Sol paused before tapping on Alex on the shoulder. Asking in a quiet tone, "Did you hear something or did you feel something?"
Alex stopped and turned towards Sol, a blank expression on his face. "There's... skittering. Outside. A lot of skittering." He pointed straight towards the door, Calcabrina already in his hands.
"And screeching. Skittering, screeching, something hard hitting something else, like plastic against plastic."
"Okay, we hit them hard and fast?" Sol asked, drawing his sword and readying his pistol. He could now notice the noise Alex mentioned. It was just barely audible in the back store room and without Alex pointing it out, he'd have either not noticed it or thought it was his nerves getting to him.
"I'm ready whenever you are."
"Yes. You go in first and I follow shooting? Or side by side?" Alex asked, already taking out his sword and firmly grabbing the sheath.
"I'll go first, I don't think there's enough space to charge out side by side without tripping over each other," Sol said before moving in front of Alex. Readying his sword, Sol slowly approached the door. He placed his hand on the doorknob, looked back to Alex, took a breath, and threw the door open while roaring out a challenge and a violent display of movement. Sol only realized that the store was populated by roughly four Empusa as he vaulted over the counter.
He brought his sword down on the nearest one, the blade driving deep into its monstrous skull. As it spasmed, he called out to Alex, "Four Empusa." He wrenched the sword out and brought it down again. "Three Empusa!"
"One." Alex's answer was followed by two charged bullets, before he shot forward, cleaving one in half and pushing the tip of the umbrella in the mouth of one, and blasting its inside with magical bullets in a single move.
Only to stop a moment later, his eyes glowing silver-grey and purple. "I didn't know I could do that."
"Well shit, keep it up!" Sol responded before turning his new pistol on the last Empusa. The barrage of gunfire pushed the demon towards the entrance, where Sol finished it with a Stinger. The Empusa crumpled in on itself before fading into a mass of red orbs. "And that makes Zero…" Sol backpedaled back to Alex while de-cocking his pistol. "Are you hearing anything else?" He asked quietly.
"Hearing, no." Alex gulped and pointed out, towards the front of the store. "Seeing, on the other hand…"
The massive form of a demon appeared from a red portal, the whole thing taking a few, long seconds to emerge. It resembled a praying mantis, landing on all four of her legs. The front limbs ended in two wicked looking scythes, long - longer than both of them, really - and sharp. A human skull was her face and a 'crown' made of blood clots was her crown.
No name appeared in front of them, luckily, but both of them knew what that thing was.
Queen Empusa
"Oh, fuck you. That was the monster that the kids had to evade?" Alex grit his teeth, looking at the demon outside.
"Well, ain't no rest for the wicked. Same tactics as before?" Sol asked while checking his pistol.
"Dunno if it's gonna work, but sure. Just… pay attention. You don't want to… I don't know, lose an arm or something." Alex twirled his sword with what looked like experience. It wasn't, he was just lucky that it didn't fall on the ground.
"I'll open with a charged bolt, you then use the moment to attract it towards the side?" He was already starting to charge a bullet, his eyes observing what the demon was doing.
Mostly, nothing. She seemed to stay still and surveil her surroundings. On the other hand, she still hadn't seen them, so there was that to thank for it.
Sol gave Alex a flat look through his helmet, before saying, "If she does that, I'm taking one of her arms as recompense… On second thought, I don't want to look like Jeff Goldblum from The Fly."
He got his weapons ready, "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be. On three." Alex pointed his umbrella towards the Queen and aimed carefully at her face. It was risky, but he was a bit more precise with a magical bullet than with guns, so it worked. "Three!" And he unleashed his attack.
As the attack hit, Sol began to move and began to close in on the Queen Empusa. Using the charge shot as a distraction, Sol brought his sword down on the Queen Empusa's leg joint, intent on crippling. Unlike the regular Empusa, the sword did not easily pass through, but the strike did some damage based on how the demon recoiled.
"Try and stay at her back! Be careful!" Alex shouted, before charging another shot and then following it with a stream of normal ones. While he was doing this, he kept walking towards her, planning on moving to the side, to pincer her between them.
"Right!" Sol called back before moving further to the demon's rear. Without grace, he began to stab at the back half of the Queen Empusa, hoping that it wouldn't decide to kick backward.
She didn't. She just jumped, all of a sudden, her shadow darkening Sol's form as she started coming down. Even Alex's shout and the charged bolt didn't stop her descent, her weight too much for him.
As if on instinct, Sol let loose a stinger blasting forward out of the falling zone and past Alex.
"We're the bug stompers, not the Bug stomped!" Sol shouted.
Alex didn't facepalm at that line, but only because they were in the middle of a fight.
Right after that, the Empusa Queen landed on the ground where Sol was a moment before, cratering the ground under her, and shaking the entire area.
"Damn, another jump like that and…" Alex blinked, before turning towards Sol. "Make her jump again!"
"What!?" Sol shouted in surprise before realizing what Alex was getting at. "Oh… oh hell this is going to suck." He said before moving in on the Queen Empusa. There WAS a plan Sol would have liked to have used which involved doing what he did before and eventually getting behind it. However, there were two problems with that plan. The first was simply that Sol simply couldn't easily get on either side of the Queen Empusa. The other was…
"Fuck… gah!"
Was the fact that the Queen Empusa backhanded the man into the wall as he attempted to move around it. Its victory was somewhat short-lived as Sol began to rapidly cut and hack at the limb that pinned him to the wall. Several deep scoring cuts later the Queen Empusa threw the man to the ground in a rage before leaping again and aiming downward. Sol managed to just barely get out of the landing zone in time, however the damage was clear. His breastplate had a clear indentation just beneath the sternum and the back of his left greave was shredded from flying debris.
"Ah… hope… that bitch is dead… feels like my chest is on fire!" Sol gasped out.
The Queen Empusa was very much NOT dead. On the other hand, the crater where she had landed groaned and creaked, then fell from under her, bringing her and everything around her down one floor, completely covering it in rubble and rocks.
"Are you still alive?" Alex's voice was pretty worried, but, if Sol answered, he didn't have the chance to hear it, as the Queen roared from the floor down. But only the upper part of her body was visible and one blade was snapped in half.
"Get the hint you mantis bitch." Sol groaned before firing at the Queen Empusa's head. The rounds bothered it but didn't do much else beyond that.
She roared again and started struggling, the amount of stone over her slowing her down significantly, but she was clearly managing to escape.
"Damn it." Alex bit out, before charging a shot and hitting her right in the head. "Spear her, I'll support you from above!"
"Ye… Yeah!" he called back before staggering forward. As the Queen Empusa was distracted, he raised his sword high and drove it deep into the demon's leg. The blade pierced the chitin and sank into the floor below. He barely got his arms up in time to block its backswing. He could feel the blow reverberate through his arms as he skidded backward.
The Queen Empusa tried to move, but it couldn't move from where it was.
"Alex! Finish her!" Sol yelled out.
Another charged shot landed on her head, stunning her for a moment, before Alex jumped down, landing on her back, sword already drawn and swinging. The blade bit into the neck of the demon, before stopping after a couple of inches or so.
"Why! Won't! You! DIE?!" He shouted, letting go of the sheath and grabbing the sword with both hands, struggling to push it forward.
The Queen Empusa tried to shirk the human off of herself before she felt something slam into her rear. Sol had come up behind her with a trash can and began to use it as a blunt weapon against the demon.
In the end, it took them almost fifteen seconds to kill her completely. An eternity during a fight, but it was what was needed as the Queen Empusa was just too durable.
Finally, her head went flying upwards and she disappeared in a flash of red orbs, throwing crimson light all around them. Alex leaned on his sword, panting heavily. "Damn, she was harder than I thought."
"I think… I think you're right. I do need better armor." Sol wheezed out before shakily wrenching his sword out of the ground. He made his way up to the second, clutching his chest.
Meeting up with Alex he simply stated, "Let's find Rodin, feels like someone is driving a weight into my chest."
"Probably the fact that a piece of metal is pressing where your lungs are!" Alex almost shouted, before moving towards him and starting to try and take out the armor. "How the fuck do you remove this anachronistic thing? WHY did you choose this anachronistic thing? Right, you didn't choose it, the Statue did. Help me get you out of this place before you choke." His hands were fluttering around the sides and the back, trying to understand how to remove it.
Sol hands moved up to his shoulders and loosened the straps. The breastplate seemed to ease up on his chest and his breathing began to ease.
"Hah… ah… that's better. You think that Rodin has a spot near the statue?" He asked slowly.
"I REALLY hope so." Alex was still breathing a bit in anxiety but was calming down. He grabbed the breastplate and brought it away from Sol. "Look, I understand you like this style of armor. But… honestly, it's not practical for this. Most demons are very agile and those that aren't, are more than strong enough to crush you to paste, armor or no armor. Please, ask Rodin for something that you can use and stay safe?"
Alex was outright pleading with him.
"Yeah, you're right… Just kinda wanted to look like a hero from an old legend, you know? It was stupid of me." Sol shakily got up and pulled out the Geryon Horn. "Okay, let's see if Rodin has something better, maybe I could do something with this."
"Yeah, that would be cool." Alex was slowly calming down before he returned his attention to the Gamestop. "So, the kids told us that the statue was inside here, but we haven't seen it. Considering we haven't checked the entire place, but just the first row of shelves and then the backroom, I'm going to hazard a guess that it's in the part we haven't checked yet."
That said, he started walking towards the place where the counter was.
"Maybe there's an office in the back that we didn't see?" Sol asked.
"I honestly don't know. Unless the door behind… Oh." Alex stopped and pointed at a door, nestled perfectly between two shelves, near two cardboard cutouts, one of Link and the other of Mewtwo, both proclaiming the new Smash Bros game. It was almost unnoticeable at first glance.
"Well, we've found a door. It's something." Alex shrugged, before going around the counter. "I'm gonna see if they have the keys for the backroom so that we can rob the consoles… Aaaand I found the entrance to the Gates of Hell. It's in the next shelving aisle"
He twisted his head back to look at Sol, a single eyebrow raised. "Way in the back. How's that for ironic?"
"Hahahaha" Sol begins to laugh before continuing, "Ah retail, how I don't miss that hellish existence."
"See you inside?" Sol asked before stepping through.
Alex nodded and followed him, stepping into the ominous red circle on the ground.
**********************************************
Sol found himself standing in the familiar bar run by a certain Fallen Angel. Said fallen angel was quietly polishing a glass. Sol looked at Alex, nodded and approached the bar.
"Hello Sir, I was wondering if you could do anything with these two items." He said while placing the Geryon horn on the bar but making sure to keep the Nidhogg limb off.
"I don't want to stain the bar, and I need to make my sword and armor stronger."
"You call that tin can armor?" That was what Rodin opened with, putting away his glass and giving a long, judging look at the armor that was still on Sol. "Kid, if you want to die, you could have just asked. I would have made it easier than letting a demon kill you, you know?"
Alex appeared from behind Sol, his eyes rolling upwards. "Yeah, I told him the same thing. Apparently, it was for the…" There, he stopped and made air quotes with his fingers. "'Aesthetics'."
Rodin looked at Alex. And then stopped. "Kid. Kid. What the fuck did you do?" His tone of voice was even flatter than it was with Sol. "No, seriously. What did you do."
Alex blushed and looked to the side, not answering.
"That was mostly my fault." Sol cut in quickly. "We encountered a.. a Geryon. We managed to bring it down, but my blade didn't cut deep enough. I turn around one moment, and the next thing I know it's goring Alex here before dropping dead on top of him. Managed to somehow connect Alex to a Divinity Statue with myself acting as a bridge between the two."
Sol was deathly quiet for a moment before continuing. "He was dying, and the option to save was some form of hybridization process the statue offered. It used up just about all the bones of that fucking horse, save the horn there to get Alex back up on his feet. I should have checked that damn kill."
Rodin's eyes were wide open. "Wait, did you say bones?"
However Alex was already rolling his eyes. "Yes, I've already forgiven you, seeing as you have also saved my life. He's just a martyr, really. I'm fine." He opened his arms and did a twirl on himself. "See?"
Except that he didn't stop when he would need to. Instead, he kept going for around a quarter of a turn, before falling down like a puppet with their strings cut.
"Alex! You all right!?" Sol asked, shocked.
"No, he isn't alright. He imperfectly fused demon flesh into his body. What did you think would happen? That'd he just walk it off? The two parts of his body are fighting each other. May not seem like much now, but it'll get worse over time." Rodin answered grimly.
He took two fast steps from behind the counter and kneeled near the guy on the ground, before pressing a hand against his right side. That made Alex scream like he was being tortured until he removed it from his side.
"Yeah, this is bad." Rodin's expression looked grim. "His liver has already started to break down. Soon it will be his kidneys, then lungs, then heart."
"Wha… what can we do?" Sol asked, horrified.
"Unless you have some more Geryon bones in hand, not much. There are three options right now." Rodin looked very serious, his eyes pinning Sol in place like a spear in the gut.
"Option one: use a lot of restoratives to keep him alive. Option two: find a compatible demon and take the liver to replace his own. Option three…" And he turned his head towards the wall of weapons behind the bar.
"What's option three?" Sol asked while following Rodin's gaze. Could it be something to do with Devil Arms? Dammit! Why did this have to happen!?
Rodin gave Sol a pitying look, before jerking his thumb towards the weapons on the wall again. Specifically, on Vendetta. An Executioner sword. "Do the math."
"No, no fucking way. We got pulled into this game of death together, we'll get out of this game of death together." Sol shot back, venom clear in his voice. "You mentioned finding a compatible demon right? Where can we go for that? What would even count?" He asked, his voice getting more heated as he went.
"I can't do this alone dammit, and he isn't going to die like this. If that stuttering deadbeat Agnus could make a geriatric priest Nero's equal in combat, then why the hell can't I figure out a way!?" Sol's mind raged.
Rodin looked at Sol for another long moment, before nodding. "I can respect that." He got back behind the counter and grabbed something gold from under the bar, before tossing it to the distraught guy.
It was a small gold CD. "Play that and a lot of demons will come to attack you. There should be at least a couple good enough for your friend there. Oh, and here." The second thing that he tossed was a green lollipop shaped like a leaf.
"A witch friend of mine gave me a couple. It will keep him healthy enough to fight and recover."
Sol held the disc almost reverently before putting it away and saying. "Thank you… I have… I have some things I want to upgrade. I know my aesthetics are stupid, but I want that horn to be a part of the armor, a lasting revenge, and these," He said while holding the finis sword and Nidhogg tentacle.
"I don't think I'll be able to do this with my current arms and armor." Sol said carefully.
"Just before coming here, we fought off a Queen Empusa," He began gesturing to his sword and then to his armor. "The sword did cut through her… body I guess, but not nearly as well as it did on the lesser ones, and one good backhand dented the armor into my chest. I can't take that risk like that. With these pieces, could you do anything about that?" Sol asked Rodin.
Rodin hummed for a moment, grabbing the stinger of Nidhogg and the piece of Geryon horn. "I might. It will cost you, but I might be able to do something. Be warned, unless you bring me some better armor, it won't be as strong as it should be. Basic materials like these…" He rapped on the steel with his knuckles, making the metal ring. "Aren't really good enough to work against demons. Sure, the Watcher of Time gave them to you, which means that they are slightly better, but still not much against demons."
He turned the materials in his hands. "I can either make something that will give you more time to dodge or something that will absorb some of the strength from any hit that comes your way. You choose. Both cases, it will cost you a pretty penny."
Sol thought about it briefly weighing the idea of wearing armor made from a demon horn or the flesh of a demonic tree parasite. In combination with general disgust at the idea of any part of Nidhogg being worn and the idea of increased dodge time like a certain witch, he went with the only sane option.
Taking off the pieces of his armor, Sol stated "I'll have the horn mixed with the armor and the Nidhogg piece with the sword. You mentioned stealing strength, but I'd rather do that actively than reflexively."
"Yeah, good choice there." Rodin nodded, before grabbing the materials. "Gonna need the rest of your armor. Strip."
Alex chuckled at that, low and more relaxed than before, the green lollipop hanging from his lips, his complexion already looking much, much better.
"Oh, to hear those words directed at me…" Rodin looked at Alex, before smirking and winking. "Yeah, you're too weak now. Maybe when you're a bit more grown up we can see. The armor." He turned back towards Sol and snapped his fingers.
Sol dutifully took the armor pieces, leaving him only in a gambeson and associated pants.
"I feel like I'm just wearing a set of long johns here. Definitely, not the right look for this place." He grumbled out before placing the remaining pieces and sword on the bar.
"It will take me a bit of time to complete this work. Go to the Watcher of Time and get a few more clothes." A red, glowing circle appeared behind him, Rodin slowly floating upwards. "Consider that it will come to around 50 thousand Red Orbs."
After he had said that, he disappeared.
"That's… that's fine," Sol said with a shaky sort of confidence that seemed to crack at every word, before looking at Alex. "I'll be right back man, take note of anything you're feeling. Doesn't matter how little it seems, I don't know how much time we have and my luck has always been something of a serious coin toss." He finished before leaving the Gates of Hell
*********************
When Sol found himself back in the Gamestop, he did not hesitate to get to and reach out to the statue.
"50K for better gear, meaning I've got 24K+ to work with. Less when I buy new clothes. The gambeson and pants combo wasn't all that great without the armor, he missed having shoes immensely.
When the statue and the void manifested he made his options quickly. 1 Set of sturdy clothes (-200) another Large Vitality Star (-1500) and… if was getting new weapons and armor, then it would be best to save until he paid all his dues and then saw what abilities he could get with his remaining funds. He watched his wallet drop 1,700 points and felt the gambeson combo change. The resulting outfit wasn't nearly as detailed as Alex's. It was a simple black leather jacket, grey shirt, and black jeans. Shoes-wise, it was a simple pair of dark hiking boots.
"Thank you very much, I'd stick around longer but I have a friend to save," Sol said before reality clicked back and he made his way down to the Gates of Hell.
*********************
When he came back, Alex was sitting on a chair in front of the bar counter, sipping on something that was glowing a deep purple, with streaks of red, as well as having a cheery neon orange afterglow.
"I have no idea what this is." Alex proclaimed, pointing at the glass. "But it's sweet, mildly alcoholic, and very, very good."
Then, he hiccuped, a faint trail of red smoke coming out of his mouth. "Also, it makes you blow smoke when you hiccup."
"His liver is breaking down and he's drinking… suppose I would too if I were in that position." Sol thought before talking to Alex. "How are you feeling and is Rodin back yet?"
Alex smiled sadly. "Better. That lollipop was really magical. And he went to see if he had a few more, but he should be back about.." A red circle appeared behind the bar counter and Rodin manifested from it.
"Ah, you're back. And mildly better dressed than before." Rodin nodded, before taking out two packages. One was long and thin, while the other was more bulky. He put them down in front of Sol.
"Fifty Thousand Red Orbs. Cash on delivery." He smirked at him, while Alex was sipping his cocktail with false poise.
Sol gave out the required red orbs and watched his internal wallet drop to 22,600 before looking at the arm and armor. The armor was what drew his eye first. It had been altered so much to the point that Sol was sure that he could wear over the clothes he currently had on. The armor had been separated into six larger pieces. For arm protection, the gauntlets, bicep armor, and pauldrons had been made into one segmented piece that was further slimmed down for ease of movement, almost like manicae. The leg armor had received a similar alteration and seemed to end just halfway over his boots. The chest piece had been redesigned, so that even though it looked thicker, it felt much lighter than before. There were other, more important changes though. The helmet, while still retaining its general look, now bore two sweeping horns that more than likely sprouted from just behind where his ears would be. Furthermore, gone was the bright shine of man-made steel, as the metal had taken on a deep azure hue, which uncomfortably reminded Sol of the same colors the Deep Geryon had sported. The fluted nature of the armor had become more organic, almost mimicking the look of the demon's scaled skin. All in all, if someone else had told Sol that this was his old armor, he'd have been hard-pressed to believe them.
The sword then caught his eyes. Where once a fleshy stinger and simple demonic blade lay, there was a sword made of sharpened bone. Taking it in his hand, Sol stepped back several paces and gave a swing. It felt… right somehow and there was something else, a feeling he got while holding the blade. Acting on it, with a simple thought, the blade segmented and revealed itself and assumed a whip-like form.
He was reminded of a movie he had seen many years ago and the accompanying legend it was based on.
"Gevaudan, I'll call you Gevaudan, after the beast that roamed that region of France… And you," He said addressing the armor, "will be called Geryon B." He zipped up his jacket before methodically donning the armor.
"Okay Rodin, I think I'm ready for that CD. That drink you gave Alex, is that to numb the pain?" He asked.
"Mild restorative. Virgin, don't worry." Rodin waved away Sol's worries, before taking out a small CD case. "Here you go. Play that CD when you want to start the gauntlet. I suggest using a wide open space." He gave both of them a long look.
"And to get some more Red Orbs. You'll need it." Which, fair.
Alex nodded and downed the rest of his cocktail, before getting up. He was much better than before, at least at a first glance. "Thank you Rodin."
"Eh, think nothing of it. Here." And he dropped two more lollipops in his hands. "The only ones that I still had. Be careful and come back once you have the money and the materials, ok? I'm always interested in trying to make new things. Or if you want something from there." And he pointed at the weapons on the wall.
Alex nodded, smiling. "I absolutely will. Thank you very much."
"Again, thank you Rodin." Sol responded before looking at Vendetta hanging on the wall. "One day I'll buy that sword, sir. But today is sadly not that day." He finished before taking the CD in two fingers and walking to the Gates of Hell entrance. Thinking back, he thought he saw something like a player in the back room with the statue, maybe he could use that for the gauntlet.
"Ok, so…" Alex started, before dithering a bit. He looked like he was collecting his thoughts.
"First of all: I want to go and use the Divinity Statue. I don't have a lot of Orbs, but I want to advance my magic and maybe get another technique or empower Calcabrina or something. Also, I want to get a bit better. Second, we need to walk about… what to do. For… You know, the Liver. How do we… Do you know how… Can we…" He seemed to get frustrated, clearly unsure on what to say. Or how to say it.
Finally, after he had stopped and taken a long, deep breath, he turned fully towards Sol with uncharacteristic seriousness. "How the fuck do we get a liver from a demon? Do you even know how or where they have one? If they have one?"
Sol paused mid-step to the back office door before turning around. "I guess we cut them out, or drag whole bodies to Rodin. I don't know about you, but I'm not a surgeon and I'm terrified that I'd screw that up. So... yeah, hit up the statue. I'll try to find something to play the CD and then…" He trailed off thinking. "Then we'll just need to find a place big enough to attract demons."
"Yeah, sure. Just another Tuesday." Alex commented, before reaching for the statue.
He stopped a moment before making contact. "We need to alert the kids. About what we are going to do. Or, well. That there will be a massive demon attack, at least." Alex commented, lowly, before finally touching the statue.
The white-gold space greeted him. The Watcher of Time was right in front of him, motionless.
"Thank you for your help. With the…" Alex waved his hand in a meaningless pattern, talking about the hybridization. Then, he just went and looked for what he could buy.
He had exactly 14.800 Red Orbs, and there were a lot of options he could choose from. More spells, like beams and aiming spears or creating constructs. More normal techniques. Enhancements. Weapon specific powers, like in the games. Even powers tied to his new hybrid status, powers that messed with times. Sadly, they were more costly than the others and… If Alex was going to be honest with himself, he didn't have the energy to use them well.
Basics. He needed more of the basics. Walking before running.
So, he went for something very simple.
Air Hike, like Sol. Because double jumping was pretty neat. And useful.
Basic Enhancement (Mystical), to empower his magical energy and, probably, reserves. It was under the physical version and he had seen it, but he had chosen to not take it before, considering that he wasn't completely stupid. Or obsessed.
Well, no, he was, but he was also smart enough to understand that he would need the physical abilities to remain alive to be able to use magic. So, that was the second thing he bought.
Finally, with almost all that remained in his wallet, he bought the Trigger Heart ability. That would pay more in the long run than instantly, but being able to use more energy to achieve the same effect was a godsend.
Divinity-sent? Watchersent?
Eh, the terminology didn't really matter right now.
With a sigh, he exited from the Statue's space and turned towards Sol. "Ok, go and find a CD player. If they still exist in that format, anyway."
"Already did," Sol said, placing an older CD boombox on the counter. "Now, I'll probably use the statue to see what abilities I can get with these," He said gesturing to his armor and sword, "we'll warn the other survivors, and then find a spot. How are you feeling?" He asked.
"I'm feeling…" Alex seemed to check himself for a moment, before nodding slowly. "I don't feel feverish or tired or anything like that. No pain anywhere, not even discomfort. I'm feeling well, all said. I don't know for how long that will last, of course, but… we'll see. We're trying to resolve this situation, after all, aren't we?" He smiled, trying to be sure of himself, at Sol.
"Yeah," Sol simply responded before touching the statue. In the void he called up the menu options for abilities and noticed two new options.
"Gevaudan and Geryon B, what do you too have to offer."
Looking at Geryon B, he noticed only one option was available, "Time Step, huh? That second or two may save my life… fuck it, I've got a feeling I can make 10K back easily enough." He looked at the options for Gevaudan and gaped at the options. Fretting over them slightly, he made two purchases. Something called Rush Cut for the sword state, and Dragline for the whip state. He watched the Red Orb count drop down to 2,260.
"Thank you," he said to the statue before knowledge filled his mind and the world reset.
Looking at Alex as he came back, he stated "I think I have my first set of true moves."
Alex's eyes widened for a moment before he smiled and gave him a thumb's up. "Congrats. Can't wait to see them in action. This said, where do we go?" He gestured at the CD. "I can't remember any wide open spaces around here and I don't think that fighting inside the mall is going to be a good idea. Also, there are the Kids to deal with."
"Yeah we'll let them know what we're planning, say that we're doing it to clear the area before deeper sweep and clears, then head outside? That front entrance place could be a good spot, relatively open and we could funnel any demons into a choke point."
"Can't demons just use those portals? How about the parking lot? It's wide, it's probably empty and it's pretty scenographic?" Alex suggested, clearly trying to think of a good place. "Otherwise… Maybe the roof? But there's the chance of falling down. Nothing underground… There's the center of the mall, but, again, it's not really open, per se."
Sol rubbed his chin in thought, "Parking lot would be best, You could probably post up somewhere high and rain death on whatever is attracted by the music while I deal with ground stuff. That will work." Sol said before grabbing the boombox and making his way out of the store.
Alex sighed and shook his head, before following him. "We need to alert the Kids before we do that. I don't want them getting in the middle of the situation without knowledge in some misguided attempt at trying to help or.."
He stopped talking when, after turning a little following the bend of the hallway, he stopped because there were several teenagers guided by a single adult coming their way. They stopped as well, with the teacher - presumably Phys Ed, if the way he was dressed was any indication - holding a metal bar and glaring at Alex and Sol.
"Hi there, how are you doing?" Sol asked in a friendly enough tone while slowly setting down the boombox, shifting it out of the way, and keeping his arms to his side.
Alex didn't facepalm at Sol, but it was a near thing. He just… stood there, waiting to see what would happen.
The teacher glared - again - at both of them, before he raised the metal bar he had in his hands and pointed it at Sol. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
At a cursory glance, they couldn't see either Kurt or Prep Boy with them. Which was… strange.
"Trying to survive just like you," Sol said easily before narrowing his eyes, seemingly catching onto what Alex had noticed. "Where's Kurt, and the other guy." He asked slowly.
"Why do you care? How do you know the name of one of my students?" The teacher asked, rather forcefully, before one of the girls pushed her way up to him.
"Prof! That guy is the one that saved you!" Her blonde hair was matted with sweat and blood, but she was otherwise pretty unharmed. Still, at her shout, everyone stopped and started to stare at Sol and Alex. The teacher lowered his 'weapon' and glared at Sol.
Then, he looked down at the girl and then back at Sol. "What kind of wound did I have?"
"Your femoral artery was sliced open, and you'd have died of blood loss if we didn't step in. Now why don't you answer my question, what happened to Kurt and the other guy?" Sol asked again, a slight edge to his voice.
The teacher seemed to calm down slightly. "Nothing. They are back at the restaurant to keep guard in case something happens. With forty kids, bringing all of them out was too dangerous. You were the one who told them about the statue, right? Well, we are going to see if we can find it and see if there is a way for us to go back home."
Sol gave a sigh of relief before glancing at Alex. "It's in the back office of Gamestop. Now that you're here, we're going to be clearing a path by playing bait so to speak, so whenever you're done in there let us know and hold up somewhere. You'll be safer that way. Anything you want to add man?" Sol asked Alex.
"I don't know if they have already told you, but anything marked with an L in parenthesis…" He made two lines in the air with his finger. "Are not to be trusted. Be careful walking around because the demons can appear at any moment. Normal materials are useless to defend yourself. And… Try to stay alive, but don't leave people behind to save yourself. It will never end well." After that, he nodded and kept walking forward.
Sol was quick to follow after Alex and made sure to watch the group carefully. It wasn't that he thought them evil or anything but they were a group of people who were scared and in a place that really was hell. Humans being human could be both a good and bad thing depending on what went on in their heads.
Stepping in line with Alex, Sol stated quietly, "That could have gone worse. How long do you think they'll be?" He asked, a hint of impatience in his voice.
"No idea." Alex wasn't running or even power walking. He was just… walking with a little bit of speed to it. Completely natural.
"No idea, but I hope it won't attract too much attention. On the other hand, maybe our little music show will be enough to keep them safe, for now." Alex continued as he shrugged.
"Maybe," Sol said in response. He was quiet for a while, before passing a window overlooking the parking lot. As he looked out onto it, he noted that while it was both open and intact, there were enough busted and smashed cars to make a good post-apocalyptic movie.
"Well, I guess the parking lot looks clear enough."
"It does, true." Alex nodded, before looking around once more. "On the other hand, who destroyed these cars?" He gestured at the various wrecked ones. "Also, do you think there's something secret in the underground parking lot? Should we check that one before?"
"Let's get you those body parts first. I'd rather fight out in the open in the light of day and get you at 100% than encounter something we've never seen before in the dark. There might be lights on in here, but what about the below? I'd rather make sure we're good up here before heading further down."
"True, true." Alex nodded, before pointing at the corner of the parking lot farther from the Mall proper. "That point looks good to you? Mostly, because it's far enough that there shouldn't be any risk of us ending near the mall itself."
"Yeah, we'll be far enough so as to get a good sight line of the surrounding area and we can easily move beyond the parking lot if need be." Sol looked around further, moving behind Alex and glancing over the railing. "And the exit is right below us. Are you up for this?" He asked in a more serious tone.
"Don't really have another choice, do I? I mean, we're either doing this or we hope to find the right demon roaming around. It's not like we have more choices. And I don't fancy dying a long, slow death while my body destroys itself from the inside." Alex shuddered at his own words, before taking a deep breath. "Also, Red Orbs. Those are always a good thing to have. And we're going to need them. A lot."
Then, he nodded at Sol. "Hit it."
Sol nodded, took the boombox, and walked down and out of the mall to the side corner of the parking lot making sure Alex was close enough to be a part of the battle but far enough to not take a hit. He looked around and saw an overturned car with the windows blown out. He kneeled to the ground, inserted the CD into the boom box, slid it into the upturned car, and pressed play.
As the song began to play, he looked to Alex, drew his gun and sword, and waited for the party to arrive.
"Not exactly what I was expecting, but it's nice," Sol said after a few moments.
"Yeah, same," Alex smirked, before pointing at the various portals that were opening in front of them. "Look, we have company."
From the opening in the fabric of reality, several of the demonic ants fell, some gracefully, some… less. Those that managed to not fall were those that were able to fly.
Empusa. Red and Green variety. Alex cracked his knuckles, before pointing Calcabrina towards one of the green flying ones. "Let's dance."
A charged bullet slammed against that one before the demons shrieked and started attacking, shambling toward Alex and Sol.
Sol twisted Gevaudan in his hand, the blade segmented and he lunged forward. Gevaudan sang through the air as he slashed through the Empusa that began to congregate. The linked parts sliced through some of the Empusa with ease and Sol swore he felt better with each out slice.
"Come on you bugs! Time to get stomped!" Sol roared to the horde.
Alex didn't say anything else, he just started shooting from a distance, bolt after bolt raining on the Green Empusa. Keeping them from reaching the needy ones, keeping them too high, and in some cases, pushing them back when they were starting to get too close to Sol.
A couple of charged shots managed to land on some of the Red Empusas that were attempting to swarm Sol, giving him as much help as he could.
Sol realized what Alex was doing and began to aim Gevaudan lower on the Empusa. The bone whip sliced through the limbs of the demons, dropping them forward as they fell mid-step.
"Alex! Finish them off, take as many red orbs as you need!" Sol called out as he crippled more and more Empusa.
With a roll of his eyes, Alex jumped forward, the blade coming out of its sheath, a charged bolt shining on the tip of the umbrella. And then, he started slicing and exploding the demons. He felt way lighter than he should have been, especially considering that he was 5'9'' and looked like a swimmer. The second thing because of the Statue, but it wasn't the point.
The point was, that for his height and build, how he was moving wasn't very realistic. At least, not without some serious commitment to learning how to fight.
Once all the demons were dead and he was being showered in red, he blinked, puzzled. "I'm…." Turning towards Sol, he closed Calcabrina, trying to put into words his thoughts. "I'm not sure, but… Aren't I a bit too good at fighting? For what I've done, anyway?"
Sol breathed in and out evenly before smiling "A few hours ago, I'd never been able to do any of this. Maybe every time we're not just physical boosts but also the potential for battle? Don't knock it man, just be glad we can fight."
The track was still playing and Sol scanned the horizon for any additional demons. Nothing so far, but that didn't mean much.
Alex nodded, slowly, before he whipped his head to the side, along Sol. From a bigger portal, a white figure started to descend. It was white. Shining white, really with a shield that looked like two wings closed together and a spear in his other hand.
"What are those doing here?" Alex hissed, his knuckles going white on the grip of Calcabrina, the blade already naked and the umbrella open, ready to be used as a shield.
"Well shit, if it isn't one of Agnus' tin soldiers…" Sol said with a grimace before stopping short. He looked to Alex and then at the Angelo copy. "Hey Alex, I think we found your organ donor."
"A nice sacrifice on his part. Also, he has nice armor. Could be used for your own, to reinforce it a bit. I would like to avoid you getting skewered by an errant lance, you know." Alex nodded, shallowly, before showing his teeth in what someone could have called a smile if they were completely ignorant of social convention.
"Well? What are we waiting for?" The Bianco Angelo moved forward, aiming at Sol, his spear already extended and whirring. Alex was between Sol and the demon at the same moment, the spear hitting the umbrella and stopping. Sure, the magical shield shattered like glass from the hit, but the Bianco Angelo had been stopped.
So, Alex planted the blade straight into the eye-opening of the demon, eyes blazing indigo and gray and purple. "Boom."
A charged bolt sent the demon flying back, smoke coming out of the helmet.
The demon stepped back as the smoke began to dissipate. It raised its weapon briefly before Sol attacked the limb. As he did, he let out the second of the two moves he bought from the statue. Rush Cut sent him arching forward, his blade making a deep gouge in the demon's pseudo-armored arm. The limb lost its grip on the lance and hung limply at the demon's side.
"Now Alex! Finish Him!" Sol shouted above the music and clattering of the lance.
"Eh, sure. Let's see…" He shot forward, booted feet hitting the concrete of the parking lot, before jumping forward. Near the Bianco Angelo's shield. Only for the air under his feet to crystallize in a platform, allowing him to jump once again, somersaulting above the demon and impaling him on the back of the neck, thanks to the fact that Sol was keeping him mostly still.
The sword - Brina - remained embedded there, before Alex finished his jump and landed behind the Bianco Angelo, with the tip of his umbrella - Calca - resting on the upper left side of the Bianco Angelo's back.
"Kaboom."
Another charged bullet ripped through the already weakened armor, blasting the body underneath apart.
While the music was coming to a close, the demon fell on the ground in front of the two, leaving several Red Orbs behind.
"They're all yours man. You need them more now than I do." Sol said while grabbing the boombox and turning it off. As he looked back at the spectacle, he noticed that the Angelo body, while still relatively intact, was simmering along the edges.
"Oh, we have to get that back to the statue, prompto. You need that liver, and whatever else is in Agnus' tin soldier as soon as possible." Sol said while hefting the demon's body on his shoulder.
"True, true." Alex nodded, the motion looking a little bit hysterical before he went to the other side of the demon and grabbed the other shoulder. Acting together, the two of them moved the rather heavy demon and started walking back towards the Mall.
"Let's hope that it's ok. Also, I don't think I'm going to need the armor, so… do you want it? Maybe you can ask Rodin to add it to your own, to make it stronger or something." Shaking his head to move his ponytail away from his neck, Alex looked towards Sol, waiting for his answer.
"Maybe, but you could probably use it better than me…" Sol said as he moved towards the entrance. "We need you to get you at 100%, or a true 50% before we do anything else. Come on, let's go."
Entering back into the mall, there was a sense of unease that hung in the air. Something in the air was charged and…
*Bang! Bang!*
Two gunshots rang out in the mall. Sol looked back to Alex, and mouthed the question, "Kurt?"
"I don't remember him having a gun." Alex answered, slowly and with a low voice, eyes wide, before another gunshot could be heard from the inside of the mall.
"Fuck it." Both of them nodded and started running towards the door. It was open, so they didn't need to use the still-decaying corpse of the Bianco Angelo as a shield when they entered. Still, they stopped.
There was a man in a suit, with a rather large gun in his hands. A strange gun, that was almost organic looking, at least at first glance. His eyes were shining a faint black, there were smudges of blood on his clothes and a group of kids were cowering in front of him, while he was ranting at them.
The weapons that Sol had left were in front of them. In pieces.
"Now why don't you tell me where the rest of you had been hiding! We never saw you at the beginning! So how the hell are you here!? This is our moment! Our power! Now just answer the question and…" he was cut off by a bullet striking his head. The impact had dazed him briefly, but the bullet itself didn't penetrate deeply, instead leaving a nasty cut above his eye.
Sol stood there gun out, barrel smoking, and quietly stated "Back away from the kids, shit for brains, they're in the same boat as us and those red-eyed assholes."
The man turned and looked at the two. His eyes widened briefly before a cruel almost inhuman smirk danced across his face.
"You! I remember you two from before. Thought you could slink around our backs like scavengers! You should have joined when you had the chance!" His voice boomed out as he laughed. His dark eyes seemed to focus on Alex briefly, taking in his alterations, his face took on a grim, leering smile.
"You seemed to have joined the winning team, didn't you? It feels good, yeah? All that power. Hahahahaha! Ah… Bet you're just full of it now, aren't you!? That power… yeah, I think I'll take it from you and all those fancy toys while I'm at it!"
Alex blinked, before letting the corpse of the Bianco Angelo fall on the ground with a loud, metallic thud. "You?"
His voice was a whisper when compared to the businessman, but all the more dangerous for it. At that exact moment, Alex sounded like the end of times, like the last words that someone would ever utter before time passed over them and reduced them to dust.
"You think you are strong enough to defeat me? Or even him?" He gestured towards Sol, head slightly cocked to the side, before starting to walk forward, Calcabrina scraping the metal tip of the umbrella - the sword was still in the sheath, unseen - against the floor. "You, that only reached this place thanks to borrowed power. You, who advanced without worry or fear. You worked in a group, which is admirable, only to devolve into… what? What even are you, now?"
Sol scooped up the body and looked between the two before handing Alex an object. "I see you want this one… take the vitality star for afterward. I'll preserve the body as best I can."
Sol hefted the body on his shoulder before looking back. "Kick his ass brother." before leaving deeper into the mall.
***********************
Sol ran to the statue quickly. He could feel the heat from the Bianco Angelo slowly dissipating body on his shoulder.
Bursting into the back room, Sol touched the statue, and feeling the white void replace his vision, he banished the menus and stared at the Bianco Angelo. The shimmering effect had faded, slowed even, but was still present.
"Okay, Alex, it's all on you. Survive this one man" Sol wished he had a watch to count the time better, but without it, he slowly began to count aloud…
***********************
The businessman cackled "Better than you or your fleeing friend! Now come on!" he roared as he raised his demon gun.
Alex raised a single eyebrow, his face would have been in the dictionary, as the definition of 'unimpressed'.
"I'm sorry, should I be worried? I mean, I understand that you must be driven to compensate for your… lackluster capacity…" Alex's eyes darted downward, to look at his opponent's crotch, before returning to his face. "But really. A gun of that size is just impractical. At least if it's not a shotgun or a rifle."
The man turned steaming red, before aiming and shooting at Alex. Without a care in the world, he opened Calcabrina and let the bullets hit the canopy of the umbrella, without any kind of effect.
"Yup. Deluding. But, I guess you are accustomed to hearing it, aren't you?" Alex's smiling - smirking, really - face appeared from above the edge of the umbrella for a moment, before hiding again when the gunshot another time.
"Stop hiding behind that umbrella and let me kill you!" The businessman roared and fired another blast from his gun. The blast seemed to streak with a dark light, and though it hit, the impact was enough of a tell to state that the gun, its effects, and its power were far more bark than bite.
The businessman roared again, "Just DIE!"
Alex smiled from behind his cover, his thoughts running. The man in front of him was, honestly, pathetic: that gun had pitiful power, he hadn't even tried to move from his position and seemed to not even know what to do when someone didn't automatically fall for his violence.
He half turned the handle of Brina, before stopping and starting to charge a bullet in the palm of his hand. After a moment, it was good enough.
"You call that a shot? Please." Alex's voice echoed in the room before he popped up and let his own bullet fly toward the man. Well, to be more specific, in front of him.
The plan was very simple: let the charged bullet hit the ground, raise a cloud of dust, and use the cover to advance. It should work.
The charge shot struck the ground, sending tiles and dust in the air. The businessman began to cough and try to clear the dust and debris from his vision.
"Just like before, you two were hiding in the background while we fought, you cowards! This gun will bring me victory!" He shouted in fury. Blinded and raving in the confusion, the demonic businessman fired several stray shots around himself in an attempt to hit Alex. None of the shots, thankfully, hit their mark.
Alex, finally, acted. The dust cloud was still big enough to hide his movements. Unsheathing Brina, he let the umbrella drop on the ground - the position would make it look like he was hiding, crouching on the ground behind the big umbrella, while he would be anywhere but there.
After that, he darted to the side, running towards the man, blade trailing behind him. The dust cover opened a little, letting the businessman see the umbrella still in front of him. Not Alex to the side.
He shot the umbrella, again, without any effect beyond pushing it upwards in a series of twists, showing that there was nothing under it. Alex jumped forward.
Then jumped once again, from an Air Hike to a somersault, passing right to the side of the man where he was holding his weapon.
Brina flashed upward before Alex twisted and landed on the ground behind the businessman, the blood slowly sliding down from the Devil Arm.
"Any last words?" His tone was flat and icy. The sound of his arm - along with his gun - hitting the ground, separated from his body, was dull, meaty, and loud.
The businessman clutched the stump of his arm, before howling in pain. In between cries of agony, he began to hiss out. "Ha… ah… They'll be coming. They'll wonder what happened to me. I was IMPORTANT!" He roared defiantly, turning and attempting to use his remaining hand to grab at Alex.
Alex took a single step back, moved his sword from his right hand to the left, in a reverse grip, and slammed it in his chest, pushing with all of his strength, until the businessman topped backward, the blade pinning him to the ground like a butterfly.
"Nah. You really aren't." Alex raised a single corner of his mouth, before aiming his right hand at the man's head. Magic collected in front of it, before the charged bolt slammed in the horrified face of the man.
Everything that remained was a red splatter on the ground. He removed Brina from the man and, while the corpse exploded into red orbs, he extended his right hand. Calca landed right in it.
"What a fucking nightmare."
Slowly some of the students began to peek out from behind the barricade in front of EAT. There was something in their eyes. A look between gratification, fear, and caution. Some edged forward, Kurt among them. The right side of his face a deep purple and clutched in his hand was the axe blade that had belonged to the hand axe.
"Is… Is he dead?" He asked cautiously.
************************
Sol had given up counting seconds and had instead chosen to cycle through some songs in his, unknowingly singing them aloud as he paced.
"Cause the music plays forever."
The body, while still mostly whole, had lost most of its skull, hands, and feet. The dissipation was still encroaching on the greater whole, but could he risk it? If he left now and Alex was still fighting the other guy, shit.
"I can hear them on a timeless wavelength. Never dissipating."
He looked back to the body, "Come on Alex, give me a sign."
************************
"Fuck." The Red Orbs were a lot. The fact that the gun was still there was a problem. But he also knew that he had to go. And yet, he didn't really want to touch that gun. So, he turned towards Kurt.
The boy was awake and watching, a strange look on his face. When he noticed that Alex was looking at him, however, he flinched back a little.
Alex didn't say or do anything. He just gulped down some air and pointed at the gun. "You take that. Do what you want with it. I need to go or I'm going to end up dead. See you later." And, without any other explanation, he turned and started running as fast as he could.
He jumped over the collapsed section that the Queen Empusa had died in and landed in front of the Gamestop. Not even pausing at the door, he rocketed inside the back room, where the statue was. Sol was there, with what remained of the Bianco Angelo.
From the outside, it was strange to see, as he was almost immobile, and yet still there. He slid the last few steps, before slamming against the Divinity Statue.
White gold light blinded him.
There was a flash of light behind Sol and he turned mid-step and verse.
"I'll ask questions on what happened later, the body is dissipating and I don't know how much of it you need or how much you have left to harvest it."
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Shit." Alex grimaced, a hand going to his side and hovering over the area where his liver was. "It's starting to hurt again."
Then, he turned towards the Watcher of Time. "Can I see the hybridization options?"
A screen opened in front of him, giving him what he wanted to know.
"Not this. Not this. Absolutely not this. Ah."
Bianco Angelo Perfect Hybridization (Liver): 25.000 Red Orbs
"Fuck. 25K Red Orbs." Alex glanced at the counter and blinked. "That guy had more than 10k of Red Orbs with him? He was a wimp."
"How much do you have on you? Do you have enough to do it?" Sol asked with cautious optimism.
"26k. Barely enough." Alex flashed a small smile at Sol, before tapping the option on the screen. Immediately, it vanished, leaving him with only One Thousand Red Orbs. Then, the body of the Bianco Angelo started to… vibrate. So to speak.
The armor split open like an egg before whatever was inside rose, a mass of black, blue, and red… oily smoke - or something that looked a lot like it - and un-spooled like a ball of yarn, entering in his body straight from his right side, where the liver.
It hurt.
It Hurt a lot.
Alex fell on his knees, the space of the Divinity Statue vanishing and leaving him back in the Gamestop, eyes open and glassy, mouth shouting a silent scream of pain, his skin flushed red, as his hands and nails dug in beneath him, almost trying to rip apart the floor.
After thirty more seconds, the whole thing was done, and Alex slumped on the floor, boneless.
Sol moved quickly. Not directly touching Alex, but kneeling by his side, he began to speak, "Just breathe man, just breathe. The pain will probably pass soon. Just… hold on."
"Ghhhh…" Alex was trying to take a deep breath, but the stitch in his side was making it pretty hard, and he was starting to turn a little more blue than a person should ever be…
"Gh- Aahahhhhhhh…" Finally, after a long, long minute, Alex managed to take a deep breath, the burning in his lungs vanishing almost immediately, as air finally filled them. That first breath was followed by a series of short breaths, almost like he was scared that he would lose the ability to breathe once more.
Sol stepped back and gave Alex space as he watched him. He didn't quite know what to do but figured talking may actually be helpful in this situation.
"That's it, just breathe. Let your body do the work and breathe. This will pass, this will pass."
It took Alex a couple more minutes to stop panting like a dog, tears sliding down his face, before he finally stopped and, slowly, rose upwards, using his elbows to push himself into a sitting position.
"I'm... feeling better. Yeah." He nodded, more to himself, before sighing, his shoulders slumped downward.
"I'm feeling better…"
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Whew! This chapter actually wanted to work with me this time around when doing final edits. Nothing really big to talk about for this chapter except for business lackey with the gun. What's the old saying? Was it Absolute Power, Corrupts Absolutely, or was it The Promise of Absolute Power, Corrupts Absolutely... Well, we'll just have to wait and see with that one, won't we?