Hello everyone, I hope you're ready for the drama of Akzeriuth and below. I tried to make it the best I could. Now let's start Chapter 10.
Chapter 10
Ride Off Into The Abyss Of Death
After walking for a bit, with Diaz still in his Violet Iron Form, everyone arrived at Akzeriuth, a simple town made into a large mining site. But whatever liveliness the town had wasn't there, instead, many people were laying around, hurt and scared, the sounds of pain in the air.
"Wh-what is this?" Luke asked everyone. "This is worse than I imagined." Jade said to everyone, as Natalia rushed to help someone. "H-hey, Natalia, they're dirty. Get away from them. You might catch something." Luke said to Natalia.
"What's dirty? What am I going to catch?! Don't say such stupid things!" Natalia said to Luke, getting annoyed a little. "She's right. We are here to help these people. And you call yourself the ambassador." Qadira said to Luke, as Natalia helped a wounded man. "Are you all right?" Natalia asked the man, as a miner walked up to everyone.
"Did you all come from the Kimlascan side?" The miner asked everyone. "Uh… um…" Luke said, not knowing what to say. That's when Natalia left the wounded man and moved to everyone.
"I'm Natalia, Princess of Kimlasca. We've come to offer aid at the behest of His Majesty Emperor Peony." Natalia said to the miner. "Ah! A man named Grants told us you'd be coming! My name's Pyrope. I'm the local supervisor for the mine here. The mayor fell ill, so I'm handling things in his place." The miner said to Natalia.
"Where are Dorian General Grants and the rescue team?" Jade asked Pyrope. "Grants is inside the mine. He's attempting to rescue our companions who collapsed there." Pyrope said to Jade.
"It looks like the miasma isn't quite as thick here as by the Fubras River." Guy said to everyone, as he looked around the place. "Apparently, it's pretty bad inside the mine." Anise said to Guy.
"Let's take a look around out here, then head for the mine." Tear said to everyone, before noticing Luke was spacing out. "Luke!" Tear said, getting Luke's attention. "Huh? Oh.. Right…" Luke said to Tear, before they started to look around.
For a while they looked around, and while coming up with a plan for how to help these people, Luke completely ignored them. Getting nowhere thanks to Luke, the gang decided to enter the mine.
"Locrian Sergeant Grants!" A male voice said, making everyone notice an Oracle soldier running up to everyone, before they entered the mine. "My name's Hyman. I'm the one who informed Grand Maestro Mohs about the Seventh Fonstone." The man said to Tear.
"Good work." Tear said to Hyman. "The Seventh Fonstone? Don't tell me it's been found?!" Ion asked Hyman. "We think so, but we can't be sure until we excavate it." Hyman said to Ion.
"Tear, please go confirm the Seventh Fonstone's authenticity. I'll go with the others and catch up to the vanguard." Ion said to Tear. "All right. Please take care of the villagers." Tear said to Ion, before she, Hyman, and Liran walked away. Once they were gone, everyone went into the mine.
After a bit of wandering around in the mine, they found a group of people laying in purple smoke, groaning loudly in pain. This caused everyone but Luke to rush to help the people.
"Hold on. We're here to save you." Natalia said to the miner she was helping. "Something's wrong. I don't see the Vanguard anywhere." Jade said to everyone. "I don't like this. If Van got here first, why are these people still here?" Diaz asked everyone.
Luke then got a headache and squatted down. "Oww! Not again!" Luke said, as he put his hands on his head. "Don't take another step!" Asch's voice said, echoing in Luke's head. But Luke got up, ignored the pain and walked to Jade, Ion, and Diaz.
But that's when they heard fighting above them. "Something's wrong up above. I'll go take a look." Jade said to everyone, before he and the Susus started to leave in a hurry. "I'll go with you. Chances are it's Scarlet making a scene, again." Diaz said, as he ran after Jade, with Miles following him.
While everyone was distracted by helping the people, Luke and Ion wandered off. That's when Luke got another killer headache. "Don't go any further! Stop, before it's too late! Listen to me!" Asch's voice said, echoing in Luke's head. "I'm not letting YOU order me around!" Luke said to Asch, before shaking off the headache and moving on.
Soon, Ion and Luke found Van standing in front of one of those fancy glass doors. "You finally made it." Van said to Luke. "Master! There you are. Where's the rest of the Vanguard?" Luke asked Van.
"I have them standing by elsewhere." Van said to Luke. "Fon Master, could I ask you to open this door?" Van asked Ion. "A Daathic seal. So this is another sephiroth. I don't think opening this will serve any purpose." Ion said to Van, as he moved to the door.
"It will. It's necessary for the revival of Akzeriuth." Van said to Ion. "Ion, please! Everything'll be okay if you do what Master Van says." Luke said to Van. "All right." Ion said to Luke, before using his powers to open the door, making it fade away.
Once it was gone, Van went in followed by Ion. but before Luke could follow, the killer headache reappeared. "Stop, damn you! Don't go! Are you trying to destroy Akzeriuth?!" Asch's voice said, echoing in Luke's head.
"What are you talking about? I'm just gonna neutralize the miasma here." Luke said to Asch, before running after Ion and Van.
Inside they found a massive old ruin that was in amazing shape, with lines of energy in the shape of staff you would find on music sheets traveling around the place, and lights coming from all over the ruins. "It's the same as the Zao Ruins and Shurrey Hill." Ion said to everyone, as Luke was completely shocked by the sight of the place.
"Luke. This way." Van said to Luke, as he started to lead the way through the ruins. Ion tried to stop Luke before he could move, but Luke told Ion to be quiet and follow Van, this gave Ion a bad feeling.
Van then led everyone to a massive room, with ring platforms around an odd golden tuning fork in the middle, and energy coming from below. "Now, Luke, go down that fon machine- the passage ring- and neutralize the miasma." Van said to Luke.
"What are you talking about? Is that even possible?" Ion asked Luke, confused. "Yeah. It is for me. I'm a chosen hero." Luke said to Ion, before walking away.
Meanwhile back up top. Jade, Diaz, Miles, and the Susus ran into Tear and Liran on their way to the surface. "Tear! What's going on?" Jade asked Tear. "Yeah we heard fighting. "Colonel! Diaz! The vanguard was wiped out!" Tear said to them. "What?! What happened?!" Diaz asked Tear.
"The Oracle Knights who captured the Tartarus ambushed them!" Tear said to Diaz. "That explains the missing vanguard. They must be trying to stop us from saving Akzeriuth." Jade said to everyone.
"No, they were waiting here under orders from Van to take me away." Tear said to Jade. "What do you mean?" Jade asked Tear. "I went to verify the Seventh Fonstone. It turns out it wasn't real. But I was nearly kidnapped by oracle soldiers when I went there." Tear said to Jade. (It was very scary. Like they were waiting for her.) Liran said to everyone.
"Why you?" Jade asked Tear. "It's my brother! He wants to protect me from what he's about to do!" Tear said to Jade. "Where is he now?! He's trying to do something horrible!" Tear asked everyone. "What are you talking about?" Diaz asked Tear.
"It was him! Asch told me! There's no mistake." Tear said to everyone, as she turned to point at Asch, Scarlet, Carlo, and Cyclizar, with Carlo slashing off the heads of two flying beasts that were trying to set them on fire, and Scarlet in his Scarlet Beast form.
"Hey! Do something about that dreck you call Luke, or we're all going to die!" Luke said to Jade and Diaz, as he, Scarlet, Carlo, and Cyclizar ran past them. "Me… plan… Kill… him…!" Scarlet said to Asch.
"FOR THE LOVE OF ARCEUS! WHAT'S GOING ON!?" Diaz asked everyone. "Van is-" Tear said to everyone.
Meanwhile Luke was standing before the golding tuning fork, hands held out in front, with Van behind him, and Ion far behind them. "Good, concentrate just like that." Van said to Luke. But Luke started to struggle a little.
"Now… "Foolish replica Luke" unleash your power!" Van said to Luke. that's when Luke let out a massive surge of energy sending Ion flying into the wall behind him. "Wh-what the heck!? Something's coming out of me." Luke said, as his eyes closed, and his hands started to glow yellow.
That's when Luke remembered what Van said to him on the ship, and a part he forgot. "When I order you to release your power, you will open every fon slot in your body and unleash a hyperresonance. That same power you're using right now. The trigger phrase will be… "Foolish replica Luke"." Van said to Luke on the boat.
Meanwhile Tear was finishing her sentence to Jade and Diaz. "Van is- planning to destroy Akzeriuth!" Tear said to everyone. "'WHAT?!" Diaz asked, as his face turned into !.
Back in the ruins, Luke let out a massive pulse of energy, causing the ruins to fall apart. The use of the energy made Luke fall to his knees. "You've finally proven useful, replica." Van said to Luke, as the land started to shake. "Van?" Luke asked Van, very confused by all this.
"Damn! We didn't make it!" Asch said, as he, Scarlet, Carlo, and Cyclizar came running in. "Then… kill… him…!" Scarlet said to everyone. "Asch! Why are you here?! I told you not to come!" Van said to Asch. "Too bad. I also brought the sister you tried to save!" Asch said to Van, as Scarlet jumped down on Van.
But that's when Van whistles, and two large bird beasts show up, with one slapping Scarlet out of the way before letting Van hop onto its back, and the other one grabbing Asch with his mouth.
"Let me go! I'm going to die here, too!" Asch said, as he tried to break free of the bird. "I'd intended to save Ion with that, but now I have no choice. I can;t afford to lose you." Van said to Ion.
(Cyclizar, jump up! Now!) Carlo said to Cyclizar, as he stood on Cyclizar's back. (Ok…ay.) Cyclizar said, as he jumped into the air. Then Carlo jumped off Cyclizar, and over the bird beast that had Asch.
(Bitter Blade!) Carlo said, as his right blade became encased in purple flames. Carlo then jabbed his blade into the back of the bird monster, killing it, and making it fall down into the energy blew with Carlo and Asch with it.
"NO!" Van yelled, as Scarlet got up, and pulled out his Flutter Mane key. Scarlet then opened his key slot and put the key in with the dark purple side facing him.
"GHOST!" An aggressive voice said from his belt, as Scarlet ripped it out of the slot with enough force to not only break the crystal off it, but making the tire on his belt spin counter clockwise, and glowed dark purple.
This made Cyclizar's tire sack glow dark purple, as a crystal tire popped out of Cyclizar's throat. "TE… RA… STALL… I… ZING!" Scarlet said, as the tired moved towards him and hit him, causing the tire to fall apart. This let out a dark purple energy pulse, and the crystals attached to his body.
"FLUTTER MANE!" An aggressive voice said, as the crystal broke apart, revealing Scarlet in his Flutter Mane form. Then the fabric on Scarlet's hat stood up, at the same time Scarlet raised his staff and pointed it at Van's bird beast.
Then black energy appeared around Van's bird beast. Scarlet then pointed the tip of his staff down at the ground, making the bird beast fall straight down. And before Van or the bird beast could react, Scarlet pointed his staff to the wall, making the bird monster fly towards that and crash into it. That's when the wall came down and squashed the bird monster.
"You vile replica. Asch thought you would be a good weapon for us. But now I see you have no loyalty. You're just a mindless beast." Van said to Scarlet. "Not… Mind… less… but… you… dan… ger." Scarlet said to Van, as Cyclizar jumped down to Scarlet's side.
But that's when the platform under Scarlet and Cyclizar gave way, and they too fell into the energy below. That's when the gang showed up, with Jade, Whina, Anise, and their Pokemon rushing to Ion, and no one rushing to Luke.
"Van! I knew it! You've betrayed me! You said you were going to preserve these Outer Lands! What about the people of Akzeriuth? The Oracle soldiers in the Tartarus? They'll all be killed!" Tear said to Van.
"Mystearica, some day you'll come to understand the folly and ugliness of this world. I want you to live. At least long enough for me to see you come to your senses." Van said to Tear.
"You're the one with no senses. You're about to kill all of these innocent people for no reason whatsoever. In what world is that sense? Besides, your ride is trashed, you're going to die here with us." Diaz said to Van. "Are you so sure?" Van asked Diaz, as they heard a screeching.
Everyone looked up to see Legretta flying in on another beast. "Oh no you don't!" Diaz said, as he, Natalia, and the Pokemon tried to shoot her down. "Tear you have the fonic hymns. Use them." Van said to Tear, before Legretta's bird monster grabbed Van and flew away.
That's when the shaking started to get worse and the tunnel they entered from, collapsed. "Damn! The tunnels are collapsing!" Jade said to everyone, as everyone moved to him, with Guy the only one going after Luke.
"Everyone, come close! Hurry!" Tear said to everyone, as they moved closer to Tear. Tear then started to sing, forming a protective bubble around them.
And it was at this moment, that Akzeriuth collapsed, and started to fall into the abyss. And while the Tartarus tried to outrun the collapse it failed, and fell into the abyss with Akzeriuth, and its crew joined in the way too many screams of fear and destruction of the land breaking apart.
When the screaming, destruction, and falling stopped, Luke awoke from his usage of energy that ended Akzeriuth. When he woke up, he saw he was on a small piece of rubble that was from the mine, with many dead people around him, and purple mist and purple sludge as far as the eye could see, and for some reason the Tartarus was docked right next to the piece of rubble they were on.
"Master! Thank goodness!" Mieu said to Luke, as Luke stood up, and saw the gang and all of their Pokemon were okay, the only one alive. Luke looked at everyone, unable to understand what just happened.
Then everyone heard some groaning. "There's someone there!" Tear said to everyone. That's when everyone noticed a little boy still alive on a piece of wood, with Pyrope laying on top of him.
"Daddy… it hurts… Daddy…" The boy cried out. "Hang on! I'll save you!" Natalia said to the boy, as she tried to dive into the sludge to save him, but Tear stopped her. "Stop! That's a bottomless sea of mud and miasma! You'll die if you jump in there!" Tear said to Natalia.
"Then what can we do for that boy?!" Natalia asked Tear. "Let one of the Pokemon save him." Tear said to Natalia. (None of us are big enough to pull that man off the kid. We can't save him) Jataayu said to everyone. "Jataayu said they're too small to help." Mieu said to everyone.
"He's sinking!" Guy said to everyone, as the wood started to sink slowly. "No!" Jade said, as everyone watched with fear. "Mommy… help… Daddy… help…" The boy said before passing out.
Diaz could watch this, and with thinking twice, he yelled and ran off the piece of rubble they were on. "DIAZ!" Whina yelled, surprised and scared by his action. But once Diaz jumped off the edge, his thrusters ignited, and round four yellow and purple energy tires popped out of his boots, with two on each side of his boots, where his talus was on his feet.
These tires allowed Diaz to move on top of the sludge like he was skating, and with his thrusters on, he reached the boy and Pyrope in a second. And while his thrusters allowed him to hover a little, Diaz quickly removed Pyrope from the boy and grabbed the boy, pulling the boy close to him.
Diaz then checked for Pyrope pulse, and he found nothing. And before he could look for any more signs of life, that's when the wood gave way, and Pyrope sank into the sludge.
This horrified Diaz, and trying to find some peace, he checked the boy for a pulse. And with the boy, he was lucky, the boy had a steady pulse. "Oh thank Arceus." Diaz said, as he let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in.
Diaz then turned around and moved back to everyone, and with a sudden burst from his thrusters, he jumped up and landed back on the piece of rubble with his thrusters turning off and the tires retracted, at the same time everyone moving to him.
"Diaz, how did you know you could do that?" Guy asked Diaz, as Diaz passed the boy to Whina. "I didn't." Diaz said to Guy, earring a shocked look from everyone. "Then what was your plan?" Jade asked Diaz.
"I didn't have one. I just couldn't stand by and do nothing. What good is this power if I can't save the life of someone that needs me." Diaz said to everyone, as he looked at his arms.
"You're crazy! What would happen if you did move like that? We could've lost you too." Tear said to Diaz. That's when the piece of rubble shook. "You still might." Diaz said to everyone.
Anise then noticed a few rocks around them break and sink into the sludge. "Is this place going to break apart, too?!" Anise asked everyone. "Let's go to the Tartarus. The emergency buoy is operational, and it's managing to stay above the mud." Jade said to everyone.
"Then what are we doing standing here! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" Diaz said to everyone, as they all ran onto the Tartarus. And only a few seconds after everyone was on the Tartarus, did the piece of rubble they were on break apart and sink. "That was too close." Guy said to everyone, before they closed the side door.
Some time later, everyone was hanging out on one of the upper decks, with Jade checking to see if what was still working, while Whina took the boy to the Tartarus' sickbay, and depending on how you want to look at it, the knights that took over the Tartarus didn't survive the fall, so there was no fear of any enemy attack while waiting. This let Diaz finally turn back into his normal form, and breathe some fresh air, if there was any fresh air down here.
After a bit, Whina came out first. "Good news, he's going to be okay. He woke up for a bit before going back to sleep again, and I got his name. His name is John. And while he's okay physically, I'm worried that he'll suffer mentally for the rest of his life." Whina said to everyone.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Natalia asked Whina. "At the moment no. After what just happened John's mind is having a real hard time processing it. For now he needs rest, after that we'll see what we can do." Whina said to Natalia.
A minute later Jade came out onto the deck. "It looks like it will still run." Jade said to everyone. "That's great. But where can we go? It's nothing but mud and miasma as far as the eye can see." Qadira said to Jade.
"There's a place called Yulia City here in Qliphoth. It should be to the west. Let's try heading there." Tear said to everyone. "You seem to know a lot about this place. I'd like to hear an explanation once we're safe." Jade said to Tear.
"If there is anyplace safe down here." Diaz said to everyone. "He has a point. No matter how far we look, there's nothing in sight. Are we really underground?" Guy asked Tear.
"In a way. The place you live in is known down here as the "Outer Lands"- the world's outer shell. It's a floating land supported by pillars called "Sephiroth Trees" that extend from the Qliphoth." Tear said to Guy.
"I don't understand." Natalia said to Tear. "Long ago, the Outer Lands were here in the Qliphoth." Tear said to everyone. "Unbelievable." Anise said to everyone. "I'm from another world where we have a creature that's a dog who's body is uncooked dough, and I've never heard of anything like this." Diaz said to everyone.
"Two thousand years ao, the miasma enveloped Auldrant and infected the land. That is when Yulia read the seven-part Score, finding a way to escape destruction and bring prosperity." Tear said to everyone.
"Based on the Score, Yulia proposed a plan to raise the planet's crust using the Sephiroth." Ion said to everyone. "And that was the beginning of the outer lands, huh… That's quite a story." Guy said to Ion and Tear.
"It sounds more like Yulia's plan was to run away and forget the problem even existed." Diaz said to everyone. "We can't understand why Yulia did what she did, but her actions did save the world." Ion said to Diaz. "How many people knew about this?" Diaz asked Ion.
"Only maestros and above in the Order of Lorelei know. As do those born in the Qliphoth." Ion said to Diaz. "Then, you're from the Qliphoth, Tear?" Anise asked Tear. Tear nodded yes. "Huh? At least now we know where you get your sunny personality form." Diaz said to Tear, sarcasm in his voice.
"At any rate, we've fallen down here. We were saved, thanks to Tear's fonic hymn." Ion said to everyone. "Why did this happen? You said Akzeriuth was supported by a pillar, correct?" Jade asked Ion.
"Yes, but… that pillar disintegrated." Ion said to Jade. "How?" Anise asked Ion. "With Ion out cold when we found him, there's only one person here that could know anything." Whina said to everyone, as everyone turned to look at Luke.
"I-I don't know anything about it! I was just trying to neutralize the miasma! He told me that if I caused a hyperresonance there, the miasma would disappear!" Luke said to everyone. "A hyperresonance? That thing that made you crash into me. How could that do anything more than just teleport?" Diaz asked everyone.
"A hyperresonance is a power that occurs when two Seventh Fonons interact. It can destroy and reform any matter. If Luke can do it on his own. Then my brother deceived him. And Luke destroyed the pillar that supported Akzeriuth." Tear said to Diaz.
"No! That can't be…" Luke said to Tear in disbelief. "Van ordered you to stand next to the passage ring. Theos passage rings are what produce the pillars. Tear is probably right. I was careless. I never dreamed Van would make Luke do such a thing." Ion said to everyone. "I always had a bad feeling about him. I just never knew it would be this bad." Diaz said to everyone.
"I wish Luke had at least discussed it with us beforehand. Neutralizing the miasma could have waited until the residents were evacuated. Of course, there is little point in saying that now." Jade said to everyone. "Yes… Akzeriuth is gone. Thousands of lives, lost in an instant." Natalia said to everyone.
"A-are you saying it's my fault?" Luke asked everyone, making everyone look at Luke with their own looks of disappointment on their faces. "It's not… It's not my fault! Master Van said… Yeah! Master van told me to do it! I had no idea this would happen! No one told me! It's not my fault! It's not my fault!" Luke said to everyone.
Jade then started to leave. "Colonel?" Tear asked Jade. "I'm returning to the bridge. If I stay here, I'll just be irritated by some ridiculous ranting." Jade said to Tear, before he and the Susus left.
"What's your problem?! I tried to save Akzeriuth!" Luke said to Jade. "He's not the problem." Qadira said to Luke, making Luke turn to her and Natalia. "Ever since you lost your memory, you're like a completely different person." Natalia said to Luek, before she, Qadira, and their Pokemon left.
"Y-you all couldn't do anything to stop it, either! Don't just blame me!" Luke said to everyone, trying to shift the blame. "We couldn't stop it because we didn't know what was going on until after it happened." Whina said to Luke.
"But he's right. I'm powerless. But still..." Ion said to Whina, but was interrupted by Anise. "Ion! Don't even bother talking. Luke's not worth it." Anise said to Ion, before dragging him away, with Whina and their Pokemon following them.
"I-it's Master Van's fault! Not mine! Right, Guy?!" Luke asked Guy, trying to find anyone that would side with him. "Luke… don't make me think even less of you." Guy said to Luke, before he and Lokej walked away.
"I was stupid for starting to think you had some good in you." Tear said to Luke, before she and Liran walked away. (And I'm ashamed to be your Pokemon) Charcadet said to Luke, before walking away.
"Wh-why?! Why are you all blaming me?!" Luke asked everyone. "Master… cheer up." Mieu said to Luke. "Sh-shut up! What do you know?" Luke asked Mieu. "A lot of my people died because of me. So… I can understand what you're feeling, Master." Mieu said to Luke.
"Don't compare me to YOU! Don't compare me to… Ah…" Luke said before he curled up into a ball and started to cry. Diaz looked at this with a sad look on his face. "Mieu, Miles, can you guys give us some time alone?" Diaz asked Mieu and Miles.
(Are you sure?) Miles asked Diaz. "I'm sure." Diaz said to Miles. (Very well. Let's go Mieu.) Miles said to Diaz, before picking up Mieu and putting him on his back and going inside.
"Luke, I know this is hard for you. But denying what happened won't ease the pain." Diaz said Luke. This made Luke stand up and look at Diaz with a mean look. "I'm not denying anything. It wasn't my fault." Luke said to Diaz.
"But it is. And not because you planned it. Because you didn't tell us. If you told us what you were about to do, we could have worked on something or talked about it. Why didn't you tell us?" Diaz asked Luke.
"Because Master Van told me that if I told you the plan I would lose my chance to escape to Daath." Luke said to Diaz. "So Van used empty promises to trick you. But why didn't you wait until we got the people out of the city first?" Diaz asked Luke.
"Master Van said that removing the people would start a war on the Rugnice Plains. So to be a hero and prevent war, I had to use my hyperresonance and neutralize the miasma." Luke said to Diaz.
"Except you destroyed Akzeriuth, and it gives Kimlasca the impression that this was a trap from Malkuth to kill their future king and queen, and Malkuth will think that Kimlasca personally destroyed their lands rather than helping them." Diaz said to Luke.
"Are you going to say it's my fault that war might happen now?!" Luke asked Diaz, getting very agitated. "Yes, and because you trusted Van. I told you I had a bad feeling about him. But you ignored me. Telling me that Van would never do anything bad." Diaz said to Luke.
"Oh of course! The great Diaz with crazy armor, who's always right, who's so smart, who always saves the day. What would I be without you!" Luke said to Diaz, getting closer to Diaz.
"Enough!" Diaz said to Luke. "When? When is it enough, Diaz? When you all want me to say it this was all my fault when it's not. I did nothing wrong." Luke said to Diaz. "Luke, we all fail. We all make mistakes. It's how we grow, and sometimes those lessons are learned the hard way and sometimes at a terrible price." Diaz said to Luke.
"And when did you ever fail or make mistakes?" Luke asked Diaz. "Luke, I've made plenty of mistakes, one coasting me a lot. And I failed the people of Akzeriuth. We came here to save them, and I couldn't save anyone but John. I failed them. I will not fail you Luke." Diaz said to Luke.
"I don't need you! I don't want you! All you've done is make my life worse!" Luke said to Diaz, pulling out his sword and pointing it at Diaz. Diaz then noticed Luke's sword was shaking a little.
"You won't strike me." Diaz said to Luke. "How do you know that?" Luke asked Diaz. "Because while you deny what you've done, your body doesn't. You feel guilty for all the lives lost on this day." Diaz said to Luke.
"You're wrong! None of this is my fault! Why would I feel guilty about any of this?" Luke asked Diaz, his sword still pointed to Diaz. Diaz said nothing and moved closer to Luke, letting the tip of his sword touch his chest, surprising Luke.
"Then prove it. If you truthly don't feel guilty about any of this. Then strike me down. What's one more among thousands?" Diaz said to Luke, as he held his arms out, letting Luke take a clear shot at him.
"You're crazy, why would you do this?!" Luke asked Diaz, completely shocked by this. "Because you're not a bad guy. A pain in my rear, yes. But you're not evil." Diaz said to Luke.
"Shut up! Shut up! You don't know anything about me! You don't know anything about…" Luke said to Diaz, before he started to cry loudly, tossed his sword away, and dropped to his knees as he clenched his head.
Diaz said nothing and moved closer to Luke, getting on his knees and hugging Luke. "It'll be okay. It won't be easy, but we can get through this." Diaz said to Luke, as he rubbed Luke's back.
"Shut up… Let me go… Shut up… Let me go… Shut up… Let me go… Shut up… Let me go…" Luke said to Diaz, as he kept crying, and weakly tried to get Diaz off him.
After a while, everyone but Diaz and Luke was on the bridge, and a massive waterfall came into view. "I can see something!" Natalia said to everyone. "Is that… a waterfall?!" Anise asked Tear.
"Yes. It's seawater from the Outer Lands coming down. The city's inside." Tear said to Anise. "Explains how you people can live down here, the water is keeping the miasma away." Qadira said to Tear.
"Wait, if we go into that, won't the water pressure crush the Tartarus?" Guy asked Tear. "Don't worry. The water vaporizes near the ground." Tear said to Guy. "In other words, we'll just be going through some wet mist." Whina said to Guy. "Then, here we go." Jade said to everyone, as he made the Tartarus move into the waterfall.
Once they got past the waterfall, they found an ancient city covered in a massive glass dome. Lucky for everyone there was a place they could dock the Tartarus, and went inside. Inside they found the city looked more like a massive stadium than a city, with a bright light coming from the left side of the city to replace sunlight.
"Wow! This is Yulia City?" Anise asked Tear. "Yes. The mayor's inside. Let's go." Tear said, as everyone started to move. Everyone but Luke, who didn't want to go. Tear noticed he wasn't with the group and moved back to Luke.
"How long are you going to stand there? Everyone's gone to the mayor's house." Tear said to Luke. "All they'll do is keep accusing me of stuff. I don't want to go." Luke said to Tear. "You're even more pathetic than I thought, reject!" A voice said from behind, and that's when everyone noticed Asch and Carlo walking up to Luke.
"You! How did you get here?" Luke asked Asch. (You can thank our bird for that. I was able to use its dead body as a glider and let us land here.) Carlo said to Luke. "But I'm surprised to find you alive after Van betrayed you!" Asch said to Luke, as he walked past Luke.
"Betrayed me? Then, Master Van really did want me to destroy Akzeriuth?" Luke asked Asch. "Damn it! If I'd realized what Van was planning sooner, this never would've happened!" Asch said to everyone, before turning to Luke.
"And you! Why didn't you think before using your Hyperresonance?!" Asch asked Luke. "S-so you're saying it's my fault, too?!" Luke asked Asch. "Of course it's your fault! Don't even try to deny it!" Asch said to Luke.
"It's not my fault! It's not my fault! It's not…" Luke said to Asch, but was interrupted by Carlo swatting him to the ground with his blade. (It is, your foolishness led to the death of thousands.) Carlo said to Luke. "Are all replica brains this defective?!" Asch asked everyone.
"Replica? Master Van used the word "replica", too." Luke said Asch, as he got up. "You STILL haven't figured it out?! Is this someone's idea of a joke?" Asch asked Luke.
"Wh-what?! What the hell are you talking about?!" Luke asked Asch. "I'll tell you, Luke." Asch said to Luke. "Asch, stop!" Tear said to Asch, worried about what he was about to say.
"Why do you think you and I have the same face?" Asch asked Luke. "H-how should I know?" Luke said to Asch. "I'm a noble who was born in Baticul. Seven years ago, I was kidnapped by a villain named Van." Asch said to Luke.
"You can't mean." Luke said in disbelief. "That's right! You're a second-rate copy of me! A mere replica!" Asch said to Luke. "You're lying. It's not true! It's not true!" Luke said, as he dropped to his knees and clenched his head.
Denial turned into rage, and he stood up, drawing his sword. "You want to fight, replica?" Asch asked Luke. "Stop lying!" Luke said to Asch, as he lunged at Asch. but Asch blocked his attack with his sword.
(Shadow Claw.) Carlo said, as his blades were encased in black energy with a purple outline. Carlo then slashed Luke's sword arm leaving a deep cut. This made Luke scream in pain. This allowed Asch to force Luke back and Luke to lose his balance.
(Bitter Blade.) Carlo said, as his blades became encased in purple flames, and he and Asch started to slash their blades at Luke, with Luke unable to keep up with their attack, and getting a lot of cuts.
"LUKE!" Tear yelled, as she pulled out her knives and rushed to help Luke. (Oh no you don't. Flame Charge!) Carlo said to Tear, as he stopped attacking Luke and rushed Tear, his body encased in fire.
Carlo then slammed his knee into Tear's gut, knocking the wind out of her. Then Carlo did a Helicopter kick to Tear's head, knocking her out and back onto the floor.
With Luke and Asch, the pain that Asch and Carlo did to him was taking a toll on him. (Let's end this. Bitter Blade!) Carlo said, as his blades became encased in purple flames. Then Asch and Carlo then slashed at Luke, breaking Luke's sword, forcing Luke onto the floor, and a X slash on his chest.
"I can't believe I lost my family, my home, everything. Pathetic!" Asch said to Luke. (Let's finish this foolish toy once and for all. Bitter Blade!) Carlo said to Asch, as his blades became encased in purple flames, and he and Asch slowly walked towards Luke, ready to kill him.
"It's a lie… I…" Luke said, as he crawled away from them, that's when he got a killer headache, and passed out from all the pain. "(So long replica.)" Asch and Carlo said to Luke, as they raised their blades into the air.
That's when a few ice balls and water bolts came flying out of nowhere, hitting Asch and Carlo, forcing them away from Luke and lowering their swords, trying to block the water and ice.
When the water and ice stopped hitting them, they lowered their swords and saw Diaz running up to them, in his Iron Bundle form, with all of his Pokemon out of their pokeballs as well.
"Stay away from him!" Diaz said to Asch and Carlo, sounding intimidating, as he and his Pokemon got into a fighting stance. "Why would you defend this replica after what he's done?" Asch asked Diaz.
"Because enough lives have been lost today. And I won't let you kill another person." Diaz said to Asch. "But he's not a person. He's my worthless replica." Asch said to Diaz. "What are you talking about?" Diaz asked Asch.
"Seven years ago, I was kidnapped by a Van. And that second-rate copy of me was made." Asch said to Diaz, surprising Diaz, and making Diaz lower his weapons. "He's a clone of you? That… actually explains a lot." Diaz said to Asch, before he realized something.
"Scarlet. He and his Cyclizar. They're mine and Miles' clones, aren't they?" Diaz asked Asch. "Yes, after seeing you in action on the Tartarus, we knew we needed a power like yours, but no one could handle your power. So we made another you. But like mine, yours and your beast's replica proved to be worthless. Nothing more than mindless beasts." Asch said to Diaz.
"They're not worthless. You just didn't treat them right. Not to mention that to them, you guys couldn't beat me or Miles, who they beat, so why should they listen to weak jerks like you guys." Diaz said to Asch.
"Did you call me weak?" Asch asked Diaz. "I'm telling you what Scarlet problady thinks of you. But to be honest, I am stronger than you. So far we met on the battlefield twice, and you've lost both times." Diaz said to Asch.
"Only because you have those fancy armors of yours. Without that, you're the weakest person here." Asch said to Diaz. "True. But if these armors are the only thing keeping you from killing Luke, then I'm going to keep them on." Diaz said to Asch. "Then I'll just have to go through you!" Asch said to Diaz, as he rushed Diaz.
Diaz fired his blasters, shooting ice balls at Asch. but Asch was ready for that, and used his sword to slash the ice, and got close to Diaz. Then Asch tried to slash Diaz, but Diaz blocked it with his frost blaster, and fired a bolt of water into Asch's face from his other blaster, stunning Asch a little, and letting Diaz kick him back.
"Guys take care of Carlo. Asch is mine." Diaz said to his Pokemon, as he rushed Asch, blasting water and burst of cold at Asch, forcing Asch to back up a little while blocking the water with his sword.
(On it. And I'll start with First Impression.) Ingvar said, as he lunged at Carlo at high speed his blades pointed at Carlo, with his blades glowing light green. Ingvar then hit Carlo in the chest, forcing Carlo back a bit.
(Spin Out/Mortal Spin.) Kansan and Cindal said, as Kansan's wheels glowed silvered and he spun around in a circle, and as Cindal started to like a top, letting out purple ooze. Then the two of them started to spin, launching a pincer attack on Carlo.
(Flame Charge!) Carlo said, as he encased himself in flames, kneeled a little, and jabbed his blades into the floor. Then Kansan and Cindal hit Carlo, but crashed into his blades, keeping them away from him, and making sparks, plus the flames coming off Carlo blocked the ooze from hitting him.
(Dragon Rush!) Miles said, as his body became encased in purple energy, with wings and a dragon head formed the energy around his head and the back of front legs. Miles then jumped into the air and lunged at Carlo.
Carlo noticed this, and jumped back, making Kansan and Carlo crash into each other, before Miles hit them, making a large explosion.
(Who's next?) Carlo asked everyone. (Me. Discharge!) Dyanna said, as she let out a surge of electricity, all of it heading to Carlo.
(Sword Dance!) Carlo said, as he started to dance, glowing red, as red lights in the shape of swords moved around him. This dancing allowed him to dodge the electricity heading his way.
A few seconds later, the electricity stopped. (Sorry. But I was trained to handle any straight up fighting. So please surprise me.) Carlo said to everyone.
(If you want a surprise. Then allow me to show you a little trick I thought of just for you. Flower Trick!) Teudus said, as everything went black, like someone turned off the lights. That's when three spot lights appeared on Teudus.
(Ladies and gentlemen, behold, as I take Carlo Ghost powers away!) Teudus said, snapping his fingers. That's when a spotlight appeared on Carlo, and the green balls with pink flowers around Carlo's legs, before exploding with a pollen pulse.
And while the explosion did shake Carlo's head, it did very little damage. (Out of curiosity? How was that meant to take away my ghost powers?) Carlo asked Teudus. (My Flower Trick was only a distraction. The real trick is at your feet.) Teudus said to Carlo.
(Huh?) Carlo asked, looking down to see Diaz's Tera Orb at his feet and glowing. That's when the orb let out its energy, and a large crystal burst out of the floor and encased Carlo. When the crystals broke apart, it revealed Carlo was Terastallized into a pure Fire Type now.
(How did you know my tera type was fire?) Carlo asked Teudus. (You were a Charcadet long before you were a Ceruledge. And given that you haven't shown off anything that a common Ceruledge wouldn't have. So it was a safe guest.) Teudus said to Carlo, earning a clap from Carlo, with Carlo banging his sword for the clapping.
(Cleaver. But all you've done is make my fire moves stronger, but I must admit. I'm at a loss about how this helps you?) Carlo asked Teudus. (Simple. It lets Ingvar kick you.) Teudus said to Carlo. (What?) Carlo asked, confused, as Ingvar jumped into the air.
(Axe Kick!) Ingvar said, as he did a flip in air, and came straight down on Carlo, with his right blade pointed at Carlo, and Carlo looking up.
(Toxic Spikes!) Kansan said, as he fired purple spikes from his wheels, hitting the floor around Carlo, and making purple circles appear around him.
(What?!) Carlo asked, very surprised by this, and looking around to see he was stuck. That's when Dyanna and Cindal flew up and while Dyanna used her talons to grab Carlo's right arm, Cindal clamped down on Carlo's left arm. Then the two of them pulled in opposite directions, putting a strain on Carlo's arm.
And before Carlo could do anything, that's when Ingvar came down and slammed his blade into Carlo's face, forcing him down, as Dyanna and Cindal let Carlo go the second Ingvar hit Carlo.
Carlo was forced into the floor, and his Terastallized broke, turning him back to normal. Then Ingvar jumped off Carlo, revealing Carlo's eyes where all swirls. That's when Teudus walked up to Carlo, and bent down to him. (So are you surprised?) Teudus asked Carlo, a smirk on his face.
Meanwhile, Diaz and Asch were still fighting each other, with Diaz using his frost blaster to block Asch's sword, and hitting Asch with his water blaster, needless to say Asch was soaking wet.
Then Asch and Diaz forced each other away from each other, and got ready to lunge at each other. But that's when Ingvar forced Carlo into the floor, getting their attention. And in that moment, Diaz fired his frost blaster at Asch, freezing the water on him, and freezing Asch like a statue.
"It's over Asch. you lose again." Diaz said to Asch. "You're such a fool. You have all that power, but choose to do stupid things like this. If you actually took things seriously then maybe the people of Akzeriuth would still be alive." Asch said to Diaz.
"Don't go blaming Akzeriuth on me." Diaz said to Asch. "Right. What destroyed Akzeriuth was that worthless replica of mine." Asch said to Diaz. "Your boss used him. He may have kept what he was going to do a secret. But Akzeriuth's fate was your boss's plan." Diaz said to Asch.
"And that fool blindly did what he was told. Not once thinking about what he was doing. Van may have played him, but he's the one responsible for being an idiot and using hyperresonance without a clue of what hyperresonance could do." Asch said to Diaz, as Diaz sighed.
"Look, we can argue all you want. But it's not going to change what happened to Akzeriuth. And don't act like you're some saint or good guy, Luke may have killed all those people in Akzeriuth. But I'm betting you have just as much blood on your hands. After all, you're Asch the Bloody. So I'm going to take Luke and Tear away. And when they're someplace safe, I'll come back for you." Diaz said to Asch, before he turned away and started walking away.
"After what he's done? Why do you care what happens to him?" Asch asked Diaz, as Diaz stepped and turned his head slightly towards Asch. "Because I've been where he is. And I'm not going to leave him to root like I was." Diaz said to Asch, before turning away.
That's when they heard some footsteps stomping behind them, and they turned to see Scarlet and Cyclizar walking towards them, with Scarlet still in his Flutter Mane form.
"Scarlet. Not surprised to see you here. But I have to ask. What do you want now?" Diaz asked Scarlet. "Fight… Fight… all… matter." Scarlet said to Diaz. "I'm pretty sure you mean, a fight is all that matters now, and I have no interest in fighting a pointless fight with you." Diaz said to Scarlet.
"No… care…" Scarlet said to Diaz. "Why do you want to fight me so much?" Diaz asked Scarlet. "Fight… only… important." Scarlet said to Diaz, as the fabric on his hat stood up, at the same time Scarlet pointed his staff at the ground, making large pieces of rubble come out of the floor covered in black energy. Scarlet then pointed his staff at Diaz, making the rubble move towards Diaz.
"Whoa!" Diaz said, as he jumped out of the way. "I guess we're doing this!" Diaz said, as he fired ice balls at Scarlet. But Scarlet slammed his staff on the ground, causing black energy to form on the ice balls as they got close to him.
"Oh, right. I forgot you could do stuff like that." Diaz said, as Scarlet used his staff to send the ice balls at him. "Let's try this." Diaz said, as he pulled out his Iron Hands Ignition Key, and inserted it into the slot, with the yellow side facing him.
"ELECTRICITY!" A techno voice said from the belt. Diaz then hit the button This caused the handle to pop out of the slot, minus the crystal, and made the tire spin clockwise, with the tire glowing yellow. This made Miles' tire sack glow yellow, and a giant yellow crystal tire popped out of Miles' throat.
The tired smashed the ice balls before turning to Diaz. "TERASTALLIZING!" Diaz yelled, as the tire hit him, and caused the tire to fall apart. This let out a yellow pulse of energy, and the crystals attached to Diaz's body.
"IRON HANDS!" A techno voice said, from the belt, as all the crystals broke apart, revealing Diaz in his Iron hand forms. "Let's see if you little witchcraft can stop these." Diaz said to Scarlet, as he fired his fist at Scarlet, both going different directions and generating electricity.
Scarlet used his powers to levitate and dodged the fists. But the fists were moving too fast, and Scarlet got knocked out of the air as the fist passed him.
Releasing that he couldn't levitate out of this. He used his powers to stop one of the fists from hitting him, but couldn't stop the other fist. (Iron… Tail…) Cyclizar said, as his tail glowed silver, and he tried to swat the other fist out of the air, but Diaz made it turn at the last second, making Cyclizar miss.
That's when the fists that Cyclizar missed were heading towards Scarlet's back. But Scarlet saw this coming and pointed his staff at others first, making the first fist fly towards it, making the two fist crash into each other.
But that was what Diaz was after. When the two fist, fist bumped, they let out a burst of electricity, zapping Scarlet and Cyclizar. "See, I don't need to hit you to deal damage." Diaz said to Scarlet.
"But… no… move." Scarlet said to Diaz, as he pulled out his Scream Tail Ignition Key, and inserted it into the slot with the pink side facing him.
"PSYCHIC!" An aggressive voice said from his belt, as Scarlet ripped it out of the slot with enough force to not only break the crystal off it, but making the tire on his belt spin counter clockwise, and glowed pink. This made Cyclizar's tire sack glow pink, and a giant pink crystal tire popped out of Cyclizar's throat.
"TE… RA… STALL… I… ZING!" The man said, as the pink tire turned to him, and hit him, causing the tire to fall apart. This let out a pink pulse of energy, and the crystals attached to his body.
"SCREAM TAIL!" An aggressive voice said from his belt, as the crystals broke apart, revealing Scarlet in his Scream Tail form. Scarlet then rushed Diaz, swinging his whip all over the place, swatting Diaz's fists away from him.
That's when Scarlet got close to Diaz, and started to whip Diaz, with Diaz unable to move quick enough to dodge the whip lashes. And with Scarlet whipping all over the place, none of the Pokemon couldn't get close to either attack Scarlet or help Diaz.
Groaning in pain, Diaz made his fist clash letting out another burst of electricity. But before he could, Scarlet started to spin his tire counter clockwise, making his ponytail glow pink and it suddenly grew and jabbed into the floor. That's when the electricity zapped Scarlet, but the elasticity went into the floor, dealing very little damage to Scarlet.
Seeing that it wasn't very affected, Diaz reached for any one of his Ignition Key, and he pulled out his Iron Jugulis Ignition Key, and inserted it into the slot, with the black side facing him. "DARK!" A techno voice said from the belt.
Diaz then hit the button This caused the handle to pop out of the slot, minus the crystal, and made the tire spin clockwise, with the tire glowing black. This made Miles' tire sack glow black, and a giant black crystal tire popped out of Miles' throat.
The tire slammed into Scarlet's right side forcing Scarlet away and towards Cyclizar, before turning around and heading towards Diaz. "TERASTALLIZING!" Diaz yelled, as the tire hit him and caused the tire to fall apart. This let out a black pulse of energy, and the crystals attached to Diaz's body.
"IRON JUGULIS!" A techno voice said, from the belt, as all the crystals broke apart, revealing Diaz in his Iron Jugulis form. "Miles, care to help me out?" Diaz asked Miles, as he pressed the button on the handle. This caused the holes in the back of the triple headed turret to start to suck in air with a powerful suction.
(With pleasure. Dragon Rush!) Miles said, as he moved behind Diaz. Then Miles' body became encased in purple energy, with wings and a dragon head forming the energy around his head and the back of front legs.
That's when Diaz's turret started to suck in some of the energy off Miles and fire it at Scarlet. Causing Scarlet and Cyclizar to used their arms to protect their heads.
That's when Diaz started to spin his tire, causing the back of his weapon to open up, revealing a dark pink inside, with the holes on the side being covered by the metal moving. Then the heads at the end of the barrel turned their heads to the side forming a triangle.
"Time to get rid of you two." Diaz said to Scarlet and Cyclizar, as he grabbed the extra handle, and pressed the button. That's when the weapons barrel started to spin at high speed, as a very large amount of air and energy from Miles, and fired a tornade of purple wind at Scarlet and Cyclizar, blowing them away and sending them flying towards the city.
But before Scarlet and Cyclizar were sent flying, Scarlet wrapped his whip around Diaz's right leg. And with a tight grip on the handle, and tightly wrapped around Diaz's leg, this meant when Scarlet was sent flying, so was Diaz. "WHOA!" Diaz yelled, as he, Scarlet, and Cyclizar were sent flying off into the city.
(Diaz! Kansan, go find the others. Teudus, you and the other's keep an eye on everyone here. I'm going to help Diaz!) Miles said to everyone, as he ran into the city as fast as he could run. (On it.) The Other Pokemon said, as they did as Miles asked.
In the city, Diaz, Scarlet, and Cyclizar crashed into the middle of a street, causing cracks to appear in the street, causing a small dust cloud, and scaring off some people that were in the area.
"Note To self, try and make sure to never do that again." Diaz said, as the dust cleared, and they got up, but their heads were ringing from the crash. Diaz was the first to clear his head, and after removing the whip from his leg, he immediately got back to fighting, with Diaz firing bursts of air at Scarlet and Cyclizar, forcing them to cover their heads again with their arms.
But Scarlet lowered one of his arms and pulled his Brute Bonnet Ignition Key, and inserted it into the slot with the black side facing him. "DARK!" An aggressive voice said from his belt, as Scarlet ripped it out of the slot with enough force to not only break the crystal off it, but making the tire on his belt spin counter clockwise, and glowed black.
This made Cyclizar's tire sack glow black, and a giant black crystal tire popped out of Cyclizar's throat. Then the tire moved towards Diaz, knocking Diaz back a bit before turning around and hitting
"TE… RA… STALL… I… ZING!" The man said, as the dark tire turned to him, and hit him, causing the tire to fall apart. This let out a dark pulse of energy, and the crystals attached to his body.
"BRUTE BONNET!" An aggressive voice said from his belt, as the crystals broke apart, revealing Scarlet in his Brute Bonnet form.
Scarlet then moved in front of Cyclizar, and got on his knees and planted his weapons into the ground, then bowed his head, planting his hat right behind his weapons. This formed a bumper that blocked Diaz's air blast, and caused the air blast to bounce off and start hitting the walls and streets around Scarlet.
"We're Miles when I need him!?" Diaz asked, as he kept shooting, trying to break through Scarlet's defenses. (I'm… here…) Miles said, as he came running up to Diaz, breathing heavily.
"Miles, perfect timing." Diaz said to Miles, as he pulled out his Iron Tread Ignition Key and put it into the slot, with the light brown side facing him. "GROUND!" A techno voice said from the belt. Diaz then hit the button.
This caused the handle to pop out of the slot, minus the crystal, and made the tire spin clockwise, with the tire glowing light brown. This made Miles' tire sack glow light brown, and a giant light brown crystal tire popped out of Miles' throat.
The tire headed straight for Diaz. "TERASTALLIZING!" Diaz yelled, as the tire hit him and caused the tire to fall apart. This let out a sliver pulse of energy, and the crystals attached to Diaz's body. "IRON TREADS!" A techno voice said, as the crystal broke apart, revealing Diaz in his Iron Treads form.
With Diaz in his new form, Scarlet stood up, and they both got into a fighting stance, banning their weapons into each other.
(Dragon Rush!) Miles said, as his body became encased in purple energy, with wings and a dragon head formed the energy around his head and the back of front legs, before he started growling at Scarlet and Cyclizar.
(Iron… Tail…) Cyclizar said, as his tail glowed silver, and he started slamming his tail into the ground in a intimidating way towards Diaz and Miles
"Ring the bell!" Diaz said, as they all rushed at each other.
When Diaz and Scarlet clashed, and started a fight, slamming their shields into each other. All while Miles stood in front of Cyclizar roaring at him while still covered in the energy, with Cyclizar swatting his tail at Miles, keeping Miles back.
During the fist fight, Diaz was able to knock Scarlet's arms away, and used his shields to keep them away, as he started to slam his right knee into Scarlet's multiple times. Getting tired of this, Scarlet dropped his head, bashing his hat into Diaz's head, stunning Diaz, and letting Scarlet kick Diaz away.
Without saying a word, Scarlet pulled out his Great Tusk Ignition Key. "FIGHTING!" An aggressive voice said from his belt, as Scarlet ripped it out of the slot with enough force to not only break the crystal off it, but making the tire on his belt spin counter clockwise, and glowed brown.
This made Cyclizar's tire sack glow black, and a giant brown crystal tire popped out of Cyclizar's throat. With the tire hitting Miles, and forcing Miles back and breaking the energy around him, before turning to Scarlet.
"TE… RA… STALL… I… ZING!" The man said, as the brown tire turned to him, and hit him, causing the tire to fall apart. This let out a brown pulse of energy, and the crystals attached to his body.
"GREAT TUSK!" An aggressive voice said from his belt, as the crystals broke apart, revealing Scarlet in his Great Tusk form. (Power… Whip…) Cyclizar said, as his tail glowed green and grew.
Then the two of them rushed Diaz, with aggressive force, forcing Diaz to hold up his shields in a defense stance. Diaz tried to block their attacks, but Scarlet wild attacks forced Diaz to his knees. Then Cyclizar whipped the back of his legs, forcing Diaz onto his back, and letting Scarlet and Cyclizar to start whaling on Diaz's chest, making Diaz groan.
(Protect!) Miles said, as he moved on top of Diaz, as Scarlet and Cyclizar were off him, and formed a green bubble around them, keeping Scarlet and Cyclizar away from him. But that didn't stop Scarlet and Cyclizar from whaling on the bubble.
"Let's see how they handle something twice their size." Diaz said, as he pulled out his Iron Thorns Ignition Key, and inserted it into the slot with the dark tan side facing him. "ROCK!" A techno voice said from the driver.
Diaz then hit the button This caused the handle to pop out of the slot, minus the crystal, and made the tire spin clockwise, with the tire glowing dark tan. This made Miles' tire sack glow dark tan, and a giant dark tan crystal tire popped out of Miles' throat.
That's when Miles dropped the Protect, and the tire hit Scarlet and Cyclizar, forcing them back, before the tire turned around and headed straight for Diaz.
"TERASTALLIZING!" Diaz yelled, as the tire hit him and caused the tire to fall apart. This let out a dark tan pulse of energy, and the crystals attached to Diaz's body.
"IRON THORNS!" A techno voice said, from the driver, as all the crystals broke apart, revealing Diaz in his Iron Thorns form. Then Diaz jammed his arms into the street, and electricity flowed down his arms and into the street, this allowed Diaz to tear out a large piece of the street, and threw it at Scarlet and Cyclizar.
This made Scarlet and Cyclizar jump onto the street, dodging the piece of the street Diaz threw at them, and making the piece of the street smash a building wall.
And before Scarlet or Cyclizar could get up, Diaz ran to them, and grabbed Scarlet's right leg and Cyclizar's tail. Diaz then started to spin around a little before throwing Scarlet and Cyclizar threw a couple buildings, and covering them in rubble.
But Scarlet then forced the rubble off him and started to rush through the buildings to Diaz. While rushing Diaz, Scarlet pulled out his Slither Wing Ignition Key, and inserted it into the slot with the sickly green side facing him.
"BUG!" An aggressive voice said from his belt, as Scarlet ripped it out of the slot with enough force to not only break the crystal off it, but making the tire on his belt spin counter clockwise, and glowed sickly green.
This made Cyclizar's tire sack glow black, and a giant sickly green crystal tire popped out of Cyclizar's throat. The tire ran after Scarlet, and reached Scarlet before he reached Diaz.
"TE… RA… STALL… I… ZING!" The man said, as the sickly green tire turned to him, and hit him, causing the tire to fall apart. This let out a sickly green pulse of energy, and the crystals attached to his body.
"SLITHER WING!" An aggressive voice said from his belt, as the crystals broke apart, revealing Scarlet in his Slither Wing form, right as he reached Diaz. Diaz then did an uppercut with his rock ax into Diaz's chest, sending Diaz flying into another building.
(Giga Impact!) Miles said, letting out a massive amount of white energy, and rushed Scarlet. But Scarlet slammed his ax into the street, and then he used his ax's handle to help him jump up and dodge Miles' attack, making Miles crash into another wall and smash it.
Once Scarlet was on the ground, he pulled his ax out of the ground, and turned to the building he knocked Diaz into, expecting Diaz to come out. But to his surprise, Diaz came bursting out from the second floor of the building, and tried to crush him. However Scarlet quickly got over the surprise, and used his ax to swat Diaz out of the air and away from him.
This caused Diaz to roll a little on the street, and caused a piece of the rubble to close the slot, and turned off his Iron Thorns form, and back to his Violet Iron form.
"Okay. looks like close combat isn't going to work on that form. So let's try my future version of that armor." Diaz said, as he pulled out his Iron Moth Ignition Key, and inserted it into the slot, with the red side facing him.
"FIRE!" A techno voice said from the belt. Diaz then hit the button This caused the handle to pop out of the slot, minus the crystal, and made the tire spin clockwise, with the tire glowing red. This made Miles' tire sack glow red, and a giant red crystal tire popped out of Miles' throat.
The tire rolled out of the building, and towards Scarlet. (Iron… Tail…) Cyclizar said, as he came running up to Scarlet, his tail glowed silver. Cyclizar then swatted the tire to the side, making it miss Scarlet, before it rolled towards Diaz.
"TERASTALLIZING!" Diaz yelled, as the tire hit him and caused the tire to fall apart. This let out a red pulse of energy, and the crystals attached to Diaz's body.
"IRON MOTH!" A techno voice said, from the belt, as all the crystals broke apart, revealing Diaz in his Iron Moth form.
Diaz then held out his left hand, sending his orange diamonds flying off his back and around Scarlet and Cyclizar. Diaz then turned his blasters dial to the sun symbol, and started to fire a large amount of lasers at Scarlet and Cyclizar. And while Scarlet and Cyclizar did try to dodge the lasers, Diaz wiggled his fingers, making the orange diamonds redirect the lasers back at them.
This caused large bursts of parks to appear all over their bodies. (Pr… o… te… ct!) Cyclizar said, as he formed a green bubble around himself and Scarlet, stopping the lasers from hitting them.
"Oh come on?! He learns Protect now!" Diaz said, as he stopped firing his lasers.
With the lasers stopped, Scarlet pulled out his Sandy Shock Ignition Key, and inserted it into the slot, with the yellow side facing him. "ELECTRICITY!" An aggressive voice said from his driver, as Scarlet ripped it out of the slot with enough force to not only break the crystal off it, but making the tire on his driver spin counter clockwise, and glowed yellow.
As Cyclizar dropped the Protect, Cyclizar's tire sack glowed yellow, and a giant yellow crystal tire popped out of Cyclizar's throat. The tire moved forward a little before turning around towards Scarlet.
"TE… RA… STALL… I… ZING!" Scarlet said, as the yellow crystal tire moved towards him, and hit him, causing the tire to fall apart. This let out a yellow pulse of energy, and the crystals attached to his body.
"SHOCKS!" An aggressive voice said from his driver, as the crystals broke apart, revealing Scarlet in his Sandy Shocks form.
"That's not good." Diaz said, as he retracted his diamonds to his back. At the same time Scarlet's staff started to let out small sparks of electricity.
That's when the street started to shake, and pieces of iron came out from the ground, and Scarlet flung them at Diaz. Diaz then fired his lasers at the iron, blowing them up as he hit them.
The two of them kept this up for a few seconds, until Diaz missed a piece of iron, making the piece of ice hit Diaz in the chest hard, at the same time the laser hit Scarlet in the chest, causing a very large burst of sparks.
These attacks caused both Diaz and Scarlet to fall to the ground, and transform back into their Violet Iron and Scarlet Beast form. Both of them groaned, as they stood up.
"Okay. This has gone on long enough. Let's finish this." Diaz said to Scarlet, as he spun the tire on his diver clockwise, making his right foot glowing violet, and his thrusters turned on.
"A… gree!" Scarlet said, as he spun the tire on his belt counter clockwise, making his right foot glowed scarlet.
Diaz and Scarlet then yelled at each other before jumping into the air, with their left leg pulled up to their body. Then their bodies made a 45 degree turn pointing their right leg at each other.
Diaz and Scarlet then yelled again, as they moved towards each other, meeting in the middle, and clashing right foot with right foot, and making a surge of violet and scarlet energy as they spun in a circle, while still in the air.
"My… str… en… gth… un… mat… ch!" Scarlet said to Diaz. "You may be stronger than me. But I have something you don't. A REASON TO FIGHT!" Diaz said to Scarlet, before yelling even louder, and producing even more violet energy.
This let Diaz's right foot push Scarlet's right foot back, letting him slip free of the lock they were in, and kick Scarlet in the chest. Diaz yelled louder, as he was sent Scarlet flying down the street, and into a build causing a large explosion.
Worried about them, Miles and Cyclizar rush to the building they crash in. When they reached the building, they found the building was a library, with all its books and shelves scattered around the building in a mess, with a few books and shelves on fire, plus some pieces of the roof and walls also on the floor.
Miles and Cyclizar looked around, trying to find Diaz and Scarlet, but could see them. That's when something under some books started to move, putting Miles and Cyclizar on edge.
But that edge dropped for Miles, when it turned out to be Diaz who was under the books. "Okay. I have over done it." Diaz said to everyone, as they heard some rubble moving, making everyone turn to see Scarlet digging himself out of the rubble.
But after getting free from the rubble, Scarlet took a couple steps before dropping to his knees, and transformed back into his normal form, revealing many scratches on his face, and a few rips in his clothes.
"You… win… finish… me…" Scarlet said to Diaz, ready for Diaz to deliver a killing blow. "What?! No! I'm not killing you." Diaz said to Scarlet. "You… must…" Scarlet said to Diaz. "No I don't!" Diaz said to Scarlet.
"One… alpha… Strong… sur…vive… Weak… die…" Scarlet said to Diaz, making Diaz realize something. "So that's why you wanted to fight. You wanted to know which one of us is the strongest, to decide which one of us is allowed to live. But why?" Diaz asked Scarlet.
"It… way…" Scarlet said to Diaz, making another thought pop into Diaz's head. "Right, your power is using armor that looks like they're from the past, where only the strongest creature can survive the harsh world. But if you're my replica, then you must know that things aren't like that any more." Diaz said to Scarlet.
"Know… no…" Scarlet said to Diaz. "You mean, I know nothing. And what do you mean nothing. I've seen you fight and somewhat talk." Diaz said to Scarlet. "Fight… all… fight… body… know… Word… self…" Scarlet said to Diaz.
"You mean, that your fighting is all in your body and instincts, and you taught yourself to talk. Didn't Asch and the other God Generals teach you anything?" Diaz asked Scarlet. "They… no… care… Me… tool… Said… waste…" Scarlet said to Diaz.
"In other words they didn't care about you enough to teach you anything. You were just something for their uses." Diaz said to Scarlet, before turning off his driver and was back in his normal form, with a few cuts and bruises on his face.
And while turning back to his normal form, he looked down at his feet and noticed a story book. Diaz picked it up, and flipped a few pages, and saw he could read the book. He had no idea how he could read it, but he was glad he could.
"Well it's never too late to learn who you really are. Uh… You know I never did learn your name." Diaz said to Scarlet.
"Scarlet… Beast… Scarlet… Beast…" Scarlet said to Diaz. "No, that's what your driver calls your base from. What's your name?" Diaz asked Scarlet. "No… name…" Scarlet said to Diaz.
"They didn't even bother to give you a name. Jerks." Diaz said to Scarlet, thinking of the God Generals, before having an idea.
"Well, you need a name, and since you're my replica, why don't we call you Zaid. It's my name spelled backwards, similar yet different. Just like us. And while we are at it, why don't we call your Cyclizar Selim. Like our name it's Miles spelled backwards similar yet different. Just like them.
"Zaid… Selim… Our… names… Like." Scarlet, now Zaid said to Diaz. (Me… too...) Cyclizar, now Selim said to Diaz. (I'm okay with this idea. It makes sense when you think about it.) Miles said to Diaz.
"Glad you all like it. Now come here Zaid and Selim. I want to show you two that life is not all about fighting." Diaz said to Zaid and Selim, as he sat down, and patted the area on his sides. Curious, Zaid and Selim moved to Diaz's side.
Once they were at Diaz's side, Diaz started to read the book to them, teaching them life isn't just about survival of the fittest, that it's a wonderful thing, even with its ups and down. Even teaching Zaid how to read a little.
Of course that's when the rest of the gang finally showed up, and was completely confused that Diaz and Zaid were sitting down and Diaz reading to Zaid and even teaching Zaid how to read, after seeing all the damage they did with their fighting.
TWISTED REALM.
Meanwhile in the Twisted Realm, The cloak figure and Eshu looked at the bord, with Eshu's hands covering his face. "This is bad. Now Yulia's Sin is only one move away from ending the world. That's if fool Van, who bears Yulia's Curse, doesn't end the world first." Eshu said to the cloak figure.
"Yes, but now Violet and Scarlet are together, and bonding. So they may still have a chance to turn this game around. Plus, now there's a wild piece on the board. A pawn that the other two sides don't want. But a pawn we can turn into a new devil. If he chooses to be." The cloak figure said to Eshu, as he picked up Luke's piece off the board and looked closely at it.
Hello everyone please like, follow, or review if you like this story. So tomorrow, I'll post the next chapter.