by Tyler R Lee
“Oh, Alla, no.” Gunner had lost the entirety of his lower half. There he lay, choking up blood, one arm, a broken torso, and a head. “Gunner, no, please.”
“That’s it for him,” Sonic Man chided as he stood up, his body and suite groaning with pain and injury. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Not so fast you asshole!” Artemis cried as she let a flurry of magical arrows fly. Several struck, causing the cyborg to cry out in pain, but he still stood.
“I’m over this,” he said as he made to fly away. However, when he initiated his back thruster, it faltered from the slash it had received from NoScope earlier. When he made to run, he noticed that two of Artemis’s arrows had pierced his feet and the cavern floor, keeping him in place.
“Scope,” Gunner choked. “Now’s our chance. Hold me up...and face me...towards him.” His voice was weak, and NoScope hesitated for a moment. “Please,” he pleaded, blood trickling down his cheek.
“Alright.” NoScope, using all the strength she had left, placed her arms under his and lifted, facing him towards Sonic Man.
“Thank you...for everything...by the way.”
“For what?” NoScope’s voice was breaking at the sight of her friend.
“You...and Streak. You opened my eyes. I’m...sorry I was so prejudiced against the two of you in the beginning.”
“Don’t even worry about that.” Tears had begun to run down the ninja’s face.
“I mean it. You showed me that...I was wrong. And, I love you both for it. Could you do me one more favor?”
“Anything.”
“When this is done...would you say a prayer for me. But...in your faith. I think...that would be nice.”
“Of course.”
As if waiting for that response, Gunner pointed his gun arm at Sonic Man. It began to produce a fierce glow, brighter than any it had produced before. Soon, it was humming and shaking with energy as sparks began to shoot out in all directions. Then, Gunner let loose a massive wave of energy from his arm that engulfed the black and gold fighter. The last of Gunner’s energy drained, but then he filtered his life energy into the blast. When he started this, pieces of metal began to lift and fly off of his arm. Then his arm exploded as he poured out all the energy. Sonic Man, now engulfed in this beam of pure power and life energy, cried out against the pain as he felt the intense heat, fighting against the force of the blast.
Artemis and NoScope watched as pieces of Sonic’s armor began to disintegrate from the power of the blast. Then, NoScope noticed the same thing happening to Gunner from the force he was expending as his body quivered from the output. The entire cavern was aglow with blue light, and it shook from the force and the echo of the intense beam being fired. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the blast dissipated. Where Sonic Man had stood was now a charred husk of smoldering armor. Everything else had been destroyed.
After the blast was done. NoScope heard Gunner mutter, “Got ‘em.” Then, his arm fell limp, his gun crumbling to the ground and detaching from his elbow. His head fell to the side as NoScope fell to the ground, still holding his body, sobbing into Gunner’s back. She held him as she sat there, rocking back and forth, having had to say goodbye to another friend. Artemis, limping badly on her charred leg, made her way over and knelt beside the ninja and placed a hand on her shoulder.
After a moment, she whispered, “we can still save some of your friends if we hurry.”
***
Metal on metal rang out on the rooftop of the ancient and dilapidated temple as Ariel's greatsword clashed with the minotaur's massive axe. Minos was more than twice her size, but the strength within the dark elf warrior was surprised many. What might have been more surprising was her skill as a fighter, even when wielding what would be such an unruly weapon. Each time the monster brought down his great axe, Ariel was there to stop it with her massive blade, the impact driving her into the stones under her feet. But, she held her ground all the same. Unless she dodged it entirely, letting the minotaur drive his blade into the stone, collapsing more of the roof and sending pieces flying. These moments gave her enough time to bury her weapon deep in Minos's flesh.
Across the rooftop, Peter battled Galavar in a far closer confrontation. Peter was quick, quicker than most at this level. But, so was the lanky, tall knight with his long spear. The martial artist bobbed and weaved in between lightning quick stabs with the deceptively quick weapon, throwing attacks of his own with his powerful limbs. However, the silver knight moved fluidly between Peter's attacks, making it difficult to land even a single punch or kick.
After another exchange that gained Peter no ground, he watched Galavar twirl his spear and stab in for one, two, three attacks. Easily, he dodged each. When the spear came in for a fourth, the knight pulled up short and swept the back end at the martial artist's feet. Peter fell to the side when the spear impacted his ankles, taking him completely by surprise. He caught himself with the palms of his hands, but his enemy was already moving in.
With a powerful downward stab, the knight attempted to skewer the boy. Thinking quickly, Peter rolled inward instead of away, narrowly dodging the downward stab that went a full two feet into the stone. He kicked up, making contact with the knights gut, sending him off his feet by a few inches. Peter followed up by leaping to his feet and landing several powerful punches, denting the knight's breastplate with fist imprints. The boy's enemy flew backwards, stabbing the spear into the ground to bring himself to a halt before sliding too far. Peter took a stance and readied himself for another round, taking note of a possible weakness he may have just discovered.
"How's it going over there," Ariel called out as she fought on against the massive minotaur. She parried a downward slash from her opponent, sending it off to the side. When the beast came back around with a horizontal attack, Ariel held her sword to her back, catching the axe. She then moved her sword out as she spun under it, forcing the axe to the other side. She then used this momentum to slash both the giant's legs, sending it down to the ground, throwing up stones from the impact.
"Not quite as smooth as yours," Peter said, smiling and rolling his eyes as he chanced a glance her way and saw the flawless maneuver. Galavar saw this and dashed Peter's direction, who looked back just in time to go on the defensive.
"What's the problem?" The smile was evident in her tone.
"Finesse," Peter answered as he lifted his foot, avoiding another trip up from the silver knight, who tried again, then one more time, pushing Peter back. "It isn't all it's cracked up to be."
More stabs came in and Peter began to slip up, taking a graze here and a cut there, sending bolts of pain through the boy's abdomen. When he failed to fully dodge another, he reached out and grabbed the spear with both hands, then turned and drove his right foot, then left foot into the knight's face as the martial artist leapt over the weapon. When Peter landed on the other side, he planted his foot into the Galavar's gut, sending it to the floor.
A thoughtful look crept onto the martial artist's face. "Interesting." This time, he moved in on the knight, who immediately swiped at the oncoming foe with its dangerously long spear. Peter leapt over it and got in close, but the knight was still able to sidestep most of his attacks. That is, until he attempted another thrust towards Peter, who caught it again. "Not so fast when held in place, are you?" he said as he punched the knight in its silver helmet, denting the visor, and followed up with several more. Peter had discovered Galavar’s weakness, and he wasted no time in using it to his advantage.
Within no time at all, Peter had whittled the silver knight's HP down dangerously low, and knew it was time to end the fight. The quicker he did so, the quicker he could help Ariel, and the quicker they could both get to Yoshitsune. He masterfully moved in close and gripped the knight's weapon. Then his flurry of blows sent the armored foe into the air, which he followed, landing even more attacks. When the knight began to drop, Peter built up a beam of energy and fired it into his enemy's chest, rocketin
g it to the ground and devouring the rest of its HP as Galavar was caught between the stone tiles of the roof and the devouring power of the martial artist’s energy wave.
Peter landed and turned to Ariel, but, before he could make his way over, something began to form near the middle of the arena. Ariel saw it too, turning to witness the event after knocking down her opponent and putting some distance between them. The air began to draw towards a small point, like a strong gravitational pull from out of nowhere. Then, a black circle emerged in that area, growing to the size of a large door. It was a void of black surrounded by swirls of dark blue and purple, shifting around in a circle around the blackness. Then, the air calmed and there the anomaly sat.
"What the--" Peter started.
"It's a portal," Ariel said, her voice filled with excitement. "I've seen them before. Usually after certain boss encounters to teleport you the next stage if it has a story element to it."
"Do you think it--"
"Takes you to the final battle? Yes, I do. Take it."
Her tone was so final and matter-of-fact that Peter did a double take towards her. "What about your friend?" He motioned to the monster getting to its feet.
"I'll take care of him. He's an HP sponge, but I can handle him."
"I'm not about to leave you--"
"Now is really not the time for some misguided sense of machismo."
Peter ran to Ariel's side as she readied for her oncoming foe. He grabbed her by the arm. "That's not it. I'm not leaving you. Not because of some toxic masculinity where I think you need my help. But...because I..." He hesitated, not able to make himself say the words. Not able to express how he felt.
Suddenly, Ariel's hand was at the back of his neck as she pulled him down and placed her lips onto his. Peter closed his eyes and drank in the feeling, trying desperately to not let his legs go out from under him.
When their lips parted, Ariel whispered, "I know. I feel the same." Then, she landed a kick to Peter's gut that sent the completely unsuspecting boy back into the portal. "And I'll...hopefully be there to help soon."
The warrior then turned to Minos, the Half-Demon, axe raised and ready for battle. "Let's get this over with," she said as she charged forward.
* * *
As suddenly as he had flown through the portal, Peter landed with a thud on a rocky surface. He stumbled backwards before slowly getting to his feet. "Dammit, Ariel," he coughed, halfway smiling at the stubbornness and strength of his friend. He glanced around, briefly to take in his surroundings. He was in another arena type area. It was wide open, but was surrounded mostly by natural rock walls about thirty or so feet high. The floor was a mix of natural stone from the mountain, and worn carved stone that resembled something you would find in a monastery.
"Peter," came a familiar voice before the boy could fully take in where he was. His blood ran cold as he felt his stomach drop. He knew that voice. He slowly turned to confirm, and saw the tall figure, dressed in the white coat he had worn when Peter had met him that first day. In fact, his avatar had not changed at all.
"It is so good to see you, my boy," Yoshitsune said in his soft-spoken voice, sincerity clear in his tone. Peter wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.
Here he was, face to face with the man he had idolized, and had even called friend for a brief time. The man who had given him everything he had ever wanted...and then taken it all away with blood and sorrow. "Alexander,” Peter returned.
Chapter 23
The thin, stone corridor lit up as the flame spiraled through it. Glitch, once again, dodged into a side passage, narrowly avoiding the blaze orange samurai's attack. Despite his prowess in battle, Amaterasu had not been able to gain the upper hand as the rogue led him down corridor after corridor. He knew that these tight quarters and dark lighting were the rogue's turf. Still, he pursued, determined to keep her from interfering in his companions' quest.
"I suppose demanding you stand and fight like a warrior would be too much to ask?" He held his sword in front of him, allowing the flame to guide his way.
"I'd much rather fight like a rogue," came a voice behind him. Before he could turn, he felt another sharp pain in his back. The flaming sword swiped in the direction of the attack, but missed as the enemy rolled backwards. He came forward and began another assault, which Glitch was able to parry and block expertly. Eventually, as Glitch backed farther down a corridor, she slammed both of her blades together, producing a blinding light. Amaterasu shielded his eyes from the intense illumination. When he looked up, she was gone.
"This way," came her voice from further down the dark hallway.
"How long can you keep this tactic up?" Amaterasu cautiously moved down the hallway. "What happens when you duck into a room with enough space for an actual fight?"
"I don't plan on giving you that advantage. You think I would risk the outcome of this battle in a one-on-one sword fight with the great Amaterasu? Don't be a dummy. All I have to do is wait it out. Or haven't you noticed your health bar?"
Quickly checking his head-up display, Amaterasu had, indeed, noticed that his health had been steadily draining for some time. "Poisoned."
"You got it. And every few hits makes it even worse. Add to that the fact that you can't use healing items in here, and all I have to do is wait for you to drop."
"If you think it'll be that easy, you're in for a rude awakening."
"How cliche."
The samurai continued to work his way down the dimly lit corridors. He had no other choice but to remain the most apparent threat to his foe. He moved into a passageway where he was sure her voice was echoing. Thinking on his feet, knowing he had to somehow gain an advantage, he knelt down and stabbed his flaming blade into the stone floor. Glitch dropped to the ground and, like several times before, made to attack the warrior from behind. However, she was stopped by eruptions of fire and lava from the ground all around. Within the small hallway, the orange and red glows bathed everything in fiery light as Glitch did her best to back pedal away from the oncoming storm.
Stone walls and floors began to crumble and fall apart, as did part of the ceiling. Fiery rock began to rain down on both of them as the samurai charged towards the retreating Glitch. They fought through the hallways, blade on blade ringing out, and Amaterasu guided the firestorm as much as he could, forcing Glitch down hallways he chose rather than being at her mercy.
Eventually, Amaterasu saw the light he had been looking for. But, this wasn't light from his now dying storm of flames and lava, nor that of a torch lighting a room or another hallway. This way daylight. He continued to push Glitch down the corridor, now completely off balance. As the neared, Glitch noticed the daylight and tried to escape by blinding her foe again. However, he would not be fooled again, proving this by placing his flaming sword in between her blades as they meant to make contact. He then drove his sword forward and slashed down, inflicting a massive hit on his opponent.
Glitch flew backwards as she cried out in pain, smoke and flame emanating from her body. She landed outside the hallway upon the cliffside. She felt the grass and stone beneath her and cursed her foe's clever strategy. This was more his style. The area was open, with no obstacles in their path aside from the deadly drop off the edge of the cliff.
"I saw the daylight shining down the hallway quite a ways back as you were leading me deeper into the darkness of the fortress," Amaterasu said as he walked through the opening. He used the last bit of his fire and lava eruptions to cave in the exit, stranding them on the outside. "I knew this was where I needed to bring you."
Breathing hard from the last attack, Glitch stood up and put a smile on. "What good will it do you. You honestly think I can't outlast you? Look at your health. And every hit I land will bring you that much closer to death."
Amaterasu surged forward so suddenly that Glitch only just got a blade up to block. "Maybe so." The samurai continued his forward assault, swinging left and right, up and down, but never wildly. His attacks we
re always deliberate. "We'll just have to see."
In the open, in true one-on-one combat, few could say they would stand a chance against Amaterasu. Glitch knew this. It was made more apparent every wound she took from the samurai. However, she also saw him slow as the fight continued, allowing her more hits, which quickened the poison that was killing him. "You're strong, and too damn stubborn to quit, I'll give you that."
"Why on earth would I quit?" the samurai growled.
"What on earth do you have to keep fighting for?" Glitch countered as she jumped back, putting plenty of distance between her and her visibly winded foe. "Look at you," she continued as Amaterasu took a knee, supporting himself on his sword. "You are about to drop. You will die, I'll survive, and it won't have made any difference." She hissed the last few words through a cruel grin.
For several heartbeats and labored breaths, Amaterasu did not respond. He simply let his mind contemplate those words. Finally, he said, barely above a whisper, "Maybe you're right."