by Andrew Jones
But his blasters looked oddly different. It looked like he modded them so that they could blast a powerful set of beams, as well as shoot the multiple bullets it was originally able to do. Densetsu aimed one of the blasters at Blaze and Nova, shooting multiple bullets at them. But Blaze grabbed her battle axe and used the blade of it do reflect the bullets away from them.
"Atreyu, I need you to take out Densetsu. If this process is interrupted, I cannot attempt it again!" Blaze shouted at him.
"Yeah, Atreyu. You don't want your machine babes dying now, do you?" Densetsu laughed.
Atreyu frowned, but he quickly rushed at Densetsu and slashed the sword he had stabbed into his stomach from Drakkar. He kept slashing against him, but Densetsu continued to block each of the attacks with his blasters. He soon deflected his slash attack away, and while Atreyu's arms were way in the air due to the deflection, Densetsu lowered one of his blasters and charged up a beam, quickly shooting a powerful blast at Atreyu, knocking him across the courtyard.
The people of the village watched as they surrounded all of them. Their faces made it look like they were enjoying the fight- like it was purely just a show for their entertainment. But it was obvious that they were scared. They were scared of Densetsu's blasters, of Atreyu's anger, and of Blaze in general.
Atreyu stood up slowly, looking extremely weakened from the blast's attack on him. He tilted his head to the side, and breathed heavily, making the black mass within him consume his body. His body fully turned back, giving resentence to his newly red eyes. The people screamed and cowered in fear. That same fear is what kept them all still, frozen to the point where they could not move. Densetsu's eyes widened, as he was surprised by this newfound power of Atreyu- but Blaze was not surprised. She sensed it within him but refused to believe a boy of his presence would have such rage within his soul. She knew that he had released his inner rage, and became contracted with Ruse.
"Ha. You think having a power like that will defeat me, you little punk? You're still a little bitch!" Densetsu yelled.
He aimed both of his blasters at Atreyu and begun shooting assault rifle bullets at him for a while, but he watched as the wall of black mass Atreyu materialized in front of him swallowed up each of the bullets. Atreyu made the wall disappear, letting all of the bullet shells hit the ground. The shells hitting the concrete of the courtyard was very loud, though they blended in and created an unmixed melody. He glanced down at the petty sword he still had grasped in his fist and then tossed it aside. Raising his fist, he made the black mass conjure a giant sword, and immediately aimed it at Densetsu. He grinned again and quickly shot a powerful blast from both of his blasters. Their ability, if they were both triggered at the same time, and if they were going a similar direction, they would circle around one another and soon entwine, creating one even more powerful blast. Atreyu quickly reacted by deflecting the powerful beam with his dark sword. However, the beam that was deflected flew right into one side of the villagers, which created a white wave that would dismantle all of the people with ease.
The survivors screamed and tried to run, but a black barrier was materialized to cover any way out of the courtyard. Up toward the top of the castle, Drakkar stood in his own Ruse form that had his body consumed by his darkness and his eyes turned red, like Atreyu's form.
"Ah! Atreyu... I didn't know you had it in you." Densetsu chuckled, as he lifted one of his blasters up to rest on his shoulder and watched the people cower.
The people who were dismantled by the beam's body parts were flying around the whole courtyard. Human heads, arms, legs, even their internal body parts like their brains, hearts, or stomachs were dropping to the ground. Atreyu gripped his fists with rage, letting the black mass that had consumed him created a smoke like substance behind him, which represented his rage. He continued to hear the laughter of Densetsu, regardless.
"Oh, but it wasn't like we were willing to sacrifice the entire Human race for our plan anyways." Densetsu shrugged his shoulders and continued laughing.
His laughter was quickly interrupted as the giant black mass sword was stabbed through Densetsu's stomach. His voice sounded shaken, as he grabbed onto the blade and looked up at Atreyu. His red eyes glared down at Densetsu, and he gripped his fingers so he would expand the sword, tearing Densetsu apart with no effort at all. The pool of Densetsu's blood poured on the ground, and it all spilled down the walkway and right into some of the flowers and bushes that complimented the castle's dark beauty.
Atreyu took a deep breath as the darkness that consumed him slowly begun to fade away. When he opened his eyes his eyes had returned to normal. His body felt extremely weakened, but his first thought was to check on the progress with Nova. He slowly ran to them, seeing Blaze had fallen to the ground and Kryptonite was just sitting next to her. He looked up at her, looking upset.
"I hope you got what you wanted... Nova will at least be okay." Kryptonite spoke rudely toward him.
"W-What about Blaze?" Atreyu asked, sounding hesitant of whether he should've asked that question or not.
Kryptonite's reaction gave him the answer. His head just looked down at Blaze's now lifeless body. The wire that had connected Blaze to Nova had gotten unplugged and returned to her body, and their condiments were closed as well.
"I'm sorry, Kryptonite..." Atreyu spoke softly.
"You shouldn't apologize, Atreyu. Nova is a much more valuable asset than Blaze, after all." Drakkar spoke as he approached them from behind. "Blaze is still useful if she is unconscious."
Atreyu frowned at him, "What do you mean?"
"The plan that will set the course of our goal, to resurrect Humanity... We have the three keys with us, plus some bloodshed. I suspect that they'll be arriving soon." Drakkar answered, laughing.
Kryptonite gasped, "You're trying to bring forth the Dragoona!? Drakkar... That's just legend, you don't know what they are capable of!"
"It's already bound to happen. Because of the fight Atreyu just had with Densetsu. The one with the corrupted heart. The one with the virus. And, the one who can save them all. This is just the beginning of the New World!"
Nova grumbled before sitting up. She rubbed her head and acted like she had been hit on the head hard. But she quickly felt Atreyu rush to her side and give her a huge hug.
"N-Nova... You're all right!" Atreyu shouted with joy.
Nova gasped and leaned into him, being confused, "Um, yes?"
As Atreyu hugged her, she looked over at Kryptonite who was still at Blaze's side. She didn't notice Drakkar's presence because he disappeared just before she woke up. Atreyu helped her up as she looked around. The courtyard had become distorted with the blood of the villagers and Densetsu. She wondered how they would find a way out of the courtyard, or the castle's area, because the black mass Drakkar had materialized was still covering up all the exits.
She was always distracted with Kryptonite, she was worried about him and confused as to what happened to Blaze. But she felt like it was too much of a burden to ask. She would simply pat the back of Kryptonite's shoulder, giving him some comfortability, if it was effective in any way. She just wanted to help him out.
"Okay, now we have to find a way out of here." Nova proposed, looking at Atreyu, "Any ideas?"
Atreyu shook his head, "Let's just wait..."
"... Why?"
Atreyu looked down at Kryptonite and Blaze for a few moments, then he glanced up at the top of the castle.
"I think he's trying to make us stay. We can't resist it, we have to stay and await what is next... We cannot fight fate." Atreyu explained as he kept his eyes on the castle.
Nova grunted, sounding a bit worried about Atreyu now as she looked up at the castle as well, nodding her head.
"All right, Atreyu..."
Verse VII
The Color of Depression
Blaze was falling into a deep darkness. Her body felt weightless, and its shape and color of her body were fading. The color of her skin, the blackness
of her dress- it all faded in color and she became see-through. She opened her eyes slightly, and what was above her was the sky of light. Her eyes were sparkling her people eyes, and they gave the appearance that she had been crying. Raising her hand upward toward the light, her lips formed a smile. A soft smile that actually gave the radiance of happiness, something she had never felt in so long. She knew she was falling down into the darkness, but she kept her eyes at the overbearing light of which shined into her. The light made her feel protected, like the sacrifice she gave was enough for her to pass on.
"Am... Am I finally dead?" Blaze's voice softly muttered into the darkness.
She raised hand formed into a soft fist, it was like she felt something against the palm of her hand. She couldn't see what it was, but it didn't matter. It made her feel like Augur was around her. The same aura he possessed and made her feel when he was around her. The feeling only made her smile and hope she was bound to see him soon. But her eyes shut on their own. The passing winds that brushed aside her became less horrendous and became just a gentle breeze. Her heart began to pump faster, and she became more anxious when she felt herself drop to the bottom of the dark pit.
Opening her eyes slowly, the room was filled with darkness and with no sight of the everlasting light that brought such positive emotion to her. She got to her feet and looked around, seeing nothing at all that looked strange. But as she looked at her hands, she saw that she was still see-through.
"You are with the darkness now, Blaze." A voice that sounded like Blaze's voice spoke.
Blaze gasped, "Who's there?"
"I am your heart."
"Machines don't have hearts..."
"That may be true, but you have feelings- emotions. You have the one thing that Humans treasure, and the one thing that serves as a flaw."
Blaze grunted with emotional pain as she placed her hand on her chest, looking down at her hand.
"A heart's purpose is to pump the blood within Humans. It is served as the most crucial part of the body. Because without a heart, Humans cannot live."
She turned around and saw a large mirror, a mirror which displayed its reflection. The reflection showed Blaze herself, but she could see just by looking into the mirror that she had been crying. Her eyes still sparkled, and her cheeks still had her tear's trails from when they ran down her cheek.
"The heart's definition of a Human, yes. But machines are not made that way. Not all machines have the capability to feel this amount of emotion... Look at your face, your heart is trapped in this mechanical shell. You cannot control your emotions ever since the death of Augur."
Blaze gasped, "D-Don't mention that."
"Your heart has been gravely damaged since then, Blaze. You're suffering, and this desire to find your death is unnatural."
"N-No!" Blaze shouted as she punched the mirror in rage, not noticing the mirror had cracked.
"You need to stop lying to yourself, Blaze. Only then, you'll learn the true definition of happiness."
She panted from her sudden rage, but she was willing to shrug it off. But the pain she felt from her fist was odd. She wasn't able to feel pain normally, she was a machine after all. The only pain she would feel physically is if her body was shutting down. She spotted some red drops on the floor, the redness was entwining with the blackness, and soon disappeared. But the drips kept falling, and soon she discovered that is was coming from her wounded fist.
"You need to sleep, Blaze. That is the only way you will find peace within yourself."
"Sleep?" Blaze thought about it.
She held her fists tight and shut her eyes. After seeing only the darkness, she began hearing someone's voice. It was calling out to her, though it wasn't loud. It sounded like it was a great distance from her. She felt the need to proceed closer to the voice of which was calling her. Still having her eyes shut, she strolled through the darkness, feeling her way through the nothingness until the voice increased in volume. It sounded like it was a male- like it had been Xanadu.
"Blaze... Blaze!" Xanadu shouted.
Shalya scoffed, "She must really be out of it. You sure this was a good idea, Xan?"
"Positive, she'll be the one who can help us."
Blaze groaned in her sleep before she opened her eyes. As her eyes opened, she saw both Xanadu and Shalya looking down at her, which frankly surprised her. She was wondering where they had disappeared to. She sat up and moved her head to the side, cracking her neck in an attempt to wake herself up more.
"Xan, Shalya... Where have you two been? ... And how did you wake me up?"
Shalya looked at Xanadu, wanting to know what they should say to her. But Xanadu just nodded his head, which gave her the signal to go to the other room. She didn't even recognize the room at all either. They were in the white room, the room Xanadu and Ace were using to analyze the Timeline. She became a little bit shocked as a projection played on the white wall- it was on mute, but it had played back the events before Blaze's passing. The moment she was helping recharge Nova during Atreyu's battle with Densetsu.
"I cannot answer that, I'm not even supposed to have you here," Xanadu spoke as he pulled one of the chairs out for her, one of the chairs that had surrounded the bigger table. "Take a seat."
"Okay..." Blaze muttered as she stood up and sat in that chair.
She watched Xanadu sit in the chair across from her. He began to stare at her, but then he laid back in his seat and took a deep breath, giving off this hint that he was really stressed out.
"Xan, just tell me where we are," Blaze spoke harshly toward him.
Xanadu shook his head, "I can't. But I brought you here to tell you some things you would come to find out later on."
Blaze frowned, "And what is that?"
"Augur... He's still alive." Xanadu sighed before he would answer.
Blaze stood up and slammed her hands on the table, "Don't you fucking lie to me!"
Xanadu shook his head again, "That process he went with Drenawx... He sacrificed himself and used himself to create an antidote for Ruse. But in order for him to stay alive, his heart had to be transported to a new body."
"And how do you know this?"
He sighed, "Because, I've been watching this Timeline. I know the what will come in the end if there are no immediate shock to the Timeline. You will find out when it's too late."
"Too... Late?"
"Yes. You will find out just as Drakkar dies- or when Augur dies, the same person."
Blaze gasped, "D-Drakkar is Augur?"
Suddenly, the door next to Blaze was kicked open and Ace stepped in with Shalya following behind him. He crossed his arms and frowned as he looked around and sat that the two of them had been talking.
"Xan, what did you tell her?" Ace asked.
Xan stood out of his seat, "Just the thing that will change the course of this branch! She now has enough time to-"
"Xan shut the hell up!" Ace shouted at him as he turned back toward Shalya, "I told you, Xan was the traitor this whole time. It was a mistake for him to bring Blaze here."
Shalya grinned over at Xanadu and nodded her head, "Agreed, sir."
Xanadu hit the table with his fist and then pointed right at Shalya.
"I am not the traitor here! Shalya was bending the rules, and she agreed to come up with a plan to change the course of the branch. It was her idea!"
Ace shook his head, "Shayla's told me everything."
After he spoke, he pointed at Xanadu and made him freeze in place. He couldn't move at all, then Ace told Shalya to move Blaze to the Deletion Room. Blaze panted as she watched Ace grab Xan by the hand and drag him out of the room. She looked over at Shalya and yelled at her.
"You betrayed Xan, didn't you!?" Blaze yelled.
Shalya shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Doesn't matter now."
Shalya grabbed Blaze by her wrist, but Blaze was quick to counter the grab and elbow her in the face, which sent her to the ground.
"Don't fuck
ing touch me," Blaze says, sending her a cold look.
Shalya grunted as she got up and wiped some blood from her bottom lip. She pointed out of the room and told Blaze to walk. So she did, and she went down the long hallway, just as Shalya directed her. They kept passing rooms, and they seemed to materialize the more they went down the hall. The hall just seemed endless, up until a door marked '2269-9903-DELETION' appeared on their left side. Shalya told Blaze to open it, and once she did, Shalya kicked her inside.
She screamed and fell into the dark room. As she sat up, she noticed another person was in the room, but they were frozen just like what Ace had done to Xanadu.
"What are you going to do with me?" Blaze asked as she stood up.
"What the door says, delete you."
Blaze observed the doorway and grinned slightly, "Delete me?"
Just before Shalya could explain, Blaze dashed over to Shalya and grabbed her by her neck. She kept the grip for a little while, but Shalya kicked Blaze away and fell to the ground. After Blaze was pushed away, she looked around the room and saw a device that looked a lot like the vaults the Synths like herself would sleep inside. The device was used to delete people from existence, but it didn't erase them from people's memories.
"Ace says you've been a problem for the Timeline from the very beginning. You're the creation of this corruption that cursed your Timeline!" Shalya yelled.
Blaze frowned and pulled out her spear, aiming it right at Shalya. But she only laughed.
"Oh, you think you can just kill a Divergence? It ain't so easy." Shalya laughed.
Blaze grunted as she stabbed the tip of the spear right into Shalya's stomach, and begun to watch as her blood poured down her stomach and the tip of her spear. She grabbed the spear and kept her laugh going.
"You take pleasure from killing, Blaze. After all, you were created to kill. That's all you'll ever be remembered for!" Shalya shouted.
Blaze yelled, "Shut up!"
She pulled the spear out of Shalya's stomach and quickly stabbed it into her forehead, but Shalya only laughed harder, as she grabbed on it again.