"Ready to talk? Or should I continue?"
Nashi felt like she was sixteen again. Her memory raced backwards in time, all the way back to one of the first missions she'd ever taken with Drake and Elise. To Phantom Dove. To that cell, to Apocalypse's room.
The former torturer of Phantom Dove turned to face them fully, Katsuchi still writhing on the ground behind him.
"Mm, you two have lots of magic," he said, sending a chill down her spine. How many times had he said that before? Too many. "This will be fun as well...Hm, have we met? I seem to recall both of you."
"...H-How the hell are you here?" Elise asked from beside her. "You're dead."
"So was your friend, from what I heard," Apocalypse replied, gesturing at Nashi. "Seems the dead don't like staying that way anymore." She grimaced at this.
"Zomrus brought you back," she said weakly. Apocalypse shrugged.
"He did," he said. "Too find you lot and take you back to him. So don't make this harder than it has to be."
As if on cue, the ground behind the group erupted upwards, and Nashi looked up just in time to see Winter and Rina both dodging boulders flying at them in the air, but it was too much to ask both of them, as Rina took a nasty hit to the back and spiraled down to the ground. Winter flew downwards, but was forced off course by more flying earth. Following her friends trajectory, her eyes widened once again.
"...Why?" She asked weakly. "Why these two?" Elise turned to look as well, and she heard her friend growl.
"Fuck sake," she said. "Now I'm sure Zomrus is just screwing with us."
Standing not too far away from them Rocky, her childhood bully and someone who was also supposed to be dead. Luna was forcibly wrenched backwards in time again, rewatching the memory of Rocky forcing her away when The Olympians were after her. That was the last time she saw him, when he died to save her.
And now, he was standing opposite her and the others.
"Yeah, these three are being annoying," Rocky called from where he was standing. "Apocalypse, hurry this up would you?" Apocalypse nodded, and raised his hand. Both Winter in the air and Rina on the ground seized up, green magic circles all over their bodies. They glowed, and both girls screamed in pain and fell, spasming as the magic power in their blood erupted.
Nashi's hands flew to her sides, hugging herself as if Apocalypse had used the spell on her. The feeling of your ether detonating inside you was on you never forgot. Phantom pains cascaded down her body, her form remembering the torture she had endured at Phantom Dove and Silverridge. Elise was also shying away beside her, her eyes closed and a pained expression on her face.
"So what'll it be?" Apocalypse asked as the God Slayers flailed around. "Will we have to make you behave, or will you come quietly?" Nashi didn't want to look up, so she stared at her feet and buried her mouth into her scarf. She didn't want to look at either of them, it was just too much. She felt like she was a kid again, unable to do anything but watch.
"Michael, Keita, you two deal with Apocalypse," Simon's voice finally said. Nashi spared a glance at the redhead to see he was in leader mode, handing out orders to the others. "Steph, Tetsu, you're with me. We'll deal with Rocky. if Ultear isn't here by the time we're done dealing with this, we'll go and help her." He then looked at Nashi and Elise, and his expression softened. "If you two can't do this, run and hide. It'll be over soon."
Nashi did not have the words to reply to him before he turned, requipped into his Black Wing armor, and launched himself at Rocky. Apocalypse raised a hand to stop him, but was caught off guard by a blast of light from Michael.
"Eyes on me, asshole!" Michael called, a white sigil glowing on his chest. Keita also had a white mark on his chest, and the two of them launched themselves at Apocalypse, who seemed surprised when they didn't fall to the ground in pain. The two Dragons forced Apocalypse into a retreat, but the battle was anything but decided.
Leaving Nashi and Elise rooted in place, neither moving an inch.
"Elise..." Nashi whispered weakly. "We have to help."
"I know." Elise replied quietly. "Fuck, I know...My feet won't move."
She knew what she meant. her entire body was shaking, and she was scared if she tried to move she'd fall on her face. Even looking at Apocalypse brought back flashes of what he'd done to them two times over, and the more she thought about it the more pain wracked her body. It was a warning, one she was heeding excellently. Her breathing started to get shorter and shorter, and what sane thoughts remained told her she was on the brink of a panic attack. But she couldn't help it. She wanted to run, wanted to hide. Away from Apocalypse, away from Rocky. Back to the cold, dark cell, where she was safe.
She wanted Drake.
He had always been her protector. Back in the cell, he'd provided both her and Elise with what comfort he could, and she was certain it was the events in that cell that had made the three of them closer as friends. But Drake wasn't here, he was long gone. He wasn't here to protect them this time. Swallowing hard, she looked at Elise. The other girl had undoubtedly had a harder stay at Phantom Dove then she had, given what had happened to her. Her eyes moved back to where Michael and Keita had, watching the flashes of light and dark against green. They needed to help, they needed to do something. But the fear was gripping her so tightly she was afraid to even voice this thought.
It was Elise who spoke first.
"Nashi," she said, voice a little less shaky. "We need to do this."
"I know," she replied. "But..."
"We have to kill this guy again before Drake comes back." Nashi made a face and looked over at her friend, who was watching her with a weak smile. "Let's bury this guy for good this time, so Drake doesn't have to feel this feeling again too."
The idea that they needed to prevent Drake was experiencing this again seemed to clear the fog of fear from her eyes. Nashi's stomach stopped lurching so violently, and she looked over her shoulder again at Michael and Keita. She didn't want them to experience this pain either. No one should ever know what that magic felt like when it hit you. And yet, when she looked at Apocalypse, she nearly sobbed. Lord she was so scared of him.
"We aren't alone, Nashi." She looked over as Elise spoke, seeing she was holding out of her hand. "He took us one by one last time, but I'm right here with you. We can take him together, both of us."
She wanted to run. To hide, to cower. She wanted to sleep until this was over. But she couldn't. Not when there was so much on the line. Grimacing, Nashi reached out and took Elise's hand.
"Let's jog his memory," she said.
"What's the matter?!" Michael asked as he sent Apocalypse flying backwards with a blast of light. "Are you helpless if your green circles don't work?" He was thankful the Sigil of the White Dragon was protecting him, because based on how Katsuchi, Rina and Winter were spasming he didn't want any part of that magic. Apocalypse recentered himself and raised a hand, but his magic bounced off the sigil yet again and did nothing. Keita appeared underneath him from his shadow and slashed at him, tearing his cloak with the shadows as Apocalypse leapt out of the way. The undead man landed on his feet and growled, whirling to face them.
"That mark is quite annoying," he said. "It's making it hard to fight with my own magic."
"Good," Michael replied as he cracked his knuckles. "So why don't you be a good corpse and go back into the ground where you belong?" Apocalypse shrugged off the rest of his tattered cloak, leaving his pale upper body exposed. He looked like a corpse, which made Michael wonder if he really was just a reanimated husk.
"I'm here to take back the pink girl," he said as he readied himself. "I'm not going anywhere without her."
"Such a good little drone you are," Michael replied. "I'm grateful you came after us, it'll be good to vent some frustration! White Dragon Roar!" The laser flew from his mouth towards Apocalypse, who dodged out of the way. Michael followed him, the beam carving through a nearby boulder as it followed him through the air. Apocalypse seemed ready for anything, until Keita emerged again from his shadow on the ground and grabbed his legs, pinning him down so that Michael breath attack landed.
The laser beam flew true and struck Apocalypse in the chest, carving a hole right through it.
Grinning in satisfaction, Michael watched as the hole billowed out smoke, the scent of charred skin filling the air. That had been surprisingly easily, why would Zomrus make it so easy to-
The hole filled back up with flesh, regenerating at an insane speed and making it like nothing had even happened.
"Did you think your puny magic could overpower a God's?" Apocalypse asked. "As long as I hold even a tiny portion of Zomrus' power, you won't be able to kill me. So, you can stop trying." Apocalypse aimed his open palm downwards, and Keita quickly retreated back into the darkness as a blast of powerful magic erupted from the man's palm, shredding the ground where he'd just been. He reemerged near Michael, looking alarmed.
"I hope that's not true," he said flatly. "Otherwise we may be here a while."
"Which is the opposite of what we need," Michael replied. "I scored a direct hit and it did nothing, so safe to say my magic isn't strong enough to purify Zomrus' influence. I'm not surprised by that, but it's still bad." A small part of him had been hoping the holy element of White Dragon Slayer Magic would've countered the God's magic, but it seemed that was a pipe dream.
"We may need to form an escape plan," Keita noted. "Otherwise, we're risking getting caught." Michael's mind raced to come up with any sort of answer to the problem, but he was coming up with nothing.
'Don't either of you realize how pointless this is?" Apocalypse asked, walking towards them. "You're up against the literal God of Death. What are a couple of humans going to do?" Michael thought of a few choice words he wanted to reply with, but held his tongue. "Seriously. You have no backup, no help, no secret weapon. You're running pointlessly."
"Do you really think we're going to be influenced by such cheap manipulation?" Keita spat. "We're not going with you." Apocalypse rolled his eyes.
"It's not like Zomrus is going to kill you," he said. "His goal is to create a utopia for humans. All he has to do is kill that girl to remove her as a threat, and we can start building it in earnest. hand her over."
"I've got no interest in listening to a corpse monologue at me," Michael said, a white aura surrounding him. "You're just a puppet of Zomrus yapping about nonsense. Shut up and die." Apocalypse sighed, rubbing his head.
"Were humans always this stubborn?" He asked aloud, "was I like that? I don't remember. Well, whatever. I'll incapacitate all of you and take you to Zomrus, and he can decide what to do with-!"
Apocalypse was cut off as an iron pillar clubbed him in the mouth. Michael winced as the sound of bone being smashed apart echoed through the air, Apocalypse flying backwards in a spray of blood and bone. Turning, he watched as Elise and Nashi landed near them, looking ready to fight.
"Guys-" Keita tried.
'Don't even," Elise spat. "We're not retreating, yes we can do this. We have to do this." Michael watched them quietly, noting they were both shaking slightly. They were terrified of this guy, but didn't want to show it.
"The God Slayers are still immobilized," Nashi said softly, looking over at him. "Michael, go and purify them with the sigil. We may need them."
"You sure?" He asked. He didn't directly question their ability, but he made it known with his expression that was what he meant. Nashi simply nodded, so he nodded back. "Okay, one more thing." He raised a hand, sigils forming on both girls backs. He then turned to Keita, saying, "give them support, if it looks like they're going to falter, pull them out."
"You got it," Keita said. He gave one last meaningful look at the girls, before he turned and sprinted towards where Katsuchi was stuck on the ground, still covered in green magic circles.
He knew it was their battle, but that didn't make it any easier to walk away from them.
"The girls I recognize are back," Apocalypse noted as Nashi turned back to face him, her knees feeling weak. "Do I know you?" She didn't give him the satisfaction of a response, trying to keep her breathing steady as she prepared to fight. She saw Keita take a step back out of the corner of her eye, ready to support them if need be.
"Are you ready?" She asked Elise under her breath.
"As I'll ever be," Elise said.
"I guess I can try one more time," Apocalypse said. "All we want is you, pink girl. We don't want to kill any of the others."
"Just keep your mouth shut," Elise snapped. 'We're not giving you Nashi." Apocalypse made a face at this, frowning deeply.
"Nashi..." He mumbled, "I've heard the name before, but it's tickling my brain now. I remember that name." Nashi grimaced at this, balling her fists.
"Don't dwell on it," she said, "It won't matter to a dead man."
With this, she launched herself towards him, Elise close behind her. She raised her fist and coated it in flames, bringing it down on his head. Apocalypse blocked her, but she provided a decent distraction for Elise to swipe his legs out from under him, causing him to fall. Nashi grabbed a hold of him as he did, igniting his body and watching as her flames torched his pale skin. He seemed to ignite easily enough, but he wasn't burning quickly.
"Get off me," he snapped in irritation, swatting her away with a backhand. She recovered quickly and turned, launching a fireball at him. He dodged and pivoted, blocked Elise's attack with his arm. She raised a leg and turned it into a chainsaw sword, swinging it at him. Apocalypse had to jump upwards, catching an uppercut from Elise's club as he was sent upwards and flying higher into the sky. Nashi flew after him and appeared above him, her hands together.
"Fire Dragon's Firestorm Impact!" The massive fireball erupted out of her hands and hit Apocalypse dead on, driving him into the ground in a massive explosion. Nashi watched with baited breath, knowing full well there was no way he was dead yet. She got her confirmation when the sigil on her back deflected a green magic circle, the spell dissipating before her eyes.
"Annoying symbol," Apocalypse's voice came from the fire. Nashi had barely enough time to react when he rocketed out of the smoke towards her, seemingly empowered by Zomrus' dark magic. She blocked his fist, crying out as her bones creaked in protest. It was one of the hardest punches she'd ever taken, no doubt about it.
"Get off me!" She cried, kicking at Apocalypse. It seemed to do nothing, and he raised his fist again.
"Zomrus didn't say I had to bring you back!" He exclaimed with sinister glee. He slammed his fist into her, sending Nashi flying into the cold sand and creating a crater. Nashi tried to stand, but swiftly got a kick to her stomach that knocked the wind out of her. Gasping, she rolled onto her back and tried to breath as Apocalypse stood over her. He didn't get the chance to finish her, as Elise came flying in out of nowhere and wrapped a jagged chain around his neck, pulling on it and cleaving into his flesh. Apocalypse grimaced and stumbled backwards as he pulled on the chain, giving Nashi enough time to stumble away and try to get her breath back.
"Don't focus on just her!" Elise roared as the chain dug even further into his neck. "I've got a lot of trauma to beat out too! Iron Dragon's Chainsaw Whip!" The teeth on the chain revved to life, and Nashi watched as Elise tore Apocalypse's head clean off his body, the chain easily slicing through his spine and sending his head flying into the air. She didn't get much time to celebrate, as the head flew back down to the man's neck and reattached, Apocalypse wincing as it did.
"That hurt," he hissed, turning to Elise. He raised a hand, and a black blast of magic tore out of space before Elise and consumed her, exploding and sending her flying backwards, Finally getting air into her lungs, Nashi got to her feet and reared back, flame travelling up her throat.
"Fire Dragon Roar!" Her breath attacked flew true and struck Apocalypse, consuming him in flames once again. This did nothing, as he easily reappeared outside the torrent, launching a black fireball at her as well. She dodged it easily enough, but barely had enough time to react before he was on her, driving a knee into her stomach. Nashi tried not too, but she puked from the impact, hurling what little food she'd gotten into her stomach into the air as she was sent flying upwards. She tried to recover, but didn't before Apocalypse was on her again, slamming her back down into the ground. She tried to stand, but her body refused her. All that did was confirm one of her biggest worries.
They were too weak.
All the walking and lack of decent meals for months had left them all drained and barely able to fight. Forcing this fight had been an awful idea, one she would have to kill the God Slayer's for later. gauging her own strength, she did not have enough power left to activate Dragon Force, much less maintain it long enough to kill Apocalypse.
"Hey END," she whispered weakly as she tried to stand. "You've been awful quiet since Zomrus woke up. Want to lend a hand?"
As had been the case for months, she got no response from her alter. "Ugh, I figured as much..."
"Ah I haven't felt this alive since I got back," Apocalypse lamented, stretching his body. "All this working out is good for me, I can feel it." That was super, he felt stronger and stronger the longer this went on. Nashi looked up and saw as Elise tried to impale him from behind, but failed and was grabbed by the neck.
"Let go of me!" Elise shouted, driving her knee into Apocalypse's side. The knee sprouted a blade, stabbing upwards into him and coming out near his shoulder. Apocalypse looked unaffected.
"That hurts," he said, "mildly, anyway." He began to squeeze at Elise's throat, and the girl began to gasp for air, pulling at his hand.
'Stop!" Nashi shouted, "you said you wouldn't kill us!"
"Do I have to threaten too so you'll come along?" Apocalypse asked, turning to look at her. This split second distraction was enough for Keita to appear out of Apocalypse's shadow, slicing off the hand holding Elise with shadows and freeing her. He jumped away with her as she coughed, Apocalypse looking mildly annoyed.
"You lot sure are persistent," he noted. "It almost...reminds me of old times." Nashi's stomach dropped at this. She didn't want to hear about the old times. "...Does it? I think it does..."
As she watched him, Nashi's blood ran cold. His eyes light up, glowing a bright green. A sinister smile spread across his face as he turned to look at her. "I do remember," he said, sounding much like his old self now. "I remember Phantom Dove. I remember you two, and that torture chamber."
"Shut up," Nashi whispered weakly, the memories making it even harder to stand.
"I remember," Apocalypse said again. "I remember it now! I was torturing you two. Trying to break you for information! Oh it feels so good to know my own past again. I know now. I know how stubborn you both are." he grinned at Nashi. "I remember hurting you so bad you went comatose. Not even able to move an inch."
Nashi didn't want to recall it. She didn't want to remember that beating. But thanks to her near perfect memory of her past thanks to Zoka ad Ruli, she did. She was cast back to that cell, taking Elise's session with Apocalypse after she'd been taken away by those other men. She remembered feeling her own body going numb and her mind drifting away into the clouds. The cold. It had been so damn cold, something she wasn't accustomed too. Her entire body shivering, all the time, barely able to hold on. It was like she was back there. She was stuck in that cell again, barely clinging to life.
"And you," she heard Apocalypse say, "she ended up that way because she took your place. She didn't want you to get hurt."
"Shut up." Elise said weakly.
"Why was that again?...Hm... Oh! I remember. Angel told me."
"Shut up!"
"Some guys in the guild whisked you away and had their way with you. I remember know. I killed them for that. Jose was so made at them. That's why pinkie had to sub in for you. Cause you'd already had a hard time that day."
Nashi managed to look up in Elise's direction, and saw that her friend looked far away. Her lower lip was trembling, even as Keita stood between her and Apocalypse.
"Shut your mouth," he spat angrily. "Don't talk to them anymore."
"Who are you?" Apocalypse asked. "I don't remember you. Have we met before?"
"No," Keita replied. "But I'm glad we haven't, because I'd have killed you. Guess it doesn't matter though. I can make up for lost time!" Keita sank into the shadows, and Nashi watched as Apocalypse looked around warily for where the attack would come from.
It didn't, not in the way he expected.
Keita's form erupted from Apocalypse's shadow at his feet, tendrils of shadow wrapping around him. Nashi watched as Keita dragged him down into his shadow, sinking like they were in quicksand.
"Shadow Dragon Secret Art: Endless Shadow Prison!"
"Keita!" Nashi shouted. It didn't matter. Both men sank into the darkness and disappeared, leaving her and Elise on the beach with their thoughts.
She didn't want to be left alone with her thoughts, not these ones.