Today should be...Fun.
Enjoy!
"What's the matter, Michael?" Michael looked up as Keita asked this question. Looking around the table he found all of his friends watching him.
"What?" He asked. "Did I miss something?"
"You spaced out," Rina replied. "Is something the matter?" Michael made a face and crossed his arms, looking up at the roof of the guild hall.
"Well, something was bothering me," he said. "I was thinking about Nashi."
"And something was bothering you?" Kyoko asked, a smile on her face. "Is the match made in heaven struggling already?" Michael rolled his eyes.
"No, that's not it," he replied. "When she called me the other day, she was acting weird."
"How so?" Keita asked. Michael shrugged. He couldn't really describe what he meant, but Nashi's mannerisms on the phone had thrown him off.
"She was really...Grateful," he finally said, trying his best to articulate his thoughts. "I son't really know why, but she made a point to tell me that out time to together meant a lot to her."
"Sounds like she's trying to break up with you slowly," Rina said, joking manner all to apparent. Michael snorted.
"Sure, whatever you say." He replied. "I'm just saying, she wasn't herself."
"Well you did say she was going on a big job," Juno said, picking at her food, seeming disinterested in both it and the conversation. "Perhaps she was nervous." He hasn't considered that, but that was true. Maybe she was nervous about the job she had. Michael doubted it was too big for her and her friends to handle, they could handle anything.
"Yeah, I guess." He replied. "I'll ask her when I get a chance. I'm sure she's fine."
"Nashi get the hell up and help me!" Drake shouted, slamming his fist into the door again. Nashi winced as his attack bounced off uselessly.
"Stop trying to break through the door, Drake." She said, staring at the ground. "It's Magic Canceller. You're not getting through it."
"Well we have to try, damn it!" Drake replied, delivering another fist to the door. "We need to get out of here or we're going to die!" Nashi winced again as she recalled what Zeus had said to them.
All of it had been a trap, expertly designed to lure them here and kill them. The doors blocking their path were laced with the stone Magic Canceller, infamous for blocking every kind of magic known to mankind. Try as they might, but not even Nashi and Drake's combined magic power would open that door.
"Just stop," Nashi said as Drake kept trying. "It's useless."
"So you just want to give up?!" Drake demanded, whirling to face her. "Sorry, but I didn't come this far to die in this hellhole!"
"Maybe you didn't intend to," Nashi replied, frowning. "But it's inevitable." Silence fell upon the pair before Drake growled.
"What the hell is the matter with you?" Drake demanded. "Why're you so defeated?!"
"...I killed us," Nashi replied, feeling tears threatening to fall. "If I'd let us escape, we might have been able to get out and away in time before the satellite struck. Now we're going to die here, all because I was stubborn."
"Stop blaming yourself," Drake hissed. "Zeus said the blast could wipe out half of Fiore. Even if we'd gotten down to the docks, there's no way we'd escape the blast radius in time. The only one at fault here is Zeus, so get up and help me!" Nashi turned and watched Drake prepare to strike the door again, but she knew there was no point. Like she'd said, Magic Canceler would not falter to magic attacks. And neither of them had enough physical strength without magic to break through a door that size.
"If you really believe what you said, how exactly do you plan on escaping anyway?" She asked. "If we didn't have time before, how do we have time now?" Drake paused, clenching his fists.
"...Nashi, please." he growled. "I'm not asking for a miracle, I just-"
"No, you are asking for a miracle!" Nashi shouted, getting to her feet. "There's no way out of here in time, and you know it! Yet you keep attacking that door as if there is! I don't want to die here either, but what choice do we have?!" Drake whirled on her, face scrunched up angrily.
"Shut up!" He shouted. "I don't care about that! I don't care if we have to jump from the peak of this fucking mountain to escape, I'll do it! We're getting-!" Drake stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide.
"What?" Nashi asked. After a moment or two, he smiled.
"Jump from the peak," he replied.
Elise winced as Simon attacked the doors surrounding them as hard as he could, but they refused to budge. If she had to guess, they were laced with Magic Canceler. Try as Simon might, there was no way in hell he was getting through that door with magic. Once the alarms started going off, they'd been encased on all sides by the same type of door. She assumed they shared the same properties.
"Simon, give it a rest." Steph said, curled up into a ball against the wall. "You're not getting through." Simon ignored her completely and continued to hammer away at the door. Every strike was harder and harder, yet the door did not budge.
"You're gonna break something," Elise warned. "Stop."
"Fine, let me break my hand!" Simon shouted, punching the door again. "Make me cut it off! Just let me through this fucking door!" He slammed his right hand into it again, and this time Elise heard a sickening crack. Looking to Simon, Elise found that his fist had been warped and broken by his attempts to break through the door, and it made her stomach turn.
He didn't stop.
Simon simply raised his left fist instead and continued his pointless onslaught. He tried and tried, but the door still refused to budge despite the bones Simon was breaking.
"Simon please stop," Ultear croaked. "You're hurting yourself."
"I can't," Simon hissed. "We have to find them, we have to bring them home!"
"We can't get through that door, Simon!" She shouted back. "How do we bring them home if we can't even bring ourselves?!" Simon didn't answer to this, he simply raised his wounded left hand again.
"I've got to find them..." He growled. "I promised I'd bring everyone home, and I will not break that promise! I'm going to-!" Simon was cut off as Ultear rushed towards him and hugged him from behind. Her movement stopped his speech and his attacks on the door, causing the four to fall into silence.
"Just stop, please," Ultear cried, voice cracking as tears fell. "Stop hurting yourself."
"I have to find them," Simon replied weakly, not lowering his fist at all despite Ultear's hug. "I have too, I have to get through!"
"And what if you do?!" Ultear said, now approaching a wail. "What about the next door after this one?! Or the one after that?! What will you do about those doors, Simon?!"
"I-I'll use my weapons..."
"With your broken hands?!" Simon gave no response. "There's no way through, just stop!" Simon did not reply to this either, but Elise watched as his fist started to drop slowly. Eventually both arms dropped to his side. Nobody said anything for a long time, before Steph laughed weakly.
"I didn't think this was how my life was going to go," she said, tears rimming her eyes. "I come home and after all of that, I die here." She looked towards Elise and smiled. "But at least I get to die with my friends, right?" The girls distressed look made Elise teary eyed as well.
"To survive everything we did," she said, holding herself tightly. "To die here...It feels like a really shitty ending."
"It is a shitty ending," Simon grumbled, still being hugged by Ultear. "But not every story ends well, I guess."
"I'd rather our story ended together then apart," Ultear said. "But we've all been separated, with no way out." Elise slowly slid down the wall behind, coming to a stop as she rested on the ground.
Her story had been an odd one. Going through all she had gone through, everything she'd done, for her too die here. She wondered how long it would take for her parents to realize something was wrong, that they'd been gone too long. Would it be a week? A month? She didn't know, they'd never said how long they would be.
She only hoped that her death didn't cause her parents too much grief.
"Any luck?" Nashi asked, watching Drake peer over the side of the mountain peek. he growled in response.
"No," he replied angrily. "It's way to steep. If we jumped down any side of this mountain we'd be screwed. If we only managed a few broken bones we'd be lucky." Nashi looked down at her feet as Drake said this. So their last attempt to find a way out had failed. She knew it was a long shot that they'd be able to get out by jumping, but part of her almost felt optimistic.
"Well, we tried." She said, crouching down to the ground. "Now what?"
"..."
"Drake?" Nashi looked over her shoulder at Drake to find his back to her, glaring at the ground.
"...I-I don't know," he replied. "We could jump and hope for the best."
"And break a whole load of bones, and fail to escape?" Nashi asked.
"You could use your fire and get us down to the boat..."
"We wouldn't escape the blast radius," Nashi replied, looking back down at the ground. So they really were going to die here.
"We could...We could..."
"There's nothing we can do," Nashi replied. "Any second now the satellite's going to fire it's payload on top of us and-"
"In about five minutes, it's payload will drop right on top of Mount Olympus, with enough Godly fire to burn half of Fiore to ashes."
Nashi's eyes widened as Zeus' words came back to her.
The payload was Godly fire.
Slowly, a plan formed in Nashi's head. She didn't like it, nor would Drake, but it was all they had. Slowly getting to her feet, Nashi walked over to Drake.
"Which side of the mountain was the most level to jump down?" She asked. Drake turned to look at her, confused.
"Uh, probably that one." Together the two walked to check out the side of the mountain he;d pointed too. Nashi agreed right away it was the best option for jump and sighed.
"Alright, we have a plan then." She said.
"Huh?" Drake asked. "We do?" Nashi nodded, slowly turning to him.
"You jump down here," she said. "I'm staying up here." Nashi's words did not seem to answer any of Drake's questions, as his confused expression didn't go away.
"Why're you staying up here?" He demanded. "That doesn't make any sense." Nashi smiled weakly and looked up towards the glow in the sky.
"I'm going to take and redirect the blast away from Mount Olympus." She explained. "With luck, it'll save you all."
"What about you?"
Silence fell upon the pair.
"I'm not trying to save myself."
After Damien had seen the glow in the sky, he knew something was wrong. He ran to the mountain in an attempt to get in, but it had been locked down. He wasn't able to get in either, the door blocked any weak attack he was able to muster. He;d barely even exerted himself, and yet he felt weak. Not magically either, because Second Origin gave him more than enough power. is weak body wasn't able to do much still, and he loathed it more and more as time went on.
"Xisplate!" Damien shouted. "Help me out! I need to get in here!"
"I can't help you, Damien." Xisplate said from behind him. Damien turned angrily, ready to fight about it.
"Why the hell not?!" He shouted.
"I may be a Demon Lord, but I'm a magical being." He answered stoically. "Not even I can break through a door enhanced by Magic Canceler." Damien glowered at him, before approaching angrily.
"My baby sister is in there!" he shouted right in his face. "My friends too! Find me a way in!"
"Why, so you can die as the mountain collapses on you as well?" Xisplate demanded. "You're all dead either way, so there's no point in you going anywhere." Damien grabbed Xisplate's suit and got even closer.
"If I'm going to day either way," he hissed. "I'd rather die with my friends! Help me get in!"
"I. Can't." Xisplate said sternly. "Do you have working ears or not, boy?" Growling, Damien looked back up at the light in the sky. He didn't have a single clue what it could have been, but he knew it had something to do with The Olympians. Had the bomb been a ruse? Or had it failed and this was the back up plan?
He ha no idea, but he did know was that he needed to get to Steph.
Nashi watched as Drake stared at her in total shock.
"I...I don't understand," he said. "How're you going to redirect the blast?" Nashi smiled sadly.
"Zeus said the satellite fired Godly fire," said said. "If it does, I can redirect it and save us."
"Godly fire?" Drake asked. "Nashi, you can barely handle Katsuchi's fire! What the hell makes you think you'll be able to take that much of Godly fire?!"
"I'm not trying to take it," Nashi replied solemnly. "I'm trying to redirect it away."
"You'll kill yourself! That's higher tiered flames, much less way too much magic power for one person to take at once!"
"What other choice do we have?" Nashi asked, meeting Drake's eye. The boy fell silent, but still me her gaze. "I want to save you all. If this is what I have to do, I'll do it."
"..."
"I understand you don't agree with me, but if you want to live, this is what needs to happen. It may be our only chance."
"...No." Nashi's eyes widened at this. "No. I'm not going to let you do this, no way in hell."
"Drake..." Nashi started, but Drake growled.
"No, you listen to me," he hissed. "If you think for even a second that after everything we've been through that I'm going to turn my back and run now, you're fucking insane. I'm not going anywhere."
"Drake, please." Nashi said, hoping her friend would see reason. "Don't do this to me."
"Me?" Drake demanded. "Me?! You're telling me to abandon my best friend to die! I should be the one complaining!"
"I'm trying to save your life!" Nashi shouted.
"I'd rather die with you then live without you!" Drake shouted back. "Don't you get that?!" Nashi felt her chest tighten as he said this. "You're my best friend, Nashi! I've known you my whole life! There is nothing, and I mean nothing, you can say that's going to change my mind!" Nashi scrunched up her face at this.
"You're so god damn stubborn," she hissed. Drake laughed coldly.
"That's rich coming from you," he replied, looking back out over the water around them. "You never know, maybe me being here with save us both. I'm a Slayer, I'll eat some."
"It's not even your element, much less tier."
"Not going to stop me." Silence fell upon them after this, and it stayed that way for quite some time. Nashi couldn't let this happen, she wanted Drake to live. She wanted all of them too. Letting him throw his life away wasn't something she could get behind.
And yet, he felt the same for her.
But no, she wouldn't allow him to die.
After another minute or so, Drake heard Nashi laugh. He looked over his shoulder to see her standing up straight.
"What?" He asked. She turned to face him, a sad smile on her face.
"I just never imagined," she replied. "That our story would end like this." Drake frowned as she looked down. "Dying here, because we got trapped by our enemies."
"I guess not, no." He replied.
"At least we're together, right?" she asked, still smiling. "Just like always." Drake managed to smile a little as the bright light above grew even brighter.
"Like I said, always got your back." he said, looking down. "Even at the end." She nodded with a small laugh.
"Yeah, I suppose you do." Drake didn't look up at first, but he did once she moved closer. She had moved closer to him and extended her arms towards him, smiling.
"What?" Drake asked. Nashi, despite her smile, was shaking slightly.
"I want a hug," she said. "We don't have a lot of time left, so can I have one? Please?" Drake felt is throat closing up at the thought of the end. He didn't want to die, but he refused to leave her. Not now.
Reaching forward, Drake enveloped her into a hug. He squeezed her tightly, perhaps in some vain attempt to help her calm down a little. He could feel her shaking, even as she buried her face in his chest. After a few seconds, she pushed herself and smiled up at him.
"Thanks," she said. "This means a lot to me."
"Don't mention it," Drake replied. Her eyes grew a little teary at this.
"I'm going to miss this," she said. "You, the others. Maybe things could have been different if I was."
"It's not your fault." Drake got no response for this, Nashi just kept smiling at him.
"Do you know how much you mean to me?" Nashi asked. Drake raised an eyebrow at this. "Seriously, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. No matter what happened, you always had my back, looked out for me. You're the best friend I could've ever asked for."
"I didn't do anything I didn't want too," Drake replied. "Its what friends do." Nashi nodded.
"Yeah, it is." she said.
Drake's eyes widened as Nashi's face began to move closer to his. He kept his eyes locked on hers as she got closer and closer, making his already pounding heart speed up even more. Nashi moved right past his face and he felt her lips graze his cheek. Her head then rested on his shoulder for a moment.
"Which is why," she said. "I hope, one day, you'll forgive me."
"I said it wasn't your fault." Drake replied, still holding her close as the glow grew even more intense. She let out a small laugh.
"Not for that," she replied. Drake didn't know what she meant, but he didn't get a chance to ask as Nashi moved slightly, her mouth now right next to his ear.
"...Nashi?"
"...Tell my parents I'm sorry." Drake's eyes widened.
"Nashi, do-!"
"Goodbye, Drake."
Drake felt his footing disappear from under him as Nashi shoved him.
He was standing right next to the edge of the mountain.
Drake tumbled right into the open air, arms flailing around for something to grab onto. He felt his hand grab onto something soft, and looked up as Nashi undid the scarf around her neck.
She'd done so because the end was clutched in Drake's fist.
He got a brief glimpse of her face before his head came into contact with the rock.
The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Nashi smiling at him.
Nashi watched as Drake tumbled down the mountain, her scarf in tow. He'd grabbed it in a last ditch attempt to save her, or perhaps find something to save himself. To prevent falling with him, Nashi had unraveled it and it flew down with him.
She wouldn't need it anymore.
Slowly turning around, Nashi walked back towards the center of the mountain and looked up, The light from the satellite was more intense than ever, which meant the time was near.
"END?" Nashi asked aloud.
"Yes?" Nashi smiled weakly.
"I'm sorry about this. I know you just want to protect me."
And you wish to protect your friends. Your logic is not foreign to me." Nashi laughed weakly at this.
"We had a pretty good run didn't we?" She asked. END hummed.
"We did,"
"We only used magic for such a small time in retrospect, yet I feel we did so much good in the world, you know?" Nashi looked down at the ground. "Despite all the hardships I've had since my dad came home, I've had so much fun. And now...Now I'm the one not coming home."
"It is not too late to turn back," END said.
"Yeah, it is." Nashi replied. "I've made up my mind. I'm going to do this."
"I will support you as best I can," END replied. Nashi smiled.
"Thank you," she replied. "Do you think dying hurts, END?"
"I am unsure," she replied. Nashi frowned as the light grew even brighter.
"I don't care how much it hurts. I'd go through hell and back to protect those I love."
"You are an extraordinary girl, Nashi." END said. "Many people would turn tail and run in a situation like this. They'd only care about themselves. But you, you are different. You stay to protect those you care about."
"Thanks,"Nashi replied. "I...I really appreciate that. Nashi stared up at the beam silently as she thought." I hope Michael is able to move on without me, I don't want him to get caught up on me. He's got such a bright future ahead of him, I'd hate to spoil it."
"I am sure he will be fine."
"I...I hope my friends don't hate me for this," she said. "I want them to live on, to have futures. Even if it's one I won't be able to enjoy with them."
"I'm certain they will understand and live that wish for you."
"I...I really hope Drake doesn't get mad at me," she said, frowning as she thought back to how she'd deceived her closest friend to get him off the peak. "I...He means so much to me. If he died up here instead of me...I'd never forgive myself."
"He may be angry, but I am sure he will understand."
"..." Nashi started to panic as she thought about everyone she was leaving behind. Friends, family, relationships, all of it.
But there would be so much more loss if she did not follow through with this.
"I hope my parents forgive me too," she said. "And I hope they're not sad for too long."
"I do not think I can reassure you on this one." Nashi laughed at this. No, she guessed not. Hoping for her parents to not be sad long was pretty foolish.
"I hope, at the very least, that they know I love them. I hope everyone knows. I love all of them so much...To never see them again...I can't bare the thought."
"I do not think we will have to bare that thought for very long," END said. "The five minutes is almost up." Nashi looked up as a outer ring surrounded the light. She swallowed hard.
"END?"
"Yes?"
"I love you, for what its worth."
"I love you too, Nashi."
Zeus was sitting in his office, patiently awaiting the status report. He knew the blast was going to go off soon, mere seconds in fact, but what outcome awaited him he did not know.
He was just about to call for her before Athena burst into his office.
"Athena," he said. "I was just about too-"
"We have a problem," she said quickly. Zeus made a face.
"Of what kind?"
"I miscalculated."
Ultear was cowering in Simon's grasp as the entire mountain began to collapse around them. Mere seconds before a blast erupted from above them, and rocks began to descend down on them as the mountain began to fall apart.
"Ul?" She heard Simon ask.
"What?" She asked as rocks fell around them.
"I'm sorry if I scared you earlier," he said. "I didn't meant too." Ultear managed to smile as tears fell.
"It's okay," she replied. "I'm just scared we're done for."
"I'm right here," he said. "Don't be scared." Ultear closed her eyes as she heard Elise cry out in pain from behind her.
"I know," she said. "Thank you.
Damien saw the blast strike Mount Olympus from the heavens, but after that he was forced to look away due to how much he valued his eyesight. The blast was so strong Damien could feel his eyes burning Despite being closed and shielded with hid forearm.
It looked like the end.
"Damien, look." Damien heard Xisplate's voice, and then a massive surge of magic power.
Looking up, a massive blast of flame was being shot out from the peak of the mountain. It looked as white as the initial strike, and it flew so far into the distance Damien wasn't sure what could stop it.
"What's happening?!" he yelled over the sound of the mountain struggling to stay up. he barely heard Xisplate over the noise, but his words chilled him.
"It is done."
Nashi couldn't feel anything. She felt weightless.
She'd felt the blast strike her, and heat spread around her entire body. She'd done her best to redirect the blast, but had she succeeded?
Looking around, Nashi could barely make out the peak of Mount Olympus around here. She saw automaton Zeus' charred remains, and she blinked.
END?
"Yes, Nashi?"
We...We did it. Nashi stumbled backwards and looked over the side of the mountain. down below her, she could see the docks where Triton's ship was docked. She managed to smile through the delirium.
"We did it," she hissed, voice cracking. "We...We actually did it." Nashi stumbled back, and looked down.
Her clothes had been singed off, or had they?
She could not tell, as her entire body was black. As she raised a hand to look at it, skin cracked and fell off, revealing a dark red inside.
"...That's not good." She mumbled. She collapsed downwards onto her back and stared up at the sky, incomplete thoughts floating around in her head.
...END?
"Yes, Nashi?"
I...I saved them. I saved my friends.
"Yes, you did"
I...I did it.
"Yes, you did"
Silence came over the peak of Mount Olympus at this, the only sound coming from the waves crashing against the mountain below.
...END?
"Yes?"
I'm...going to take a nap, okay?
"Okay. Sleep well."
...
...
...END?
"Yes?"
...I...I'm not going to wake up from this...Am I?
If END had offered a response, it went unheard.
The first thing that Drake realized when he came too was the waves crashing against his back. His whole body ached, and when he tried to move he could feel many bones in his body had been broken.
Ugh...That fall was worse than I...
The fall.
Drake's memories came rushing back to him as he recalled just what exactly had happened. Nashi had pushed him.
Struggling to his knees, Drake brought up his hand and stared at the scarf clenched in his fist. It was Nashi's.
"Nashi..."
Drake activated his sound magic, and it rushed through the mountain.
It sensed five heartbeats.
None near the peak of Mount Olympus.
Five.
That was one short.
Drake gritted his teeth as he put together what had happened. And despite the pain he felt, he slammed his fist down into the rock below him.
Nashi...She's...She's...
Zeus waited, but he was getting more and more impatient by the second. This was huge, and he needed to learn more now.
He watched as Hades waltzed into the room, smiling.
"What's up, old man?" He asked. Zeus glowered at him.
"You," he answered. "You have a lot to answer for." Hades raised an eyebrow at this.
"Why's that?" He asked. Zeus felt his anger reaching it's limit.
"She's dead," he said, sending silence throughout the room. "Did you hear me Hades? She's dead!" He stood and slammed his staff down on the ground, causing thunder to sound within the room. Zeus stormed towards Hades, but the man seemed unaffected. "Your brilliant plan killed her! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!" Hades just stared Zeus down, not saying anything.
And then, the room grew cold.
Zeus watched as a dark aura surrounded Hades, who still seemed unimpressed.
"Watch who you're speaking too old man," he said. "To even suggest my plan has failed is foolish." Zeus growled at this, more thunder sounding.
"Explain to me what use a charred corpse is!" he said. Hades finally smirked, which sent a chill down Zeus' spine.
"Do you really think death will keep her from us?"
"...What?" Zeus felt his insides go numb as Hades put a hand on his shoulder and smirked even wider.
"Not to fear, old man." he said. "I've got a plan."
Is this a good time to announce my hiatus?
Don't get your panties in a twist, it's only going to be for two weeks max. I just want to take some time off of this story and focus on some other things, and then come back strong.
However, A reader and I have been working on a side story! Would you guys be interested in reading that? Need a little teaser? Let me know!
So enjoy this little halfway ending, and leave me a review! Let's try to get five!
Chapter 280: Actions Have Consequences