AN: Hey, everyone. I'm back! Sorry this chapter took so long, but I had a recent death of a very close family friend, so it messed me up for a bit. I actually intended to post this yesterday since it went up on P atreon last Friday, but I forgot. Whoops! I would like to take a step to thank my patrons.
Publicist Tier:
CCSecret
Editor Tier:
MegaMann14
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With all that said, onwards!
Chapter 4: A Theoretical Victory
The giant Gogol angrily pounded its fists on the ground as it snarled angrily at Russel, Brighid, Sam, and Nia. Sam backed away, pulling on Russel's arm to make sure he was out of harm's way. Nia and Brighid took up defensive positions in front of their Drivers, and Sam drew Nia's sword. Russel reached for Brighid's whipswords at his hips, but Sam placed a hand in front of him to stop him.
"Give Brighid her swords for now," Sam said. "Let her fight. You stay back."
"But I've been training!" Russel objected.
"Don't argue with him," Brighid said. "You've been working hard, but this opponent is too much for you to handle right now."
"But—"
"Stop arguing and give her the swords!" Nia shouted as the Gogol roared and charged, raising a mighty fist. Nia jumped in front of Sam, conjuring a barrier that blocked the punch. Nia grimaced as she strained to keep the monster at bay.
"Hydro Blast!" Sam shouted, launching a blast of water with a swing of Nia's sword, making the Gogol stumble back.
"Russel, now!" Brighid shouted, holding out her hands. "Give me my swords!"
"Here!" Russel said, drawing the whipswords and tossing them to her.
"Now stay back!" Brighid shouted after catching the swords, before charging at the Gogol. She extended the whipswords, igniting flames all along the lengths of the whips to make the blade segments float. She jumped up, and with a battle cry, swung the weapons down, creating an explosion of blue flame. The Gogol stumbled backwards, but with a gust of wind from its fist, blew the flames away.
"Oh, that's just great," Sam grumbled as he, Nia, and Brighid took a few steps away from the monster.
"Why?" Russel asked.
"It's a wind-elemental monster. We need an ice-elemental Blade to fight it," Sam said as he raised Nia's sword to get back into a defensive position. "Brighid's a Fire-elemental, and Nia's a water-element, so we're at a disadvantage."
"So what do we do?" Brighid asked.
"Just hit it as hard as we can!" Sam said, before he and Brighid charged at it again, with Nia providing Ether to Sam through her outstretched hand. As Russel watched the battle unfold, his attention gradually shifted to his own hand…
"Alright, Russel," Sam said as Russel stood several feet away from him, holding Brighid's whipswords in his hands. "Today we're going to learn about Ether."
"Ether?" Russel asked.
"Ether is energy that flows through all living things, and what allows Blades and Drivers to use Arts," Brighid said. "It also allows us to exchange energy between ourselves and power each other up."
"Really?" Russel asked.
"Yup," Nia said. "It's also what lets us Blades create those barriers you see us use."
"Cool," Russel said. "But, what does this have to do with learning how to fight?"
"Well, I'm going to teach you how to channel Ether," Sam said.
"Channel it? What does that mean? Isn't Ether already all around us?"
"Well, yes, but you and your Blade can pump it into each other," Sam said. He drew Nia's sword. "Watch this." He gave several demonstrative swings of the weapon. He turned to look at Nia. "Now, if you please."
His Blade extended her hand towards Sam, and a blue line of energy formed that connected the two of them. "Quicken Arts!" she shouted.
"And now…!" Sam shouted, swinging his sword again, but visibly faster this time.
"Cool!" Russel exclaimed.
"See?" Sam asked. "Channeling Ether helps make us stronger. It's all up to you and Brighid to establish and maintain the connection. It takes both of you working together to get the best results. Think you understand?"
"I think so," Russel nodded.
"Brighid!" Russel shouted, extending his hand. "Link up!"
Brighid shifted her attention towards Russel for a split second before nodding. "Let's do it!"
Russel felt his mental connection with Brighid being established, and a blue line of energy appeared, linking their two bodies. "Quicken Arts!" Brighid shouted, increasing her own speed. Sam nodded at Nia, who copied the Fire Blade's actions.
The Gogol slammed its fist down into the ground, but the three combatants jumped out of the way. Due to the monster's massive size, Brighid was able to jump onto the back of the Gogol's hand and run up its arm, slashing it across the face as she jumped passed it. The monster recoiled in pain, and Sam charged forward.
"Hydro Blast!" The explosion of water capitalized on the monster being left unsteady to knock it flat on its back. Brighid jumped onto the Gogol's stomach.
"Heat Haze!" she shouted, spinning and surrounding herself in a ring of blue flame. The Gogol roared in pain, flailing its limbs around and forcing Brighid to jump off its stomach.
"Nia, now!" Sam shouted, tossing her sword back to her.
"On it!" she shouted, charging forward. "Merciful Heart!" She launched a shockwave made of water at the Gogol, and try as it might, it still couldn't get up. To Russel's surprise, a puff of steam appeared over the Gogol and burned its flesh.
"Brighid!" Sam shouted. "Finish the combo!"
"Of course!" Brighid shouted, lunging at the Gogol with her swords once again engulfed in flames, flailing them around wildly. "Swirling Dragon!" In the aftermath of Brighid's attack, there was a great explosion of steam that launched the Gogol several feet backwards and onto its back.
"Did you do it?" Russel asked, waiting for the steam to settle.
Nia tossed her sword back to Sam, who stood in a defensive position. "I wouldn't count on it." As the steam faded, to Russel's horror, he saw that the Gogol had stood back up, flesh red and raw, but still at full strength. It roared, clearly very upset at having its skin burned.
"Oh, come on!" Nia complained.
"It's just as I thought," Sam said, breathing heavily. "It's no use. We need an Ice-element Blade to hurt this thing enough to kill it."
"So what do we do?" Brighid asked.
"I don't know," Sam said. "I'm starting to think coming here was a mistake."
Russel looked around the area again, and noticed that the fight had shifted the Gogol's position. It was no longer directly in the path of the two fallen Core Crystals. He had a choice to make.
Either he could try to resonate with that Crystal and hope it was an Ice Blade. If it wasn't, they would either die or manage to retreat.
Or he could not try to resonate, in which case, they would still either die or retreat.
It wasn't a very hard decision. In fact, it wasn't very different from the decision he made a year ago when he resonated with Brighid.
"Brighid, Sam!" he shouted as he bolted towards the fallen Crystals. "Cover me!"
"What?" Sam asked.
"Russel, wait!" Brighid said, but neither could protest further, as they had to shift their attention to making sure the Gogol didn't come after Russel.
He could hear the sounds of battle behind him, but he pushed them out of his mind, and dove.
His hand clasped around one of the Core Crystals, and a bright light exploded from it. When the light faded, he saw a young woman standing before him, with pale blue hair pulled into a loose bun, and an eyepatch covering her left eye with an icicle coming out of it. In fact, ice was a common theme of her appearance, with the woman wearing an all-black outfit with pieces of white armor that looked vaguely like icicles, and pieces of bronze accenting her clothing. In the center of her chest was a V-shaped Core Crystal. In her left hand she held a sheath containing a long, curved sword that Russel remembered was called a Chroma Katana.
"I am called Theory," she said, her voice as cold as her appearance would suggest. "I swear by this sword! I will cleave all! I will protect all!" She held her sword aloft. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Uh, hi," Russel said.
"Are you my Driver?" Theory asked.
"Uh, yes. I'm Russel."
"Russel, did it work?!" Sam shouted.
Russel quickly turned his head to look to the others. "Uh, I think so!" He quickly turned back to Theory. "I really hope you're an ice Blade."
"I am," Theory said. "Why?"
Russel pointed at the Gogol. "I know this is sudden, but we need help fighting that. It's a wind-element."
"Understood," Theory said.
"Russel!" Sam shouted, sounding cross. "What Blade did you get?!"
"She's Ice!" Russel shouted.
"Wait, seriously?" Nia asked. "How'd you get so lucky?"
"Less talking, more fighting, please!" Brighid said.
"Will you help us, Theory?" Russel asked.
She drew her katana, the blade glowing bright blue. "I will." She charged forwards.
Theory leaped into the air, slashing downwards as she descended. The Gogol stumbled backwards in pain. Theory landed next to Brighid.
"So, you're Russel's new Blade," Brighid said. "I'm Brighid, his first Blade. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise. I am Theory."
"Ladies, can we do introductions later?" Sam asked, using Nia's sword to point at the recovering Gogol. "He looks right pissed now."
As if to confirm Sam's words, the Gogol roared and lunged at them, throwing its fists wildly. Brighid, Sam, and Nia dodged them, but Theory slashed its right wrist with her katana, making it clutch the appendage in pain. She then slashed it multiple times in the back, dropping it to its knee.
"Brighid!" Sam shouted. "Start another combo!"
"On it!" Brighid shouted, running up to the Gogol. "Heat Haze!" Once again, a ring of fire appeared around her, making the Gogol roar in pain.
"Nia!" Sam shouted, tossing her the sword.
"Merciful Heart!" Nia shouted, sending another shockwave of water at the Gogol, knocking it over and making another puff of steam appear and burn the monster's flesh.
"Theory, you're up!" Sam shouted. "The monster's wind! Finish it off!"
"Understood," Theory said, drawing her sword. She lifted her hand and summoned a massive pillar of ice. "Rebel Sister," She said, slashing her katana and smashing the pillar, causing the pieces to rain down on the Gogol. In addition, it froze the steam that had been kicked up by Nia's earlier attack. The steam turned into razor-sharp shards of ice that sliced the Gogol's flesh.
The giant Gogol roared in agony, desperately trying to swat away the ice shards at they shredded its skin. It was in vain, as with a final whimper, the monster collapsed in a heap.
"Is it… is it dead?" Nia asked, trying to catch her breath.
Sam cautiously crept towards the fallen monster. He deactivated the energy blade of Nia's sword and poked it experimentally with the hilt. The Gogol didn't move. Russel let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"Yes, it's dead," Sam said, hanging Nia's weapon back up on his belt. "Well, that was something." He turned to look at Theory. "Thanks for your help, young lady. I'm Sam, Russel's mentor. I think I heard your name was Theory?"
"Correct," Theory said, bowing politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm Nia," the Blade in question said. "I'm Sam's Blade. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
"It looks like Russel resonated with a strong Blade," Brighid said. "That was very impressive,"
"Thank you."
"'Resonated with a strong Blade'," Sam said mockingly. "You say that as if his first wasn't literally the strongest Blade in the entire Empire."
"Then it seems I'm in good company," Theory said, surprising everyone.
"…Oh, I like her," Brighid said with a smirk.
"So, now that we killed the Gogol, we should go talk to Umon, right?" Russel asked. "It should be safe for him to get the wood he needs."
"Right," Sam said. "But first…" he turned to look at the fallen Driver, specifically the second inactive Core Crystal. "Let's get what we came for."
"Oh right," Russel said. "I resonated with the first Crystal, and you wanted the other one."
"Right," Sam said, walking towards it with Russel and their Blades following close behind. "Fingers crossed." He reached down and picked it up. He took several deep breaths. "Here goes nothing." The Crystal started to give off a faint light, but after a few seconds, Sam started to yell in pain as the skin on his palm began to sizzle.
With a final cry of agony, he managed to let go of the Crystal to clutch his burned hand, and before he could really stop to think about what he was doing, Russel reached out to catch it. A bright light emanated from the Crystal, and before his eyes it transformed.
After the light subsided, standing before him was another young woman. She had blue hair the same color as Theory's, and even a similar eyepatch as her, only on the opposite eye and without the icicle. She had tan skin and wore what looked like a black wetsuit that was left open at the stomach with white armor covering her chest and thighs, high-heeled shoes, and round, bubble-like objects in her hair, her forearms, hips, and her behind. She also had a V-shaped Core Crystal in her chest identical to Theory's. "Hi! I'm Praxis!" she said, hefting a Mega-Lance whose tip was cascading with water. "With this lance, I'll reach for all my dreams!"
"Damn it," Sam muttered as Nia conjured a small ball of water to cool down and heal his hand.
Praxis walked over to Russel and stooped down a little bit to look him in the eyes. "Oh, are you my Driver?"
"Yes," Russel said with a smile. "I'm Russel."
Without warning, Praxis suddenly engulfed Russel in a hug and held him tightly against her chest. "Oh, you're just a little cutie-pie, aren't you?!"
"Praxis…" Russel said. "Can't breathe."
"Oh, sorry," she said, letting him go. "I couldn't help it. Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Russel."
"Nice to meet you, too."
Brighid stepped forward. "Welcome to the team, Praxis. I'm Brighid, Russel's first Blade."
"Nice to meetcha, Brighid."
Brighid gestured towards Theory. "And this is Russel's second Blade, Theory."
"Nice to meet you, Theory," Praxis said, to which Theory silently nodded in greeting. "So I'm third, huh?"
"I was only awakened minutes before you," Theory said.
"Oh, well, that makes me feel a little better," Praxis said before turning to Russel and Nia. "And who are you two? She's not another one of Russel's Blades, is she? Am I actually fourth?"
"No, no, Nia's my Blade," Sam said. "I'm Sam, Russel's mentor. I actually tried to resonate with you, but your Core Crystal rejected me."
"Really?" Praxis asked. "You must be lamer than you look, then." Nia burst out laughing, while Sam grumbled in consternation.
"It seems like our little family just suddenly got a lot bigger," Brighid said.
"Family?" Theory asked.
"You know, now that I think about it…" Nia said, looking back and forth between Praxis and Theory. "You two actually are pretty similar."
"Yeah, they are," Russel said. "They're almost like sisters."
"Sisters?" Praxis asked, she and Theory looking at each other. "Yeah, I can see that. What do you think, sis?"
"Please don't call me that," Theory said.
"So, does that make Brighid the mum?" Sam asked with a snicker, only for Brighid to poke the still-sore skin on his palm. "Ouch!"
"So, now that that's out of the way…" Praxis said, turning to face everyone.
"Where to?"
AN: So, Russel's new Blades are Praxis and Theory. I'm really looking forward to showing you what I have in store for the future with them.
I wanted to talk for a bit about my thought process with Sam not being able to get any Blades other than Nia. In the game, the explanation that Amalthus gives publicly about the cleansing process of Core Crystals is to keep them as basic Blades so they're easier to resonate with. That tells me that it's possible for Drivers to resonate with some Blades but not all. Therefore, I thought it would be an interesting quirk if Sam was able to resonate with Nia and every other one he encounters refuses to resonate with him.
Once again, it would mean the world to me if you join the P atreon for sneak peeks at new chapters and access to finished chapters a week early.
As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!