Episode III: Crossroads of Fate
Chapter 6-5:
Gateway to Tomorrow
Spoiler!Dark tendrils lapped at the edge of a fetid waterway. Gathering their bearings, the group had reached the end of the line. A paired silhouette was waiting on top of a large platform that would have seemed to function as a raft at some point. Beckoning their approach, their opponents were clear as they were now just a few feet away.
“Helga? …But I saw you…disappear into nothingness” Quagmire said.
“Foolish puppet…” she hissed.
“You seem to be short a member” Howzer detailed. “After these twenty one long years, I finally get another one of those accursed Beltraz’s out of my way. I should have personally exterminated you all back then if I knew you would be such a hindrance.”
“Shut up! …Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Elizabeth screeched.
“The suffering you have caused…ends today Howzer!” Quagmire announced, displaying his tightly clenched fist.
“Oh, on the contrary, it has only begun!” Howzer cackled. Embracing one another, Howzer’s form steadily became enveloped by Helga. The more they combined, the more distorted and revolting their conjoined shape evolved. Dropping into the putrid liquid below, a pair of mighty claws resurfaced around the raft. Pulling itself completely out, its new body was made of a spindly, skeletal frame with a giant gaping maw with a countless eyes. Its visage was scaturient with some viscous orange gel that oozed and congealed enough until bits and pieces dropped down, fizzing upon impact with the ground.
“There’s no mistaking it. That’s Dark Falz!” Lutz declared. Not giving it the chance to draw first blood, Zachery went in with Zanba tailing behind him. Making contact, it somehow bounced off. Dumbstruck, the opposing arm snatched the blade and clamped down hard, shattering it to pieces. Still wracked with doubt, Zachery looked up to see the other arm balled into a fist, careening straight into his chest.
“Are you okay?!” Elizabeth shrieked, already at his side, providing treatment while Lutz and Dustina kept a selection of encroaching whip-like tendrils at bay.
“…Looks like I’ve gotten…careless in my old age…” he wheezed, clambering onto his feet. “Q-Quagmire! Come! Show it the power of the Elsydeon!” Deflecting another blow from one of its fists, Dustina cleared a big enough opening for Lutz to blast it onto its back with an oversized fire ball. As it struggled to get back up, Quagmire and Zachery dived through the ensuing plume of smoke, swords held high. Aiming for where the limbs attached to the body, both were rent with a single stroke. Poised to panic, Dark Falz went airborne, making for its escape down the water way.
“Quick! Everyone get on the platform!” Elizabeth shouted. “I can get it to move if you give me some time! Think you guys can keep it busy before it gets away?”
“…You got it!” Quagmire affirmed. Taking out his handguns, he pelted a bulbous tip connected to the end of its serpentine figure as Lutz joined in a hail of thunderbolts. Pulling his pistol from his thigh, Zachery assisted in addition to his own barrage of Foie. Launching organic missiles from the sides of its body, Dark Falz attempted to hamper their progress even further as they shot through the air, targeting Elizabeth.
“Keep hitting it! I’ll protect her!” Dustina yelled, propping her gigantic sword in front of herself, acting as a shield for the defenseless CAST. Deflecting each javelin as they came, Elizabeth couldn’t help but flinch from their lack of comforting proximity. A small spark lit up the panel she was working on, giving the platform life with a large thud followed by a series of whirring noises, prompting their chase to the flying demon. Drawing nearer and nearer, the group’s ranged attacks proved to increase both in accuracy and efficacy, taking out a few of the fanged nodules that spat out the guided weaponry. Enraged, it plummeted down and rammed the ship, sending Dustina into the air. It flung itself around and smashed its tail onto the ship; pinning Lutz to the ground. Jumping up, Quagmire grabbed Dustina before she fell into the miasma below. Wielding the remaining large armament in his arsenal, Zachery staked the final segment of Dark Falz’s flagella to the floor. Unsheathing more blades, he hacked away at the tail until it moved enough for Lutz to break free. As Elizabeth ran over to heal him, she stopped dead in her tracks as another spear was streaking her way. A hefty, stony weapon cleft it clear, marking Dustina and Quagmire’s descent back into the fray. Aiding Zachery, the entire back end was ripped clean off, freeing the evil from its temporary prison. Returning to the air, it once again barraged the boat with a bevy of missiles.
“I’m going…to try to knock it down!” Quagmire exclaimed. “Cover me!” Crouching down with her rifle at the ready, Elizabeth destroyed each spear that was fired while Quagmire rocketed straight for it. Splitting his saber into two, he crossed them in front of his chest. Piercing right through its center with a resounding crack, it was cut in it half, both of the pieces dropping into the river while the hero triumphantly rejoined the group. Thinking all was well, they breathed a sigh of relief once everything went silent. A tremor suddenly rocked the platform, followed by another and yet another. Four tentacles shot up from the waves, unfurling and latching on to each corner of the ship. Its hungry maw popped out next with frightening alacrity, latching onto an unaware Zachery. Anguished from the sharp pressure, he burst into flames in vain to free himself. Hoisting her axe above her head, Dustina threw herself forward with tremendous force, landing directly on its face. Released from its grip, Zachery cut off its lower jaw, moving over to the nearest tendril as Quagmire had made short work of the other three. Elizabeth and Lutz held up opposing arms parallel to each other as they pooled a collective Technique, unleashing a humongous wave of ice, freezing Dark Falz to the edge of the boat.
“Now Quagmire! End it!” Lutz dictated. Thrusting himself forward, Quagmire dashed past Dustina and Elizabeth and then Lutz. Zachery cupped his hands down below his waist, ready to fling Quagmire overhead. With one final boost, he furiously swung his saber down, plunging it in the center mass between all of its eyes. A blinding light overcame rushed around it, soon encircling the rest of them.
“YOU ARE TOO LATE. WE HAVE ALREADY SUCCEEDED IN UNDOING THE SEAL. YOUR TIME HAS COME.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Lutz shouted as Dark Falz’s corpse fizzled away into vapor. The waterway ended as the raft came to a stop at a dock; a dark tunnel awaiting them from afar. Hesitant, the group inched forward as the whole of the shaft shunned away all light, leaving only absolute darkness. “What is this…This is…different…This isn’t Falz…no it can’t be!! We stopped it!” A strange weightlessness welled around them as the air began to dance. Tumbling further and further into the endless abyss, the surge of the wind came to an abrupt halt as they crashed on top of some hard, shapeless flooring. Frantically, they searched through the obscurity for a route to proceed when a wall of lights materialized. Darting about, the illuminated orbs fixated on their prey, unveiling themselves to be an assembly of floating eyes. From within a formless mass, coils of concentrated black lashed out at them. Defending Elizabeth with his body, Quagmire beat them back, retaliating at them with his ranged weaponry. Nothing landed its mark, even with Zachery’s assistance. It was if their incorporeal foe was nothing more than a painful illusion. “Zachery! Let’s see the room ablaze! We should be able to discern its true form that way!”
“Right!” A vortex of flame surrounded the group, singing the eyes and dispelling the dark. Like tearing into patches of fabric, as each portion of the pitch-blackness burned to cinders, a vast whirlwind of psychedelic colors unraveled itself as the backdrop for the battle. Once it was totally gone, all that remained was a violet, tumorous bulk; pulsating with tentacles and the eyes from earlier, each blinking and undulating in and out of its amorphous body. Thrashing at the group in a spree, Zachery and Dustina only managed to stand firm against the assault. As they cut away the limbs that were unable to retract in time, Elizabeth and Lutz healed up party. Out of breath, Liz stepped back while Quagmire took a defensive stance to guard her from the oncoming onslaught of beams borne from one of the many irises surrounding them. Swiping his left hand downwards and away, Lutz summoned pillars of light that erupted all throughout its malignant mass. Screeching, it frothed and bubbled; beginning to rise. Now a giant fleshy wall, it blocked all exits. All of its eyes opened simultaneously in the next instance; sustained a fiery glint. Lutz erected a barrier around them, guarding against the ensuing attack. Ascending past the walls range, Quagmire became sky bound as he blew up with extreme fulmination; destroying every last eye. His stamina spent, he keeled over next to a panting Lutz. Straining their gaze upwards, they watched as the wall broke away and crumbled. Gangly and fibrous, its latest form came to be that of a liquescent forest, branches of orange and red veins. Pirouetting around with brisk velocity, fire erupted around the tips, bellowing out in relentless torrents. Constructing a wall of ice around them using Dambarta, Elizabeth gave Lutz time to catch his breath so he could assist. Leaping over the icy footholds, Zachery and Dustina rained steel upon it as each tree exploded upon impact. Shifting in size and color, the forest became green and blue, now switching to dishing out a slew of icy shards of its own that shredded through the fortification she set up. Now tearing into the party, Quagmire tackled through the barrage, loosing off a few bolts from the edge of his blades. Making sure to not get to close, each tree exploded as well in a similar fashion.
“It keeps changing color based on the element we hit it with” Elizabeth pointed out. “Maybe we should hit it with multiple elements at once?”
“Worth a shot” Zachery added. Quagmire launched another bolt as Lutz joined in with a deluge of wind and light followed by Zachery with a mixture of fire and darkness and finally Elizabeth with a volley of ice. Utterly confused as it flashed back and forth, Dustina placed her axe into the air and flung forward at one tree. As it exploded, the whole grove did was well in a brilliant display of orange and yellow; sending the heroes soaring upwards. The splash of color melted away into the distance and their immediate surroundings; painting a whole new environment. As they fell, the surface of the flooring had changed texture and temperature, now retaining a feeling of cool stone. An open doorway lay ahead of them, each door adorning a demonic-looking handle.
“…What…happened? Did we… win?” Quagmire asked, pulling himself to his feet.
“No way we did. This has been way too easy” Zachery replied.
“I think it’s trying to buy time as it changes forms… This place though…It’s very familiar” Lutz explained.
“Is everyone okay to continue? I think this might be the only bit of respite we’ll get as well” Elizabeth asked.
“I’m fine…just... some scratches” Quagmire detailed.
“Ready to go!” Dustina detailed. A battalion of red robots wielding rigid-looking armaments sauntered towards the doorway. Taking the charge, Zachery vanished in the blink of an eye, reappearing behind the automatons within the next second. Falling to his knees, breathless, the machines fell to pieces as a pair of two giant, green hulks of muscle awaited their foes next. Tapping Zach’s shoulder, Quagmire advanced next, blocking each mighty blow with a casual swipe of his blade. Striking down the first, a few rifle shots whizzed past his head, felling the second. Rounding the corner and then the next, they proceeded further through a set of two doors and down a staircase where a group of sorcerers greeted them with a barrage of powerful fire magic. Redirecting the fire, Lutz took it above his head, swirling the red sphere until it grew larger and larger. Satisfied, he hurled it back at them. Hurrying past the ashes and around more corridors, they ran out of hallway. Just as they were about to turn back, the floor gave way below them. Deep, heavy growling echoed through the halls. Lying low to the ground, a lithe red dragon peered its crooked neck around the edge of the wall. As it stood upright, Elizabeth instinctively took to the rear as Dustina and Quagmire ran up to take it down. As he tanked a burst of fire to the face, she traded claw with sword. With it defeated, Elizabeth and Lutz tended to their wounds as they reached the final door. Reciting an ancient incantation, their magician had it unlocked without a problem.
Ensorcelled with darkness, a monstrous titan emerged from the end of the room. Two gigantic, dark-blue claws attached to an overly muscular torso reached out to grab Zachery. Taking hold, the figure brought him towards its wicked and toothed grin. Dropping its lower jaw to unnatural proportion, four globs of condensed lightning spewed forth. Tossing the hapless CAST aside, Quagmire stopped him with his stomach afore he went through a wall. Setting up another barrier, Lutz assailed the beast with lightning of his own. Passing Zachery over to their healer, Quagmire sidestepped another punch; cleaving its arm to pieces with a few slashes. Joined by Dustina, they aimed for the main body before it could regenerate its missing limb. Upon landing the final blow, it emitted a horrid screech; drawing the whole group through the floor below them. Stumbling onto a magenta, metallic floor; they looked up, bearing witness to the same creature that had now mutated to attach itself to the ceiling above an open box now sporting two additional faces on its arms. Maintaining its penchant for its electrified breath, it continuously bombarded them without end. It squealed as Zachery cut off one of the shoulder-mounted heads. Its gaze quickly turned to Elizabeth as an ominous red flare consumed its eyes. Taking her rifle, she trained it at its face. Spinning around, she instead shot Lutz in the leg. Dashing over to the monster, she placed her hands on its vile skin, pressing up against it. Slowly, its missing face returned in conjunction with the rest of its damaged flesh. Training her rifle now on her friends, she stood at ends alongside evil.
“Elizabeth…What are you doing?!” Quagmire shouted.
“S-She’s forcefully been…turned evil” Lutz explained.
“How do we turn her back? Do we slap the sense back into her?” Dustina asked, ducking under a globule of electricity.
“I don’t know” Lutz answered.
“What do you mean you don’t know?!” Quagmire shouted even louder.
“I don’t know!! Keep fighting!” Approaching the malevolent mound of fangs and talons, Dustina tried to chop off another part of the body when Elizabeth jumped in the way. Catching her off guard, she opened fire into Dustina’s gut. Blasting the opposing arm away with Rafoie, Zachery now moved to their rogue supporter.
“Haven’t you healed yourself up yet??” he yelled at Lutz.
“No! I’m not as good as she is!”
“Quagmire! Do something!” he commanded, grappling Elizabeth in his arms. Panicked, Quagmire frantically searched his head for any method or option. A voice rang out to him; softly at first, but steadily growing in volume. Light encompassed his blade again; screaming for him to raise it to the air. Blinding all, the creature screeched as Elizabeth cupped her head with her hands. Horrified and dismayed, she immediately moved to heal Lutz and Dustina in turn. Just as they were ready to turn the fight around, Zachery safeguarded the monster instead. Moving directly for Quagmire, he kept his ability to free them at bay. With a swipe of his hand, a bolt of lightning struck down, disabling Zachery as Lutz continued to push the foul spawn back with a set of overwhelming explosions. Unbound, Quagmire disengaged the dark hold on their ally as it tried the same trick on him. Unfazed, he instead put the blade to its face, rending the monster null. Its demise triggered an implosion, launching them into the frigid reaches of space at breakneck speeds. Almost instantaneously, they crashed into another object, barreling through the interior of some other facility. The hole created was swiftly sealed by some type of blast door. Exhausted, they found that the battle was far from over. To the right was a computer terminal that was infested with the same evil as before. Rid of its arms, it dedicated it abilities to the mechanical power that it rooted itself upon. Its flesh parted aside to reveal two flowering nodes that discharged a powerful wave of energy, smacking everyone off their feet. Continuing his assault of magic and Techniques, Elizabeth assisted Lutz from a distance as she shot down rockets that were fired from missile launchers lodged inside its shoulders. The remaining trio got in close, dodging concentrated fire from a laser inside its chest. As soon as their blades connected, it was done for. Thoroughly trounced, it too exploded, sending them careening down to a planet below. Smashing through a tower, they fell onto something squishy and cold that squelched as they moved. Once more, it took another form, this time sporting numerous sharp legs and an insectoid body. Flashing a deep purple, it unleashed a malicious beam of energy, aimed at Elizabeth. Unable to react in time, Zachery leapt in front, taking the full force of the attack. Hastening into an offensive, both Dustina and Quagmire were knocked back as it fired off red bolts of lightning in every direction. Priming it shadowy breath again, Lutz pulled up a barrier right in front of Elizabeth as it was about to hit; returning it to sender. Annoyed, its eyes glared at him. Seconds later, Lutz hit the ground, asleep. The only one standing, she desperately sought which person to head to defend first. Deciding to rely on herself instead, with her laser cannon out, she charged up its reactor until it exceeded its maximum; releasing the pent-up potential into a colossal, boring ray. Smacked back into the wall, the rest of the group recovered in time to follow up. As Quagmire and Dustina were busy hacking off its limbs, Zachery was free to gouge its skull. The tower began to dissolve and quiver as this incarnation fell, sending everyone into the void with it. Regaining consciousness, they found a dark haired, mustached man waiting for them at the end of a beach in the middle of a lake. Not fooled for a moment, Lutz took the Aero-Prism from his bag and vehemently pointed it at him. His skin and clothes stripped away as yet iteration became known. Having a countenance akin to a person, it knelt down on one knee, its fist buried in sand. Its left arm took the form of a sword made of bone, which it used to violent effect. Swinging it down, Dustina barely countered it with her own blade.
“Quagmire, let’s end this! I have an idea!” Lutz said.
“Yeah? What…do I do?” Quagmire inquired.
“Go ahead and jump at it! I’m gonna charge up your attack!” Nodding, Quagmire split his double saber in two, breaking away from the pack in a mad dash. Covering by rifle fire and fire Techniques, Lutz hit Quagmire with the pillar of light he used earlier. Shooting up, Quagmire cut right through its chest with one crossed slash. Unable to stand, it collapsed, sending a shockwave through the sand and water. Fading away into the sand, the beach began to swallow up the party as well. The only sound that remained was that of the encroaching tide wholly consuming the island.
“Ugh…I’m getting really tired of this transition crap…Everyone okay?” Lutz muttered.
“Y-Yeah…Wait, where’s everyone else?” Elizabeth moaned.
“What? We’ve been separated? I guess it has learned to try and counter exactly what we’re doing. We’ll just have to conquer this portion by ourselves. Stay close okay? We need to make this quick so we can reunite with the others.”
“Okay!”
[This is the longest I’ve seen Quagmire fight without rest… I hope he can hold out…]
Exiting the gloomy egress of a cave, they came upon a vast meadow with a lone structure residing in the distance. Already knowing what to do, Lutz moved quickly towards the obelisk as Elizabeth hurried close behind. Now standing beside the altar, he motioned for her to stay back as he went to touch it. The meadow morphed into a macabre hellscape, as barbed drones ascended from the abysmal phantasmagoric expressions pictured on the ground. Raising his staff to the air, hundreds of arcs of lightning descended upon them, exorcising the wicked out of hiding. Continuing his shower of electricity upon the demon resting on its corpulent, organic chariot, she joined with a giant ray from her laser cannon. Shedding its chariot, it took the air, raining down fire and ice. Dancing through the techniques, they moved forward unscathed; reciprocating with their own assault. Downed once more, the background began to break and fade away; rising up with ether as it took on its next design. Strafing to the sides to avoid a cascade of concentrated Photons, Elizabeth pegged it from the air with some more rifle fire once she was out of range. Finally, Lutz flicked his fingers as he summoned a series of four lines of focused flame, ending its horrid existence. Raising its bladed hands in the air, it screamed as everything faded to white.
“Where are we?” Dustina beckoned.
“The experimental disposal pit” Zachery replied.
“Where?”
“Forget it. Get ready; this next form is going to attack us with a pretty big sword and some other ranged attacks.”
“How do you know?”
“Call it a hunch. I’ve been here before. I think I know what it might have planned after this too.” True to his word, the resulting incarnation descended alongside the gigantic elevator they were standing on. Using its large appendage that adorned its left arm, it fired bouncing green orbs in sequences of four over and over again, forcing them to run a gauntlet around the platform. Repositioning itself around the lift, Zachery took potshots with his Techniques and the Master Raven as Dustina patiently bided her time to strike. As it reached out with its sword arm, she leapt over the blade and cut at its face. Unable to keep up with them, it dropped down to the bottom of the shaft in agony. A faint light gyrated around its corpse, seeming to seek out something. Fast approaching Zachery, as soon it made contact, a heavy tremor rocked the pit. Resurrecting itself, the creature now stood upright on two legs, swinging its massive sword into the floor; leaving powerful shockwaves in its wake. Pieces of the shattered ceiling dropped down in a percussion in rhythm with its monstrous stomping. Undaunted, their combined might hobbled the tremendous tyrant to one knee. Leaping off one of the stones, Zachery landed his katana in its forehead. Splashing down into a pile of debris, a brilliant light was ushered into the room from its demise; encompassing all. Vision slowly began to return as the settings altered to a warped sanctuary where their new foe loomed. A shimmering goddess, the giant robot with a golden mask awaited their approach.
[Damn it. I hate it when I’m right.]
“Zachery! Dustina!” a voice called out to them.
“Oh good, you guys are okay!” Dustina cried as Lutz and Elizabeth ran to them.
“Where’s Quagmire??”
“We haven’t seen him.”
“He was furthest from us when we got separated. The Profound Darkness must have used that to isolate him. He’s probably still fighting whatever monstrosity it has cooked it up for him by his lonesome. We have to hurry to get back to him!” Lutz directed.
“Alright! That’s Mother Trinity! Beyond that will be the first version of Dark Falz I fought! Just follow my lead and we’ll get through this no problem!” Zachery said. Taking their first step, two more massive robots popped up aside Mother Trinity. “…Oh…”
“And what are those?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea; but they are in our way! C’mon!” Bashing its pointed face into the ground, Mother Trinity’s golden mask broke away to reveal its true, vicious crimson glare. Wielding titanic, lengthy drills for arms, the robot to its left threw them forward in an attempt to gouge their foes while the long haired and radiant raiment of the robot to the right buffeted them with a plethora of laser-based strikes. Unable to recall its cumbersome limbs from overheating, Dustina and Zachery lacerated the drills as they went up in smoke. Lacking any real defenses, Elizabeth and Lutz made short work of the ranged attacker. Rushing up to finish off the one on the left, using a second pair of arms that it wrapped around itself, a shield of light spawned around itself. All of their attempts to break through bounced off. One of Trinity’s arms came crashing down to halt any further attempt to destroy its ally. Unfortunately that put it within reach of defeat itself. A hefty blow from Dustina’s axe rendered the arm immobile; providing for a sizeable ramp up to its face. The veil was soon disintegrated by a condensed laser and then the robot by countless bolts of thunder. As Mother Trinity fell to Zachery’s sword, the bubbling remains vanished; triggering the Dark Falz of old’s arrival. Surfacing from a pool of solidified darkness, its featureless head stared down at them from atop a lanky neck. Leaning forward, it began to vibrate. “It’s going to launch an attack into the air that will rain down on us! Scatter!” Following his orders, everyone avoided it effectively. Four black and white orbs materialized around it after its assault ended; beginning to orbit the monster. “Take those out before they start moving too quickly! Once they are destroyed, that’s our chance to counterattack!” Howling and screeching, it was unable to maintain its shape, melting away into its shadow below. “After it! It has to be returning to where Quagmire is to finish him off!”
Monster after monster continued to manifest from thin air, despite cutting down each one as quickly as they given life. Mere inches separated him and the amalgamation of evil as he felt the crater tremble and quake again. Making sure to get far enough, a shower of meteors drowned its immediate vicinity, killing off the monsters that it had summoned.
[I don’t think I can beat it…Every time I get too close, it throws those rocks at me which hurt like hell. And every time I get too far away to attack it from a distance, it just regenerates. If only I could land a good hit with the Absolute Blade…]
“You look like you could use some help!” a familiar voice cried from above. He looked up to see Dustina and company descending from a dimensional pocket that warped out from nowhere.
“Wait. I’ve fought this form before. That was the first time I fought The Profound Darkness back on Ragol, deep within the bowels of the planet. Something’s wrong though. I defeated it before it took this shape” Zachery detailed.
“…Does…that matter now?? It won’t go…down unless I hit it with the Elsydeon! Help me weaken it!” Quagmire implored. Working on crowd control, the group purged the rest of its summons, leaving only its core to be taken care of. Seizing the opportunity, Quagmire boosted towards it. Calling down another meteor strike, Lutz focused his energy around Quagmire, shielding him with a barrier. Flaming balls of molten slag poured over him, but the he remained untouched. Each fervent slash correlated with a fissure peeling away at their surroundings, unmasking the bountiful starlight hidden behind the disguise. Fractured, the tower of flesh shattered, pushing everyone back. Its form scattered and reformatted, standing over forty feet tall. This appearance displayed the visage of a bewitching woman with no mouth; its eyes a bottomless void of pitch. On its back was an array of teeth, claws and red orbs that decorated itself around its front like a mantle. Flowing from the top of its head to behind its back was a never-ending blanket of green flame. They stood now on an otherworldly ring of hardened light, comprised of ancient text indiscernible to their ken. Rotating around the ring was Parum, Moatoob and Neudaiz as the sun stayed ever-constant in the backdrop. Above laid the eye of Rykros; acting as the judicator for the oncoming show.
“How…many damned forms…d-does it have?” Elizabeth gasped.
“I…think this might be…the final one. This…looks like the same form it took in the past” Lutz explained in wheezes.
“Wait…the planets….they are all equidistant!” Zachery coughed. “We don’t have much time! The Guardians would have found the activation site on Rykros to end this!”
“No! There is no way it would seal The Profound Darkness! We have to make our stand here and now! Let’s go!” Quagmire roared. Glowing red, a strange noise reverberated quickly and more frequently until it erupted, sending fire in every single direction. Everyone thoroughly singed, Zachery and Quagmire winced as they regained their composure, swords bared. Taking time to heal each other and Dustina, the siblings opened fire on it as it returned their incursion in kind with shots of light that came from the rubicund jewels on its cape and head. Moving too rapidly for the eye to keep up with, it zipped and dipped in and around the battlefield to be shot at in addition to teleporting out of range and reach to be physically struck. In a stroke of predictive luck as to where it would pop up next, Zachery slashed at its arm. Not finding purchase, he couldn’t muster the strength to move his weapon. Looking upwards, he saw that it had clasped the tip of the blade between a mere two digits. Dropping its grip, it balled its hand into a fist, smashing down flat on his face. Dustina came over to try the same, also getting her blade caught. A series of flashing lights hit it while Lutz tightened his grip on his staff. Loosening his grip caused them to all detonate in sequence. Frozen in recoil, Quagmire got close as his fulminating body reached a fever pitch. A huge blast of lightning jolted from his fingertips. Reeling even further, it hid its face behind the palm of its hand. Elizabeth rushed into heal her fallen comrade as Quagmire continued to shell it with gunfire. Another bolt of lightning from Lutz gave it no recourse other than to charge up once more.
“Get behind me!” Lutz screamed, readying another barrier. This time however, it glimmered with a distinct green hue. The barrier was nullified, catching the group off guard. All the gems heated up simultaneously, firing a pinpointed burst at Lutz and then another at Elizabeth. Quagmire and Zachery hurried to a defensive as Dustina tried to give the downed healers a helping hand. Ducking and weaving through the inferno and radiation, Quagmire grabbed Zachery by his feet and began to swing him in a circular motion. At the apex of the centrifuge, he threw him straight for its head. Its cape shifted to take him out of the sky; its needles targeted to pierce. Vanishing, Zachery reappeared on top of its back. Leaping off before it could grab him; it didn’t realize that the top half of its mantle was utterly pulverized. Taking time to regenerate, the group did the same. “Quagmire! Again!”
“Right!” Boosting forward and then off the ground, Lutz hit him at the zenith of his jump. Before it could get close enough, its body had returned to that violent blood-red shade. Both of their strongest attacks clashed, crippling everyone. Channeling the last of his strength, Quagmire stood up once more. His blade shining, he leapt into the air again. Yelling as loud as he could, he buried himself into its forehead.
Everything went dark.
The illusions faded and they were back on Rykros once more. Taking everyone’s hand, Lutz teleported them to the Landale; everyone hurrying to the cockpit. Blasting off, they made it back to outskirts of Holtes City. Gazing up at the skies, they watched as the silhouette of the dark planet disappeared.
The eternal struggle was over.
“…So what happens now?” Quagmire supposed.
“I guess the same thing as usual for me. It’s just another day on the job. Let me know if you want to run a free mission with me Quagmire!” Dustina said. Waving goodbye, she moved towards the city for more work.
“What about you Zachery?” Elizabeth asked. “With the Illuminus gone and now that Dark Falz is dead and we’ve sealed The Profound Darkness…Where will you go? I’m guessing you will leave to a new place in space-time to repeat the process?”
“…I’m not quite sure yet actually…I’m growing old” he replied. “I don’t think I can keep doing this forever. But, I don’t think I can leave yet anyway. There’s something I feel I need to investigate…If I have need of you all again, expect to hear from me. As for now, I’ll have to go back into hiding. I’m still a wanted man and being in the public isn’t the best of ideas."
“We’ll…We’ll miss you.”
“I’m not going anywhere yet! Don’t worry, I’ll say my goodbyes if it comes to that.”
“O-Oh…W-Well that’s good! You can always stop on by. Our door is always open.”
“Hahaha. I might take you up on that offer.”
“And you Lutz? Are you finally going to return home to us?”
“…Maybe. I can’t think of anything else I can do other than meditate and try to pick up where my ancestors left off” he said.
“Why don’t…you become a Guardian… like me and Elizabeth” Quagmire stated.
“Heck no. I don’t think I can get used to dealing with people telling me what to do anytime soon. I’d like to get a place next to Rachel. You know, just to make sure she’s always safe. I don’t have to worry about protecting you as long as Quagmire is around… But, I really can’t stand the idea of getting another job like I used to have. It’d just be too boring for me… Maybe I’ll pick up work as a mercenary for hire. Taggart said there is always a lot to be had in that line of work. Plus, you get to set your own prices.”
“Well, I can’t stop you. But you have to promise to make regular visits!” Elizabeth demanded.
“Don’t worry, you have my word.”
“Good, because if you don’t, I’ll have Quagmire hunt you down and kidnap you, hehehe…Anyway it’s getting dark, we should head home. C’mon!” Placing his arm on Elizabeth’s shoulder as she wrapped hers around his waist, the couple went home.
“…Zachery.”
“Yes Lutz?”
“Thank you.”
“Huh?”
“Thank you…for everything you’ve done.”
“No need to thank me for anything.”
“No, seriously. No one could have done what you have. You have a level of courage and strength like no other. You’ve saved so many lives over the course of your own and you have nothing to show for it…This is going to sound selfish…but… I think you should stay here in Gurhal. Give up the Landale. You’ve endured enough hardship.”
“It’s quite alright. I made this decision on my own.”
“No. There’s a reason…”
“What?”
“I want to give something back to you.”
“I don’t want the Psycho Wand.”
“No, not that. I’m going to find out how to return you to your friends back on Coral.”
“…I…I don’t know what to say…”
“Just stick around a while longer, okay? Also, it would break Elizabeth’s heart to see you leave so soon after finally getting to know the real you.”
“…Al-Alright. I’m really touched…I’m always going to be a call away.”
“I know…Try to take it easy Zachery…For your own sake…I…know what’s happened to you…And I think I know what you’re plotting to do. Don’t leave. Please. I’ll find a way to reverse all of this. Not just back to Coral. Everything that’s happened to you.”
“…I don’t follow… What do you mean everything?”
“You know exactly what I mean. Elizabeth told you to stop being a martyr. Are you going to break your promise to her?”
“I should have never given you back that staff. You’ve become way too smart now… Fine. I suppose I can’t. I’m serious. I won’t leave. I believe in you Lutz. My fate, and that of Gurhal, is now in your family’s hands…If I feel that you can’t do it though…”
“No. It won’t come to that. I promise… I’m going to head to Rachel’s to let her know about…Well…Let’s just say it won’t be easy letting her know that Isaac’s gone…again. What are you going to do?”
“Probably find a nice comfy rock to hide under.”
“Oh, you made a funny. Didn’t think you had a sense of humor. Okay then. Goodbye Zachery.” Taking a few steps forward, Lutz disappeared in a flicker of light. Staring into the setting sun, Zachery chuckled lightly as he put on his cloak and made way for the Landale; heading off into the stars.
“Are you sure…I should stay a Guardian, Elizabeth?” Quagmire muttered from the couch.
“What are you talking about?? Of course you should!” she moaned.
“Even after all those people…I…”
“No. You didn’t do that. I told you. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
“But…What if I…lose myself again…and I hurt you again?” She glided over to the couch, sitting right beside him. Gingerly, she leaned over and placed her hands on his helmet. Removing it from his head, she put it on the adjacent seat. Now taking her hands to his cheeks, she gazed intently into his eyes. Shy and upset, he tried to look away.
“Look at me Quagmire. As long as I am here, you should never have to be afraid. Just like when I know that when you are here, I never have to be afraid either. I promise you. Nothing, I mean nothing; will ever happen to you where you’ll hurt someone again. You are your own person now. You aren’t bound by anyone. It’s up you to decide your future from here on out. We’ve opened the gateway to tomorrow. All we have to do now is take the first step through it.” Hopeless to look away, he stared back into her eyes. “No more doubt Quagmire. You’ve always been so strong; so courageous. You taught me so much about myself and how much I’m capable of on my own. Don’t you feel the same from me?”
“…You’re right. You’ve taught me so much as well. I shouldn’t let my fear control me….Elizabeth…”
“Yeah?”
“Will you promise me something?”
“Of course.”
“Can you promise me that you’ll never leave my side, as long as we live?”
“Only if you can promise me the same.”
“It’s settled then! We’ll take that first step together!”
“Hehehe.”
“…So, what’s the first step?”
“Hahaha. Oh Quagmire, you’re incorrigible.”
“What I do?”
“Oh nothing. C’mon, let’s head to bed.”
“I thought you’d never ask. I’m super tired!”
“I can imagine.” Taking his usual seat on the adjacent wall, she looked at him from across the room, perplexed.
“Something wrong?”
“Yeah. You really shouldn’t be on the floor all the time. Come join me on the bed.”
“A-Are you sure?”
“You have to ask? Hahaha!”
“O-O-Okay.”
“What, are you nervous?”
“A little.”
“Don’t be. We just made a promise… I love you with all my heart. May we never be apart, hehehe.”
“…I love you too, Elizabeth.”
“Now, go to sleep. We got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“We do?”
“Yes! The work of a Guardian is never done. And we got to start the rest of our lives tomorrow. Together.”
“I can’t wait!”
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Originally Posted by yoshiblue
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