crazy rambling, right? I mean, how is it even possible that he's the only one that remembers meeting me?"
"Hi, kitty!" - Naver then heard Cheese yell while he was lost in thought. That might have been his usual gibberish, but Naver had known Cheese long enough to know that "kitty" was Cheese code for…
"Crap." - Naver thought to himself as the Stone Drake came charging right at him. He summoned the sword and got ready to dodge, but as he was still on the steep cliff, there was nowhere to go… in that split-second it took Naver to reorient himself around the environment, the Stone Drake had reached him and Cheese and was about to maul him… But it simply ran into him headfirst instead, causing both of them to fall off the cliff.
For a split-second, they were in freefall, and then… SLAM.
Naver immediately came to his senses. He wasn't burning to a crisp, so everything might still turn out okay. He sprang up on his feet and oriented himself, and at the same time, so did the monster.
They had landed on opposite ends of a plateau of around 15 feet in diameter, he had lost his sword, but on the bright side, Cheese didn't seem to have fallen over with them. At least he wouldn't have to worry for his safety at the moment. In fact, it was probably Cheese's imaginary energy influence that had confused the monster in the first place.
The monster took a step forward, but as it did so, the ground they were standing on started tilting. Their plateau was perched on top of a cliff that was a lot narrower than the actual plateau, to the point where it was balanced on top. And balance was what was the most important, or else they'd both fall into the pits of hell below them.
While Naver thought of what to do, the monster took a step back to restore the balance on the plateau. It seemed that even it understood. It was between it and Naver. Only one of them was walking off this rock alive.
The monster decided another approach as it turned around to the side and swung its spiked tail at Naver. Naver reflexively jumped up to dodge, but as his weight left the rock, the monster started overweighting it, and he landed just in time to restore the balance before the scales were tipped too far. Though, that didn't stop the monster from slashing again. This time, Naver dodged to the side. Realizing that Naver was now moving without upsetting the balance, just as it was, the Stone Drake kept attacking and attacking, hoping to tire Naver out or to catch him off-guard, but Naver was nimble enough to dodge all of them and even start thinking on what to do. What if he…
"G-gah!"
Just when he got comfortable enough, he fell out of breath and dodged slower than he was supposed to, so the monster's tail managed to snag his back. The gear he was wearing protected him from serious injury, but he knew some of the armor plating got torn off. And the tail spikes even grazed his neck, as Naver could feel blood trickling down his neck, across his throat and into his undershirt, making for an extremely uncomfortable feeling. But he had bigger things to worry about.
He remembered one of Shala's physics lessons where he mentioned that on a seesaw, the further away you are from the center, the more you weigh it down. That was probably the reason why the Stone Drake wasn't overweighing Naver and knocking their plateau over - it was closer to the middle while Naver was on the edge, so he wasn't enough to overweigh it. Naver considered turning around and trying to run with his psychokinetic steps towards safe ground, but as he was being bombarded by a flurry of tail whips, he couldn't concentrate, and so he didn't want to rely on this trick unless as a last resort, as this time, one misstep meant burning to a crisp.
However, he couldn't keep the deadly dance with the Stone Drake up forever, either. If only the sword hadn't been knocked out of his hand… He felt naked without it. He had gotten so used to it that now fighting unarmed felt like he had both of his hands tied behind his back.
He tried to move in as he dodged, but that proved to be hard. The monster's reflexes were quick, and even quicker when Naver got closer. He got slashed again, now in the arm, but ignored the pain and the bloody stream as he was mentally occupied with the cogs that started turning in his head.
Naver knew he had to switch his strategies. He still had one type of weapon up his sleeve - the next time the Stone Drake tried to attack, he caught its tail with his telekinetic force. Though, it was a hard catch, as he lost his footing and had to straighten his stance, and it almost slipped out during the moment of contact. It probably would've if the Stone Drake hadn't been caught by surprise.
The monster stared at him for a second, as if considering this new factor. Naver stared as he pondered if the Stone Drake really had the capacity to think and strategize at this level. The monster then decided to tug its tail to break free of the force gripping it. And it was successful! The mental tug-of-war worked so well that Naver stumbled forward, upsetting the balance of the boulder even more. Naver could hear rocks cracking and falling under him, slowly compromising the integrity of the entire structure. He immediately took the couple steps back to his original position.
Now, the monster was standing there still. Watching him. Why wasn't it attacking? Did it know that it could cause both of them to fall over? Was it trying to kill Naver while still trying to save itself? Did it even have a plan on how to do that? But as it was, it stood and waited. Naver used this opportunity to wipe the blood off the back of his neck, but now the blood was drying on his hand. The other hand was still dripping blood as well, and Naver wasn't sure how much could he afford to lose.
Naver had to figure out what to do. He had taken out Stone Drakes empty-handedly before, but that was when he could get up close and snap their stalagmite spikes off and use them as weapons. That was out of the question now, on this see-saw from hell. If only he had had his sword… he'd try to use the new tricks Alice had taught him to slice the Stone Drake up without even taking a single step and the battle would be over in a matter of seconds. Instead, he had to improvise.
In a desperate attempt, he picked up a rock and chucked it at the Stone Drake's eye. He knew that was definitely a long shot, and he was right. It didn't even hit its target, instead bouncing off the Drake's rocky scales instead. The Drake hissed at Naver menacingly.
Okay, at this point they were at a stalemate. Though, Naver was getting tired, and the Firepits heat was killing him. His muscles were getting sore, his back, neck and arm hurt, and he was still out of breath from having to dodge so many times. He couldn't keep this up forever, as both him and the Stone Drake had a mutual understanding that the monster's stamina would outlast his if it came to that.
He needed to distract the Stone Drake long enough for him to make it out of there with the telekinetic steps, or he had to find a way of getting rid of the Drake without falling off. Or, wait, what if it did fall off?
What if Naver toppled the balance, then ran to the half that'd get raised upwards to use it as a boost?
That's it. That's what he had to do. That could work, right? Well, it had to, because if it didn't…
The Stone Drake attacked with its tail once. And there Naver went, dodging all over again. Every time he had to suddenly change direction, the sweat that had been coming down his body in a stream sprayed away in waves of droplets into the distance, glistening in the radiating sun. Every time he tried to stop the tail with his telekinesis, the Stone Drake managed to squirm out or dodge it, adapting to this new battle strategy of his.
It all came down to this. There really was only one thing Naver could do. He charged at the Stone Drake directly, holding the tail off with his energy shove. As he did, their plateau started getting toppled over again, and this time, Naver had no intention of stopping. He'd run back and climb to the top as the ground became vertical, and then jump off. There was no turning back now. He turned around and…
"URGH!" - He felt something with sharp spikes around it pulling at his leg. He got snagged. So much for that idea. Now he'd definitely fall into the flaming pit and die before even getting to his mission's objective. He kicked the tail coiled around his leg, not giving up even in the face of an assured failure, but to no avail. But then…
"CANNONBALL!" – Cheese yelled as he jumped down, holding Naver's sword, which was twice as long as him, aiming right at the monster. The Stone Drake got impaled and stated convulsing to get Cheese off, and that bought Naver enough time to break free, pick up Cheese and the sword and with one, two, three, four steps, leaping through the air with only gusts of energy to support him, make his way to solid ground. He turned around and watched the rock that they were standing on, which looked even smaller from over there, topple over, dragging the Stone Drake into the depths of the Firepits with him.
"Phew!" – Naver exhaled. "Oh my god, that was intense." He was still sweaty, still out of breath, still bleeding in three places, but at least he made it out of the confrontation, and so did Cheese. Wait, did Cheese just save his life?
"Cheese?"
"Never?"
"Did you just do that?"
"Do what?"
"Jump at the, uh, bunny, with my sword?"
Cheese jumped up and grabbed Naver's face by the cheeks, forcing him to bend down to his level, and looked at him menacingly in the eyes.
"I'm Never now." – he said intensely, trying to intimidate him.
…
Naver couldn't help but break out in laughter at Cheese's ridiculous declaration. Cheese, even though he didn't get what Naver was laughing about, started laughing along with him. Though, thinking about what Cheese did, jumping into danger to save his life without even realize it, Naver stopped laughing (but Cheese didn't).
"Don't ever do that again." – Naver told Cheese as seriously as he could. Also, he had to physically suppress himself from saying "Naver do that again", and he hated himself for it.
"Okey."
Naver gave an exasperated sigh. Cheese was pretty much impossible to understand. At least he didn't get hurt during the fight. Now he had to tend to himself. He wanted to take a break to rest, but that'd give more monsters to fight him in this unfavorable terrain, so he kept moving forward.
"You think Huntor ever coughs up hairballs?" – Cindy asked Maison out of boredom. Maison remained silent, as she always did. Banter was the last thing on her mind.
"Yeah, probably not." – Cindy answered her own question after Maison's dead silence.
Just then, the door to the medbay opened. Both Cindy and Maison quickly stood up and got ready, expecting another injured Agent coming in. But it was, in fact, the last people they would have thought of.
"Well, hello, nurse!" – Alice exclaimed when she saw Cindy there, wearing Maison's spare medic uniform. "So it is true! I thought Noah was messing with me!"
"Wh… Alice?" – Cindy asked, shocked. "Oh, you're gonna NEED a nurse!" – she jokingly added as she hugged her friend. Noah followed her into the room.
"Hey, Cindy. Hey, Maison." – Alice told them as she hugged one after the other. "Feels like forever since I saw you guys."
"You're telling us." – Noah remarked.
"So." – Cindy said in a playful voice. "Where's Hot, Blonde and Brooding?" – she asked her, obviously talking about Jay.
"We, uh, had a disagreement about how to do things." – Alice awkwardly answered. She tried to be as vague as possible to stop Cindy from figuring out the details, which she wasn't keen on openly discussing.
"No. Way." – Cindy's jaw dropped. She looked at Noah to see if he was having the same reaction as she was, but Noah's face was completely unchanged. "Give me ALL the details. You two totally kissed at the very least, didn't you?" – she asked Alice. "You had to have. Noah told me you were not on any cameras for HOURS. That's when you did it, right? Wait, don't tell me that you two b-"
"Oh goddammit Cindy, seriously?" – Alice sighed. Of course she could figure all of that out from Alice just saying "disagreement about how to do things". She had a knack for reconstructing entire narratives into gossip like that. "How bored are you in here? I thought this place was under constant Worm attack?" – Alice remarked.
"True, but we've gotten away with minimal casualties lately." – Noah told her. Maison whimpered at that word. Alice gave Noah a weird look. "I mean injuries, not casualties. Goddammit." – he quickly corrected himself. "There have actually been no casualties, thankfully."
"Oh, by the way, who's in charge now that Calan's… not around anymore?" – Alice remembered to ask him. "Cause I have a message from Tetrax."
"Funny you should mention that." – Cindy said with a smirk. "Cause you're looking at him."
Alice turned back to Noah and sized him up and down. "No. Freakin'. Way." – she said in shock. "You?"
"Well, it's not just me. It's also, uh… Doyle."
"You guys put DOYLE in charge?"
"Doyle AND Noah." – Cindy reminded her.
"This place is doomed." – Alice commented.
CA-CLARSHSTSS.
The Frilled Fiend fell apart, all of its metal components crashing to the ground as the Fusion Matter got absorbed into Naver's NanoCom. That made number seventeen. Naver tried to look through the metal scraps, but Cheese dove into the pile first, grabbing one of the metal plates and slamming it against the rest of the scrap repeatedly.
"Cheese, you said you would stop." – Naver said in frustration as he had to once again lifted Cheese up with telekinesis and waved him away. He had gotten pretty good at it, having to do it over and over again. At this point he might as well carry Cheese around with him like that all the time. Not like Cheese minded it one bit.
"Not in this one, either." – Naver groaned. This Frilled Fiend didn't have the detail that Tetrax had described, either. He had to find more of them. At this point, Fuse would run out of Frilled Fiends. Well, at least he was killing monsters. Thinning out the Darklands horde. That always counts for something.
"Maybe if we go down to Forsaken Valley? But, Tetrax did tell me to stick to the ones in Dinosaur Pass." – Naver thought to himself. "Guess I'll just keep looking here." – he continued as he summoned Nano Eduardo to make use of his Radar.
"Buenos dias!" – the Nano joyfully said as it appeared.
"Hi, Ed!" – Cheese told him as he was floating upside down near them.
"Señor Cheese!" – Nano Eduardo yelled as he hid behind Naver.
"I like potatoes!" – Cheese yelled at him.
"I don't have the energy to keep up with these two anymore." – Naver thought as he looked at the NanoCom to see where the nearest monsters would be using Nano Eduardo's Radar ability.
"Whoa… That is a lot of them." – he noticed a bunch of them congregating in on one area. "At least I'll be taking out a bunch at the same time, but… why are so many of them in one spot? Something might be up. I guess I'll tell Alice about this later." – Naver decided as he headed that way.
"Okay, Cheese, you know the deal. Stay as far away as you can." – Naver instructed him. He had no idea if Cheese actually listened to him or not, but he hadn't interfered the last couple times, so he might have actually understood him. Sure, Cheese and his Imaginary Energy might be an asset in the fight, but it was still too unpredictable to rely on, and he didn't want to put Cheese in danger. Also, this would be good solo combat experience for him.
He left Cheese on the ground as he saw the congregation of Frilled Fiends from afar. He decided to go through with his original plan, but this time it wouldn't get him all the way there. Still, that was a start.
He snuck closer to the Frillo pack, staying close to the ground and going from tree to tree. As soon as he was up close, he climbed on the tree that he had been hiding behind, and got on the branch that was directly above the group of Fusion Monsters. Having a good look at them, he counted nine. No problem, he could take nine.
He positioned himself on the branch and jumped off with the sword in his hand. He struck the first one on his way down. That was one dead before his legs even touched the ground. He pulled the blade away from the remains of it and thrust it into the second Frillo before it even had the chance to process what was going on. Two down. The next one noticed him and flinched but went down before it could do anything.
That was all the element of surprise gave Naver. The other six had already gotten wise to him being there.
Naver threw his Aerial Slicer at the Frilled Fiend coming towards him, causing it to stagger back. Another tried attacking him from the side while he was unarmed, but he pushed it away using telekinesis and ran for the one that still had the Aerial Slicer wedged in it. The sword hadn't made its way all the way in and apparently missed the Monster's "vital spots". Naver jumped and kicked the sword's hilt that was sticking out to shove it deep inside and make it come out the other side, knocking the Frillo back and down. Another one for the count.
He pulled the sword out, just in time to barely avoid one of them sticking its head out toward him to try to bite him. Naver was about to strike while its neck was extended, but hesitated, as he remembered Tetrax instructing to leave their heads intact. The monster used this hesitation to attack Naver again before he had a chance to recover, and another one came close and attacked him too. Naver dodged again, barely keeping his balance as he had to constantly keep moving back. Then, something he hadn't been counting on happened – he tripped over a knocked-over tree. Crap, how the hell did he miss that? It was massive! He fell back and over the tree, landing on his side, but noticed something out of place.
Something that brought all those awful memories back.
A human hand was sticking out from under the NanoCom. A dead human hand.
Lars.
This was the same place he watched Lars die. For some reason, he was back here. For some reason, the Frilled Fiends decided to gather here. It couldn't have been a coincidence, right? Was this the work of a Fusion? Did a Fusion know he was going to come here? Poor Lars. He couldn't save him then, and now he was confidently saying he was about to take on nine Frilled Fiends at the same time? He had gotten overconfident and reckless.
But he couldn't think about that now. The Frilled Fiends were gonna maul him… Wait, what? They had jumped onto that tree, ready to pounce him, but they weren't making a move. Just like before, when Lars died. Or the Dark Horntails that wiped out the SACT research team at Dinosaur Graveyard.
Something was up with these monsters. Every time they had an opportunity to kill Naver, they hesitated. But they had no problem killing others. At this point, it was clearly intentional.
However, before he had to think of what this meant, he had to kill the monsters in front of him. Using their hesitation to his advantage, he should be able to make short work of them – but he, himself, hesitated as well.
He froze up again. Just like before. Like a deer in the headlights. He didn't do enough to save Lars, all those SACT researchers got killed by the Dark Horntails right in front of him, and during all the adventures with Shala he got away with by the skin of his teeth… Hell, Cheese had to come in and save him now from that Stone Drake in the Firepits. Why did he think he was good enough to take on 9 Frilled Fiends at once? He couldn't do anything! He couldn't even fight these two off!
And speaking of those Frilled Fiends, they had waited long enough, and slowly started prowling right towards him. The other three that Naver hadn't defeated were coming in from behind. He was surrounded by every side, and they'd come and take him away to some dark Fusion Lair somewhere… He couldn't take it anymore, all this feeling of awkwardness, unsureness, uselessness, he… He let it all out in a turbulent maelstrom of telekinetic force. It was enough to rip all five of the Frilled Fiends apart, but Naver didn't even notice it. In fact, it kept going long after the fight was over.
"WHOEVER'S BEEN FOLLOWING AND WATCHING ME, COME OUT RIGHT NOW! TELL ME, WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO BE?!" – Naver yelled with his voice cracking and tears clouding up his vision.
But no one showed up.
Frustrated, Naver got up. This outburst gave him another headache. He wanted to sit down on something to take a breather, but the only thing around was the knocked over tree, and no way was Naver going there again. Instead, he started looking through the scrapped remains of the Frilled Fiends, hoping that if they had what Tetrax told him to get, it was still intact. Suddenly, he heard rustling through the bushes, and for a second there, thought "if it kills me, it kills me", but it was just Cheese.
"Hi, Never."
"Oh. Hey, Cheese." – Naver sighed. He calmed down. He realized he didn't want Cheese seeing him like this. "Come on, let's go. After all that, still no wavelength recalibrator. Don't know what we'll say to Tetrax."
All around him, the jungle was brimming with energy. With essence. From the shortest blade of grass to the girthiest tree, their essence was all around him. Even the fossils had vague imprints of their life energy left, clinging onto mortal coil, having nowhere else to go. But none of that interested him. There were no warriors among them, other than those two… and he had his goals set elsewhere.
Demongo held up the ionic field scanner. An unusual sight to see a demon with advanced technology, but beggars can't be choosers, and he would gladly use any means to achieve his end. And so, he approached the clearing he was meant to go to as the grass and the leaves swayed back and forth on a quiet time of the day.
"Hehehehehe…" – Demongo chuckled to himself out of satisfaction. Not just the satisfaction of finding the placeholder, but also the satisfaction of knowing exactly where he was – and whose doing this might be. He stared right into the hollow of the nearest tree and winked.
"Umm… You guys?" – Agent Thompson remarked as he watched this happen on the camera, which happened to be positioned in that exact tree. Doyle spit out his drink.
"Go, get Noah!" – he immediately told Jon Winthrop.
"I'm getting everyone!" – Winthrop yelled as he ran out the door.
"Just go!"
"Looks like he's found something." – Fusion Six remarked from the bushes.
"You think now he'll lead us to what he's planning?" – Fusion Doyle asked.
"You think he's that stupid? He knows we're here."
"Well, why the hell hasn't he killed us already?"
"He obviously wants something from us. Stay quiet."
"Oh, why don't we go ahead and just ask him then?"
"Stay. Quiet." – Fusion Agent Six insisted.
As they were whispering, Demongo was looking in a different direction entirely. He noticed something, and chuckled.
"You should just come out already." – he called out to someone. Fusion Doyle was about to stand up from the bushes, but Fusion Six stopped him. To his surprise, a different figure entered the clearing – Fusion Demongo.
"So, you've finally decided to come and get me, then." – Demongo told his Fusion counterpart in his high-pitched voice.
"And you've dropped your façade with the humans." – the Fusion commented with the same timbre, though slightly gargled due to its Fusion nature.
"I found my alliance with them no longer useful. Be that as it may, they're preoccupied with other things. And you? Don't you have souls to steal? Or other orders from your false masstah?" – Demongo asked him. "I find it hard to believe he'd want you after me."
"You see right through me. Of course, to know your enemy, you must know thyself…" – Fusion Demongo laughed. "And finding you was simple, if you're wondering. All I had to do was follow those two, until I could sense your essence. But now, you have something I need."
"I'm the one that let those two follow me in the first place." – Demongo cackled. "But I do appreciate your presence. You got in my way before, and you shall do so again. I'd rather eliminate you here and now."
"Let us mince souls then, not words." – the Fusion challenged him, spreading his cape open to reveal the skullmail torso. He grabbed one by its eyes, and threw it onto the ground.
Through a flash of light appeared the figure of a teenage boy, kneeling down with his gun in his hand. He was wearing a Cannonbolt Suit, which was shattered at the center, revealing a grey-faded wound that must have been deadly. His skin was ashy and his eyes, obstructed by his brown hair, were glowing red. Slowly, he rose up as he pointed his Fusebreaker Hurricane to Demongo's challenger, a Providence Agent, who did the same.
"WHAT THE HELL!" – Doyle exclaimed in anger. "That bastard's using one of us like a pawn!"
"And he told us he stopped collecting souls." – Agent Kate Henshaw commented on behalf of all of SACT.
"Well, this is looking up to be a real entertaining event." – Huntor smirked as they all watched the fight unfold on the screens.
Demongo's and Fusion Demongo's captured souls kept shooting at each other, locked in a firefight. Both of the demons would also conjure and throw flames to their amusement while cackling wildly.
"You think of yourself as my match?" – Demongo shrieked.
"I've bested you once!" – Fusion Demongo boasted.
"And you squandered the power that you took from me!" – Demongo retorted.
The troops they had been using shot at each other and got turned back into essence, only to be reabsorbed and deployed on the battlefield once again. Demongo's human arsenal consisted almost entirely of Providence Agents, while Fusion Demongo had a varied assortment of different people that fell prey to Fusion Monsters. Though the firefight between the soldiers was heated, the puppet masters seemed to be completely unbothered as they hurled skulls forward by the bunch. And observers from all corners were forced to watch, not being able to tear their eyes away.
"Hey, I remember that guy! I'm the one who killed him!" – Fusion Doyle got nostalgic.
"He has a sword gash across his chest." – Fusion Six challenged his claim.
"Yeah, don't you remember the time I got your sword?"
Fusion Six didn't respond. That was how Fusion Doyle knew he had gotten him.
"That sick son of a bitch captured everyone from the goddamn outpost!" – Doyle yelled in anger as the Agents at Huntor's Nest watched their fallen brothers and sisters in arms walk around and shoot each other as meat puppets. "Someone needs to do something about him!"
"Me and Jay have been trying to catch him all this time!" – Alice told him.
"Yeah? And why the hell aren't you out there right now? And where is the other guy?" – Doyle asked her in a rude tone.
They heard someone make a gasp. Agent Trapezanidis pointed at the screen, his hand shaking. One of the souls Demongo had unleashed… was none other than Captain Calan himself.
Doyle slammed his fist on the keyboard. "Fuck this. I'm going out there and putting a bullet through his flaming head myself. Any of you with me?" – he asked the room.
"Dude, by the time you even get there, it will be long over!" – Noah pointed out.
"WELL WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT ME TO DO? LOOK AT HIM! THE MOMENT ALL OF THEM DIED, HE SWOOPED IN AND CAPTURED THEIR SOULS, INSTEAD OF LETTING THEM BE AT PEACE!" – Doyle spat out in rage. "LOOK! THERE'S RODRIGUEZ! JACKSON! MORRISON!"
"YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE MAD ABOUT IT!" – Noah yelled back. "But just yelling and acting on impulses isn't gonna help them, or anyone! Coping with the fact that not everyone's gonna make it is the first goddamn thing they teach you at Basic! And I know you weren't there, but you've been a badass bounty hunter half your life, so can you get your shit together and act like it?!" – Noah went off on Doyle.
"Whoa." – Doyle mumbled, impressed with Noah's sudden backbone.
"Holy shit… no, it can't be!" – someone pointed at the screens.
"CHEESE?!" – Agent Kate asked, shocked.
"Naver?" – Alice said as well.
Indeed, both Cheese and Naver were on the other side of the clearing, unbeknownst to everyone, watching this battle unfold. Naver had heard sounds from where he had fought those Frilled Fiends, and found two demons locked in mortal combat. He somehow was able to keep Cheese quiet while they watched, as well.
He knew he had to do something. He was right there. If he just went out and started brushing strokes with his sword, he might put an end to both of their madness, as well as let Jay's quest be over. But he knew both of them were extremely powerful, and their stolen souls seemed to know no limit. Still, he had to do something, with his telekinesis, maybe.
He was on the edge of his toes, ready to jump up and unleash a surprise attack at any moment, needing only a slight push to get going, but at the same time, his legs felt rooted to the spot, and he couldn't dare go out. However, he saw something that immediately made him lose all fighting spirit.
One of the fighters on the battlefield seemed familiar. He hesitated for a moment to remember who it even was, but of course he had to be there as well. Of course, they wouldn't let him rest in peace.
Lars. He was standing on the battlefield like all the other stolen souls, one of the few non-Providence Agents to fight on Demongo's side. And remembering his first failure in person shook Naver to his very core. It was horrible, what these two demons were doing to these people, having them fight each other to what seemed like their amusement, and Naver knew it was his duty to step in, but the failure he suffered through once was debilitating him of any action, as he was scared he'd fail Lars again. And it was not just Lars, Demongo had also captured the souls of the SACT Agents at Dinosaur Pass, Naver's next failure. And so, he remained hidden, unable to act, only to watch with an unblinking gaze.
And while the observers observed, the battle between the spectres went uninterrupted. Though, it seemed like after all this time, it still wasn't going anywhere. Fighters were unleashed, wounded, reabsorbed and unleashed once again to no end. Occasionally the essence from one side would get captured by the other on its way back, forcing it to swap sides.
"Enough of this." – said Fusion Demongo, recalling all of his stolen warriors. Demongo did the same. "You may have everyone else fooled, but your other self knows the truth in the big sham."
"That the power never lied within the essense." – Demongo finished his sentiment. "Then let us start the actual battle."
Both of the soul-thiefs conjured infernal flames around them, one blue while the other green, as they sent them out to their mortal enemy. The hellfire clashed in a blue-green spiral, both of them gripping each other tightly, neither side letting it pass as sparks flew all around the glade.
"So are we just supposed to stay here and watch? Not help our Fusion brother or whatever?" – Fusion Doyle asked Fusion Six. "Fuse won't like that."
"Fuse doesn't know he's here. He is acting outside his orders." – Fusion Six replied.
"Yeah, but he's still Fuse's most favored Fusion. For some reason." – Fusion Doyle rolled his eyes.
"And Fuse's orders to us were to watch and not interfere." - Fusion Six said firmly. "We wait. And we watch."
"Why oppose me?" – Fusion Demongo asked while locked in the power struggle. "You and I share the same goal, to let the Masstah of Darkness walk anew on this world!"
"LIAAAAAR!" – Demongo's shriek echoed through the forest. "Liar, liar, head on fire! You may have fooled your fellow Fusions, as well as your wannabe Lord, but I've taken a peek within your soul, and I know where your loyalties lie, you wannabe me." – Demongo cackled.
Though, that did not wipe the smirk off of Fusion Demongo's face. As the flaming tug-of-war exploded into a million embers, only to be reformed and once again drift toward each other in waves, both Demongo and Fusion Demongo flew towards each other and clashed, pushing each other's forearms in a perfect stalemate, surrounded by their hellfire.
"You are no match for me!" – Demongo told his doppelganger. "All you are is a cheap imitation!" – he shrieked, and as the power struggle got more intense, the two floated up into the air while spinning around each other, hellfire enveloping both their figures, with the flaming heads being the distinguishing features.
"That may be, but I have something that you don't!" – Fusion Demongo squaked and burrowed deep into his vest of skulls, only to bring out a special one – this one had red eyes and an IX carved on its forehead in red.
"The magic of the Thromnambular?!" – Demongo screeched.
"YESSS! And once you are out of the way, I will be the one to revive Aku, but unlike you, squandering your power on your useless loyalty, I will be the one to tame and control him, and against him, not even Fuse would stand a chance! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" – Fusion Demongo exclaimed with a cackle of madness.
And just as he said it, something unexpected happened – the Fusion weakened and the tie was broken, as Fusion Demongo felt himself destabilizing – the closest thing Fusions have to pain. A sword was wedged into his back, though where it came from was unseen. But, the sword itself was clearly visible on all the cameras at Huntor's Nest, and witnessed in person by Naver and Cheese.
"Wha-" was the only thing Fusion Demongo was able to utter before his soul, along with all of his power, got devoured by Demongo, who simply gave a satisfied laugh and in a flash of blue fire, disappeared off the scene, even taking the backstabbing sword with him.
The entire population of Huntor's Nest, even the injured, watched this unfold with their jaws dropped to the floor.
"Well, I think the entire group is thinking it, but not speaking…" – Cindy said. "So for all of us, I would like to ask, WHAT IN THE FUCKING HELL JUST HAPPENED?!"
"A Fusion betraying its own master… I never thought it possible…" – Alice whispered.
"And where the hell did that sword come from?!" – Winthrop yelled.
"We got any other angles on that?" – Doyle asked Huntor. The latter shook his head.
"Wait, rewind. Freeze frame on that sword." – Noah ordered. "I KNOW that sword!" – Noah confidently yelled. "That belongs to Agent Six."
"Yeah, as if Agent Six would suddenly pop up here without telling anybody." – Agent Zebedee remarked.
"Six isn't in the Darklands… but his Fusion is." – Noah continued.
"Wait… you're not saying…" – Alice said in shock.
"Yeah. I mean, we just saw a Fusion say he was gonna overthrow Lord Fuse. What's a little Fusion friendly fire?" – Noah explained.
"Yeah, well, if he was gonna betray Fuse, that fire wasn't even friendly. Maybe the other Fusions considered him an enemy." – Cindy remarked.
"But why didn't they interfere until now?" – someone else questioned.
And as everybody discussed their theories and speculation, Alice realized that Jay just missed out on the biggest development in the Demongo case that they have seen so far. She also wondered – who caused the cave-in on them at Demongo's time lab, and why? Demongo? Or his late Fusion counterpart?
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO?!" – Fusion Doyle yelled in shock.
"Our job." – Fusion Six snapped.
"What happened to just watching and waiting?!"
"We waited long enough. You heard what he was going to do. We had to act quickly, or he'd be the one to overwhelm Demongo and double his power while he was at it. Then, he'd be unstoppable to us. Plus, Fuse might not have believed us if we told him of his betrayal."
"And you think Fuse is gonna believe us NOW? We just iced his teacher's pet!"
Fusion Six paused. "And who's gonna tell him?" – he asked. "For all Fuse knows, Demongo overwhelmed him on his own. The details won't make it to his ear."
"Yeah, sure, if you're cool with it. But that makes me your accomplice. And if it backfires on us, I swear to Fuse…"
"You'll what?" – Fusion Six raised his Fusion eyebrow.
This time, it was Doyle who remained silent.
"Yeah. Thought so."
And unknown to both of them, the other in-person witnesses, Naver and Cheese, quietly crawled away from the scene, shaken after witnessing the clash of titans.
End of Chapter 22.
Extract from Alice Quickfeet's Fusion Monster Research Log:
Tar Titan
Fusion Matter type – Adaptium
Power Level – 29
Boss: Titanic Tar Titan
Location: Fireswamps, Firepits
Length: 8'-12'
Boss length: 15'-18'
Weight: ~400-450 lbs.
Boss weight: 450-600 lbs.
Description: Massive, centipede-like creatures with huge pincers and large heads. Composed primarily out of volcanic terrain and rocks, making a nearly indestructible shell.
Behavior:
Tar Titans feed on the flaming tar that oozes from the earth in the Fireswamps and Firepits. They also absorb the terrain they eat, and use it to strengthen their armor. They seem to be passive, but when you enter the range of its detection, which is relatively short, around 15 feet, the Tar Titan will attack you with everything it's got. Its primary method of attack are the giant pincers that are strong enough to crush a human's skull with relative ease. It can also somehow spew flaming tar that it had absorbed, making it even more dangerous than the creatures that spit out Fusion Matter. In combat, they are also protected by their immensely thick shell, making them hard for battle.
Fusions like to use Tar Titans as living shields to draw the fire, then allow other creatures to attack. This tactic has proven effective time and time again, if not for their one gaping weakness – their mouth. A direct hit shatters the shell from the inside, and brings the creature to near-death. A grenade is also enough to finish the job. Just don't let them get too close to you.
Titanic Tar Titans are virtually the same as normal Tar Titans that have fed on enough tar and rock to grow much larger in size than their peers. Thus, it shouldn't really be classified separately, as its Fusion makeup is identical to that of a normal Tar Titan.
Tar Titans can be found all over the Fireswamps and/or -pits, as those areas are rich with boiling tar. The only exceptions are areas controlled by Creepasauruses Rex. A Tar Titan that I tagged once actually moved around freely all over the place, not sticking to one location, and even made its way in and out of the Infected Zone.
Known Fusions that have controlled Tar Titans:
Fusion Courage
Fusion Mandark