Clones of war

A blood curdling scream echoes from the shadows of a mountain followed quickly by a brilliant flash of red light and a sonic boom. Seconds later a whole battalion of Chimera troops lies dead on the ground, each soldier having been cut cleanly into several pieces. Then, with the bodies still warm, the killer appears, she is a human-sized blue hedgehog with a dragon-like tail, two dragon-like legs wind wisps on her ankles, black markings on her quills, arms, legs, and tail, and two bright golden eyes “well that was fun”, she says licking the blood off her hands,

“just wish there’d’ve been more of’em”

“was the scream really necessary Phalacea?”,

Another blue hedgehog watching through a sniper scope , this one having two silver Aztec-style wings with blood red markings and red skull-shaped pupils, whispers into a communicator,

“yes, Narcael, it was, how else am I supposed to scare them before they die?” comes the response

“shut up and move!”Narcael urges

“why?” asks Phalacea

“ because more of those as*h*les could come at any moment, in fact here they come now!”

“so do something about it.” Phalacea replies

“on it.” says Narcael, now aiming at a soldier’s head “lets see here, distance 4500 yards, flight time 2.5 seconds, bullet drop 12.5 inches, windage 4 mils, elevation 3 mils, executing shot” with that she slowly squeezes the trigger on her suppressed 50 calibre rifle loaded with high explosive ammo, two and a half seconds later the bullet strikes its target right in the centre of his left eye, obliterating the entire head “how was that?”

“ awesome! now do it again” says Phalacea now staring at another battalion of troops approaching her position with guns ready

“no problem sis”, replies Narcael, taking careful aim at the soldier in the centre of the front line “this guy’s gonna die first” she says as she lines up another perfect head shot and squeezes the trigger causing a bullet to impact her target right between his eyes which causes his head to explode like a watermelon stuffed with dynamite the effect on his fellow soldiers is immediate, as soon as his lifeless body drops to the ground they all begin to panic.

“Did you see that?” asks Narcael, laughing under her breath,

“yeah”, replies Phalacea, also laughing “I thought the guy next to him was gonna shit his pants!”

“mind if I take a few of ’em?” she asks

“go for it.” comes the reply.

With that Phalacea extends the four red laser whips concealed in her wrists and the razor wheels in the souls of her feet, lets loose an ear-shattering demonic scream, dashes towards the enemy formation at mach 5 and begins to annihilate them, starting with those closest to her. The vast majority of the remaining troops die quickly, all of them having been sliced into neat, even piles of pieces now standing precariously where they were killed like a bloody, gruesome and grotesque game of Jenga.

With the threat dealt with Narcael and Phalacea join up and walk nonchalantly towards a gigantic white tower in the distance. Almost halfway to the tower the pair hears the sound of footsteps behind them, they turn and see a large elephant-like creature with four tusks charging at them. Just seconds before the creature can impact them a green hedgehog with two large black, gold, and crimson wings with blue accents, green quills, brown skin, a fox tail and five blue eyes lunges from a nearby tree and lands squarely on its back, extends his ten three foot long claws and, with one lightning quick slice, beheads the creature. Its head hits the ground with a thunderous crash and as its body slides to a halt mere inches away from Phalacea’s feet its killer walks calmly off of its back, approaches her and looking her right in the eye says “You owe me one.”

“Alright I’ll pay up later, Fearal.”, Phalacea responds,

“what took ya so long?”

“well I was hunting a Chimera officer in the area when that Senadru charged you so I decided to help.”

“nice kill”, says Narcael, “Clean, neat, quick, painless, it looks like I’m rubbing off on ya.”

“wouldn’t count on it”, he replies,

“I just felt like I needed to make an entrance”

“well you certainly did tha~” says Narcael before being interrupted by Fearal “shh….be quiet”, he urges while putting a hand over her mouth, “Listen, I think we’re being watched.”

With that Fearal carefully scans the nearby hillsides “got him”, he whispers, now fixated on a figure a short distance away, “you guys stay here, I’ll take care of this” he says quietly as he moves silently towards it.

Minutes go by as Fearal stalks his prey, moving quickly and quietly from shadow to shadow and treetop to treetop, always making sure to stay out of its sight and avoid making any noise as he gets ever closer until, with one fluid motion, he drops silently to the ground directly behind his quarry, grabs it by the throat, and extends his claws until they pierce shallow holes in the skin on its windpipe.

“who are you and what are you doing tracking us?!”, Fearal asks commandingly , “ you’re gonna answer honestly or I’m gonna rip your throat out and beat you with it!”

“I…I’m c…c……Conac Vid De Monca a sssss……scout sniper with Chimera’s 501st elite tracker division, I…I wwwwwwas sent to hunt some experimental hedge-things that were sss…ssstolen from a lab by some ex-scientist by the name of Sheva a few months ago!”, he replies scared out of his wits

“now you’re gonna tell me how many more of you are in the area!” demands Fearal

“ the whole fffffff fu*king division, aaaa apparently our targets are incredibly dangerous………” comes the reply

“ we are”, Fearal says devilishly, “ and you’re going to help us”

“hhh hows that?” asks Conac

“you’re gonna tell your comrades that three of us are dead and the other one is missing” Fearal says, slowly digging his claws deeper into Conac’s throat

“ and just why would I do that?” he responds

“ ’cause if you don’t I won’t kill you, but I will make it a point to tell your C.O. who sent me to kill him and “encourage” him to let his higher-ups know before I kill him!”

“okay, I’ll do it!”, replies Conac, his heart beating visibly through his skin as he calls the rest of his division “this is lieutenant Conac Vid De Monca, 501st elite trackers, I have killed subjects Blitz, Darkness, and Longshot, subject Soldier is considered missing and intel gained from searching the body of subject Darkness indicated he is not in the area, all trackers are to report back to base for debriefing”

“nice work, you can go now.” Fearal says

“really?” Conac asks hopefully

“nope.” says Fearal as he fully extends his claws through the front of Conac’s throat and out the back before tearing his head off and impaling it on a nearby tree branch.

With the tracker dead, Fearal walks back to where he left Phalacea and Narcael “ so, how’d it go?” Phalacea asks curiously

“ better than I could’ve hoped” he replies laughing

“ that shithead crumbled, in fact he even diverted all of his division back to base with some bullshit story of how he killed us!”

“great work”, Narcael says cheerfully,

“ now if only we could deal with the rest of Chimera’s forces that easily”

“Now where’d be the fun in that?” Phalacea asks pouting

“its not meant to be fun damn it, we’re hear to rescue someone!” Narcael replies

“how DID Myonic get captured anyway?”, Fearal asks bewildered,

“I mean the guy has to the BIGGEST powerhouse outta all of us!”

“no clue”, Narcael responds, “you should ask Nova whenever we find her, she was actually there when it happened” “Whatever, lets just get on with this”, Fearal says, “which way are we headin’?” “well last I saw, the transport carrying him landed on top of that white tower to the North so Phalacea and I have been headin’ towards it all day.” Narcael answers.

The group barely takes a step before hearing the sound of a vehicle heading their way.

“what the hell?” Phalacea questions

“ judging by the sound”, Narcael says while pressing her ear to the ground, “its a scout, maybe a light tank, either way we oughta find some cover before it sees us”

“good idea”, Fearal responds “ I’ll take the treetops, Phalacea, you hide behind that large boulder, and Narcael, you climb up to that cliff over there and give us some recon”.

With that everyone scatters to their assigned hiding places. “I see it now”, Narcael says while looking through her scope, “its a light tank, I think I can disable it”

“no, don’t”, Fearal whispers

“why not?” Narcael replies

“think about it, idiot”, Fearal barks sarcastically, “ if you take it out they’ll know we’re in the area, the whole load of bulls*it I had that tracker tell’em will fall apart, and we’ll have a whole fu*king army to deal with faster than Phalacea can fart!”

“oh, right, so what now?” Narcael responds

“ we let this as*h*le pass, then we continue on our merry goddamn way” Fearal orders

“ uh…..guys…”, Phalacea stammers, “ I think they know we’re here!”

“why’s that?” Narcael asks

“because that tank just stopped and its cannon is pointing right at me!” she answers

“ your whips……..put away your whips!” Fearal says pointing to the ground in front of Phalacea.

“Oh sh*t!” she whispers as she retracts her whips

“too late, run!” Narcael shouts half panicking, seeing the tank’s cannon charging for a shot, as soon as those words leave her lips Phalacea breaks out in a mad dash from her hiding spot but before she can get more than a few feet the cannon fires and the explosion sends her flying like a rag doll caught in a tornado.

“you fu*king son of a bi*ch, I’ll kill you!” Narcael screams enraged

“maintain composure, Narcael, I’m sure she’s fine”, Fearal says calmingly, “ now aim for the hatch on top of the turret and wait for my signal then fire”

“not gonna happen!” Narcael exclaims half-blinded by her own tears

“this tin can is gonna pay!” and with that she lets loose an uncontrolled barrage of bullets which bounce harmlessly off of the tank which then aims directly at her and readies for another shot.

“ Not this time!” a voice booms out of nowhere “ you’re not gonna hurt another one of my sisters!”

Just then a hedgehog with a long lion like tail, glowing rings over her quills and tail golden and red markings on her head and tail and two fiery red and spider web shaded upright S-shaped eyes leaps out of some nearby bushes, lands on top of the tank, pries open the hatch on top, pulls out the gunner by his neck, places her other hand on his chest and extends the twenty concealed spikes in her palm, impaling him like a one-sided iron maiden. The hedgehog, now holding her victim solely with her spikes, jumps off of the tank, walks over to the tree where Fearal is perched and, with one mighty punch, dislodges him from the top branch causing him to crash to the ground face first

“ hey Fearal “ , she says , “can you hold this di*kh*le while I take a couple of pics?”

“ ah…..what the hell……why not”, Fearal responds while rising to his feet, “ but next time you knock me out of a tree like that I’m kicking your ass, Nova”

Fearal then takes Nova’s victim and poses with it while she snaps a few pictures “ that’ll do it”, Nova says, “now what do we do about Phalacea?”

“well, she didn’t fly very far” Narcael says, looking at the tank through her scope, “ so we’ll probably be able to get to her before Chimera does, oh wait a second, gotta take care of something” she says as she fires a shot at the tank’s driver as he exits the vehicle, hitting him squarely in the bridge of his nose and killing him instantaneously.

“hey, how about we take the tank”, Nova suggests, “ that way, if we run into any more hostile they might mistake us for their own.”

“great idea”. Fearal responds, “ never figured you for the devious type”

“well, I guess that means ya don’t know me as well as ya think” Nova retorts sarcastically.

The group, now one stronger and one weaker, climbs into the tank and drives in search of Phalacea. Half an hour goes by before they find any sign of her.

“hey guys, check this out!” Narcael says looking through the tank’s sights

“what is it?” Fearal asks quizzically

“ I think I found her.” comes the reply

“whaddya mean “think”?” Nova asks

“well there’s something a few yards in front of us that looks kinda like her, but it also looks like something the cat dragged in.” Narcael replies

“ hang on, let me take a look” Fearal says, climbing up from the driver’s seat “ that’s not fu*king good” he says now looking right as Phalacea, now bloodied and mangled almost beyond recognition

“Nova, you’re the best medic here, get over there and check on her” Fearal says, almost losing his mind “ and you might wanna rush it, she doesn’t look like she’s got long!”

“alright, hold your sh*t together brother”, Nova responds calmly, “ I’m on it”.

Nova approaches Phalacea and puts an ear to her chest “ she’s still breathing, but barely, I can get her back to fighting shape but it’ll take time and judging from where we are, we ain’t got much” she says very matter-of-factually

“ just do it, Narcael and I’ll watch your ass till you’re done” Fearal responds. A few strenuous minutes go by as Nova gets to work treating Phalacea’s wounds, starting with the most serious, a tree branch that impaled itself in her chest, missing her heart by millimeters, a rock embedded in her head, a collapsed lung, and a severe gash on her femoral artery “son of a bi*ch you’re tough”, Nova says, covered in Phalacea’s blood and sweating profusely, “how you’re still alive is a mystery, anyone else would be worm chow right now, ya gotta tough it out a little longer though, I’m almost finished” she says while removing the branch with the utmost care, making sure to take it out smoothly and without tearing anything important.

Next Nova moves on to the collapsed lung “lets see here, wheres that hole?”, she says as she feels around inside Phalacea’s chest, “ there it is” she says, “ hey Narcael, hand me one of you spent bullets, hot as hell if ya can”, Nova orders sternly,

“ rush it!”

“ here ya go” Narcael says “ whatsit for?”

“ to cauterize the hole in Phalacea’s lung so she can breathe” Nova responds, now pressing the red-hot shell casing against the hole while holding it together with her other hand “ that oughta do it, now for that gash, hey Fearal, would you mind holding this artery while I find something to suture it with?”

“not a problem.” he responds “ how long do you think it’ll take?”

“ a few seconds, I saw some porcupines nearby that I could harvest the quills from” Nova responds while plucking a few quills from a porcupine she lured with a piece of meat from the Senadru “ got’em.” she says “now just hold the artery and Narcael, I need a bullet, unspent but without the head”

“here ya go” Narcael responds while taking the projectile off of a bullet “

“ thanks, now keep watch while I pour the gunpowder into the wound and set it ablaze”, Nova says while commencing, “sorry Phalacea, this part’s gonna hurt a little like hell” and with that she sews the artery together, pours the gunpowder into the wound and sets it on fire, causing it to flash and sear the sutures together as well as the skin and artery “now I just gotta do the same for that chest wound” she says while sewing the wound left by the tree branch shut “three down, one to go, lets get that rock outta there” she says, now focusing on Phalacea’s head “ Fearal, use your forefinger and cut an incision around that rock so I can remove it”

“alright”, he responds as he extends his claw and begins the incision, “done”

“good job” Nova congratulates “now slice the skull around the rock” she says, now seeing the full extent to which the rock had gone

“alright” he replies

“ holy sh*t she’s lucky, if that rock had gone just a few more centimeters Phalacea’d be dead right now” Nova says, taken aback by the damage “ how am I gonna take that thing out without compromising her skull’s strength?” she questions Fearal

“what if I cut off a piece of the tank to use as a skull plate and we use the heat of its engine to melt the metal into place”he responds

“that could work so lets do it” Nova replies, bordering on desperation. Fearal, using all twenty on his claws, cuts a piece of metal the same size and shape as the hole in Phalacea’s skull off of the tank’s underbelly and holds it in place as Nova presses Phalacea’s head against the engine “well, that failed”, Nova says disappointed, “we might be able to attach the tank’s charging cables to opposite sides of the plate and weld it in place that way” “on it”, Fearal replies while grabbing the cables, “Narcael, hit the gas” he says, now with the cables firmly in place “will do” Narcael replies as she pushes the gas pedal with all her might, causing a surge of power to flow through the cables which melts the plate in Phalacea’s head, welding it perfectly to her skull.

Several strenuous hours go as Nova, Fearal and Narcael watch Phalacea for any sign of recovery then, seemingly out of the blue she sits up and lets loose a scream more terrifying than anything she has ever done before which causes those by her side to nearly faint from a mixture of agony and surprise

“what the HELL was that?!” Fearal asks while tightly clutching his ears

“Sorry, bad dream”, Phalacea responds, now calm “ I dreamed I was shot at, flew through the air, crashed to the ground and nearly died!”

“that wasn’t a dream”, Narcael says while stirring a campfire, “ that’s exactly what happened and, if not for Nova, you’d be dead right now, she patched ya up pretty damn well”

“ nah, I didn’t do that good” Nova says humbly “ I only did what I had to do to save your life, by the way, your new scars look good on ya”

“ oh, thanks, wait a sec, did you say scars?”, Phalacea responds

“yup, ya got three new ones now”, Fearal replies,

“ just a question Nova, how did Myonic get captured?”

“well it happened like this”, she replies while staring at the night sky, “he and I were out scouting a few miles southeast of here about a week ago when we came under attack by a Chimera heavy division, those bas*ards gave us no quarter as they advanced, we managed to kill quite a few of’em but just when we thought we had’em cornered they surprised us by bringing out a new kind of Dragonblood experimental, I think they called it Darksoul, this monster was at least five stories tall, extremely muscular, a couple tons with two jet black eyes, a devil-like head, extremely metallic skin, Dragon-like feet, legs and arms, humanoid hands with serrated claws, four skeletal dragon wings and two conjoined Stingray tails, anyway, it came at us like a freight train hooked up to a battleship engine and threw Myonic aside like a toy before focusing all of its attention on me. It then began tearing its claws deep into my back and try as I might I couldn’t get free, well, Myonic wakes up about thirty seconds after this freak started trying to rip me in half and he being him just loses his fuc*ing mind, he ignites his fire which, due to him seeing me wounded, was white hot, charges at Darksoul as fast as he can, and punches it with all his might, sending it flying like a bullet from Narcael’s gun, well it hits the ground hard enough to punch a hole deeper than the grand canyon and we investigate and see it flat on its back, eyes closed, not moving, not breathing, so naturally we think its dead and begin to leave the area.

But around half an hour later, when Myonic and I were almost halfway back to the cruiser we used to get here, that freak of nature tears through the forest after us running full steam and screaming louder than a banshee getting fuc*ed in the a*s by a bull. After closing to melee range it, in one fluid motion, grabs me by the neck, launches me straight up in the air like a missile fired out of a cannon, tackles Myonic and beats the living hell out of him. Before long, the poor shit is unconscious and bloodier than a deer hit by a mack truck. I hit the ground harder than a fat chick falling off a high dive into a concrete floor and the last thing I see before blacking out is Myonic being dragged away and loaded onto a transport by Darksoul and a few early-series Archbane experimental.  Next thing I know, I wake up to the sound of a tank passing nearby and the faint echo of footsteps.”

“Guess that means we got one mother of a bada*s to deal with before we can free Myonic” Narcael says, staring wide-eyed in disbelief

“and that ain’t the worst of it”, Nova responds, “I did some reckon earlier before I ran into you guys and it seems Darksoul isn’t just some pet-on-a-leash experimental, he seems to be in charge of the Archbanes and a couple hundred Desolators, I saw him giving them orders and they obeyed without question”

“so let me get this shit straight”, Fearal chimes in, “we’ve gotta deal with an experimental that made MYONIC look pathetic, a few of Chimera’s most elite stalkers, and a couple hundred or so of their best front-line heavy assault troops”

“pretty much” Nova replies “ and if we don’t come up with a plan soon, we won’t be able to save our brother at all”

“well, why don’t we just rush’em?” Phalacea asks

“because, dumba*s, that’d be like walking straight into a lion’s den with steak around our necks!” Narcael barks “what if we use your cruiser’s guns to take out the Desolators then lure the Archbanes into an ambush?” suggests Fearal

“ that could work”, Nova says , “ if only I hadn’t crashed through the core after that Darksoul bastard threw me”

“you guys are all ignoring the one overriding issue here”, Narcael says as she stands up, “ even if we deal with the goons, we still have Darksoul to contend with and, given the fact he took Myonic down, none of us will be able to last more than a few seconds against him”

“I though of that”, Nova says with her left hand on her chin, “ Myonic had only seen ME injured when he lost so the way I figure it if we all went down hard right in front of him, it’d overcharge him enough to crush Darksoul like a fly under a mining rig”

“that’s it, you’ve lost your goddamn mind”, Fearal says, shocked, “you want all of us to get our assess HANDED to us on the off chance that Myonic will become so thoroughly pis**d off he’ll be more powerful than a creature that essentially used him for batting practice”

“ agreed” Narcael says while cleaning her rifle

“No, it’s not like that”, Nova argues, “we just need to kill the cannon-fodder then get busted up just enough by Darksoul to get Myonic past his breaking point then run for our lives while the unstoppable juggernauts duke it out”

“again, you’re bat-sh*t crazy!” Fearal says, slapping Nova across the back of her head “fine, what’s your idea?” Nova says indignantly “well….um…..maybe if we……ah sh*t I got nothin’” Fearal admits nervously “thought so” Nova replies cockily.

With that the team spends the next few hours devising a plan to take out Darksoul and its support.

“now that we have our plan set, lets run through it again so we all know our roles”

“ I fire a few shots at the Archbanes to get their attention” Narcael says while cocking her rifle

“after they rush out to hunt Narcael I ambush them one by one and eliminate them” Fearal adds while sharpening his claws on a nearby rock

“then, while the Archbanes are being dealt with, I scream to attract the Desolators then kill them with my whips” Phalacea acknowledges while extending her whips

“ Finally I climb up the side of the tower and free Myonic while making sure to get Darksoul’s attention” Nova finishes while sharpening her spikes against each-other.

“we oughta get some sleep before we try this crazy stunt or we’ll all be dead” suggests Narcael

“good idea” Phalacea says, yawning.

Sleep is restless as everyone anticipates the events that shall soon be set in motion. Ten hours later the group wakes up and runs the final distance to their destination without incident. Upon arriving at the outskirts of the tower Narcael scouts the area through her scope “I see Myonic”, she says while looking at a creature with two silver scale armoured Dark-Pegasus-style wings, a humanoid dragon-like head and torso, ocean blue skin, piercing emerald eyes and black skin covering his chest, “ and ya did good work with your reckon  Nova”, she whispers while lining up the first shot.

“thanks”, Nova replies “is everyone in position?” she asks into her communicator

“In position in a tree a few yards to the southeast of Narcael” Fearal replies

“concealed inside a log to the east of the Desolators” Phalacea responds

“ ready for the sh*t to hit the fan” Narcael says as she begins to squeeze the trigger

“alright, Narcael, you may begin” Nova orders.

As those words leave Nova’s lips Narcael fires five precisely aimed shots which all make contact with separate targets’ heads, killing them instantly and causing the rest of the Archbanes to scatter in search of the source.

“and so the hunt begins” Fearal says as the first Archbane slips into the treeline. Fearal moves quietly through the trees as he stalks his prey until he is directly above it, he then pounces violently onto the Archbane’s back and eviscerates it

“one down, nineteen to go” he says as he paints a warning that reads “next, please” onto a nearby tree in the Archbane’s blood. Meanwhile, back at the tower, Phalacea rushes the Desolators at full speed with her whips fully extended and begins to cut them down like weeds “first line down”, she says as she licks her hands clean of blood, now on the opposite side of the tower, “this is easy”.

Back in the woods Fearal sets his sights on a group of five Archbanes travelling slowly through the brush “looks like I’m in for a multi-kill” he whispers to himself before diving right behind the group

“so you’re the cause of this”, the lead Archbane says as it pulls its gun from its holster,

“you die here”

“wouldn’t count on it, fu*kface” Fearal responds as he extends his claws and slices the gun in fifths before spinning himself wildly like a top caught in the center of a vortex, slicing all of the hostiles to pieces in seconds “damn, I’m becoming Phalacea” he laughs as he slows to a stop.

Narcael, still undetected, begins to help Phalacea take out the Desolators, one after another they perish either by Narcael’s expert marksmanship or Phalacea’s lethal dashes until none are left alive.

“all clear”, Narcael whispers, “Nova, start climbing” “on it”, she responds as she begins to climb the tower towards Myonic, who is suspended, asleep, in a large test tube filled with emerald-green liquid. Nova is almost two thirds the way up to Myonic when she notices Darksoul staring down at her from the top

“ah….so you’re keeping the big boy company”, Nova says while nervously staring Darksoul in the eyes “bet ya can’t stop me from reaching him” she screams as loud as he can

“you cannot be serious”, Darksoul responds in a dark, ominous voice, “this is your plan, to scale this tower like some Rupunzel reject, kill the dragon at the top and free the prince from his throne”

“pretty much, yeah” Nova responds while continuing to climb

“ well that’s not gonna happen, whelp”, Darksoul retorts laughing “because I’m gonna finish what I started before”

“and what’s that?”, Nova replies antagonistically, “lookin like a pussy when ya get your a*s handed to ya by a hedge-thing less than a tenth your size!”

“no, killing the little fur-bi*ch that doesn’t know when she’s outclassed!” Darksoul responds angrily before diving straight at Nova, tearing her off of the tower and crashing to the ground thirty stories below, forming a crater half a mile deep. He rises to his feet holding Nova tightly by the throat

“this is what you get for fighting a god!”, Darksoul says as he breaks Nova’s arms and legs with his free hand, causing her to let out a terrifying scream of agony, “now you’re going to lay there and watch as I kill your companions”

“n….n…..no” Nova whimpers, now laying face up on the ground crying from unbearable anguish.

“Not again!”, Narcael screams at the top of her lungs as she sees what Darksoul has done to Nova, “this time, the enemy dies!” she says as she lets loose five rounds precisely aimed at his head, lungs and heart. Four bullets are deflected by the skin on Darksoul’s chest but the fifth cuts a deep trench in his cheek as he attempts to dodge, causing him to recoil in pain

“you little wh*re!”, Darksoul yells ferociously as he flies at Narcael, “I’m going to have fun tearing you to shreds!” just as he grabs her Phalacea dashes at him at full speed and slices his wings off, causing him to let loose of Narcael and focus on her instead

“just how many mosquitoes dare to bite at the skin of the divine?!” he shouts before grabbing Phalacea by her whips and pulling her towards him

“Fearal, help!” she screams. Having just finished the last Archbane, Fearal flies as fast as his wings can carry him to Phalacea and Narcael and upon seeing Phalacea held helplessly in the air and Narcael paralysed with fear he drops onto Darksoul’s back and begins to tear at the skin on his neck. His efforts are for naught as Darksoul, now fully aware of the new actor in this play of the damned, grabs Fearal and holds him next to Phalacea “how sweet, this one comes to save his girlfriend” Darksoul says as he bites into Fearal’s side

“I have just one word for you!” Narcael says, now free of paralysis

“and just what the hell is that?” Darksoul responds as he tears a chunk out of Fearal

“MYONIC!!!!!!!!” Narcael replies as she fires her gun at Myonic, shattering the tube and waking him up. Darksoul, now enraged, tears one of Phalacea’s whips out and throws her through the base of the white tower, thrusts Fearal into the ground head first and shoots Narcael in both legs with her own gun. Myonic awakens and takes flight only to see the carnage Darksoul has caused.

His anger rises as he sees the condition of each member of his family until, unable to control himself any longer, he ignites with a fire so hot as to melt his wings instantly, causing him to plummet fifty stories straight down and land with a crash so violent as to knock Darksoul to the ground. He rises to his feet, now surrounded by a jet black fire that turns the ground beneath him to glass as he walks towards the monster responsible for the horrific damage done to those he loves with eyes filled with unimaginable rage and his veins coursing with violent pulses of energy.

“you worthless, soulless demon, today is the day you die!” Myonic screams with a voice so evil as to shake his enemy to the core. The sun rises behind Darksoul, casting a shadow across Myonic’s face and, as he approaches, Darksoul tries to finish Narcael only to be interrupted by a large chunk of solid rock crashing against his face

“Pu*k a*s can you hear me?!”, Myonic shouts, “ today is the day you die!”

“you and what army?”, Darksoul responds angrily, “in case you forgot, I smeared the ground with you last time we met!” he says while laughing maniacally

“that was then, this is now fore I am an instrument of violence, a vessel of invincibility!” Myonic growls ominously as he rushes Darksoul and punches him dead centre in the stomach, sending him flying miles into the air. Darksoul crashes to the ground moments later, carving a mountain-sized hole into the ground. He stands up, dusts himself off, runs at Myonic and grabs him by the neck only to have the skin on his hand melted by the fire surrounding his intended victim, causing him to release his grip and instead attempt to spear Myonic with his tails. This attempt is futile as Myonic grabs the tails and rips them off before stabbing them into Darksoul’s arms

“now I shall show you the power of a god!” Darksoul shouts as he forces his muscles to grow exponentially, his wings to regenerate and his skin to harden to the consistency of diamond. He strikes Myonic, sending him backwards, digging deep ruts into the ground with his heels. He then takes flight and moves at lightning speed away from Myonic, seemingly in a retreat, before returning with half of the tower in his hands and swinging it at him like a club. Myonic, seeing the tower approaching braces himself for impact and, upon contact with the weapon, melts a channel through it

“is that the best you got?” Myonic taunts

“I’m just getting warmed up!” Darksoul replies as he dives at Myonic like a bomb only to be grabbed by the arms by the juggernaut. Myonic, now on Darksoul’s back, violently and painfully tears his wings out by the roots.

“you little piece of ~” he says before being interrupted by a crushing blow to the back of his head which sends him deep into the dirt. Myonic, still on top of Darksoul, begins unleashing all of his rage as he strikes him with all manner of excruciating blows. Then, just when victory seems a certainty, Darksoul rises from the ground, grabs Myonic by the tail, and viciously throws him forward, carving a canyon into the landscape.

“you thought you could kill a deity!”, Darksoul says as he approaches Myonic, now struggling to his feet, “how foolish” with that he begins to beat Myonic like a punching bag until he his left bloodier than a Grecian sacrifice and nearly unconscious. As his life ebbs away flashes of his family surge through Myonic’s mind, Phalacea laughing after having scared everyone awake with her signature scream, Narcael proud after her first kill, Fearal cuddling with Scourge, Nova excitedly taking pictures of a lifeless target of hers. Darksoul begins to leave, certain of his victory, when Myonic climbs to his feet with renewed strength and surrounded by a fire so hot as to cremate the earth around his feet

“for those who have fallen, and those yet to have seen this evil, I promise to end this foul beast!” Myonic pledges as the rushes Darksoul who, before he can even react, is hit with a blow from Myonic’s newly regenerated wings then peppered with countless claws launched by his opponent which stick in him like skewers and dissolve the diamond-like like exterior of his skin

“how is this possible?”, Darksoul questions aloud “I am a god, and yet I have been wounded at my strongest by a creature not worthy of kissing my feet!”

“you are no god”, Myonic says sternly, “you’re just a swirling mass of hatred and envy that must be eradicated!” as those words leave his lips he grabs Darksoul’s left arm and rips it off before throwing it aside causing him to bellow in pain like a bull receiving a brand

“you’re finished”, Myonic says as he breaks Darksoul’s right leg like a twig under a steamroller. Darksoul somehow stands up and, with a scream so loud as to shatter stone, bites into Myonic’s right arm and attempts to tear it off only to be tossed aside like a child’s toy. He rises and begins fleeing in terror before being intercepted by Myonic who then elbows him in the chin, yet again sending him flying high into the sky, this time to be met with a diving kick to his head then another crushing blow from Myonic’s wings, causing him to sail swiftly through the air before crashing into a mountain. Myonic flies towards the crash site to find Darksoul balancing himself against a boulder

“THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!”, Darksoul screams in disbelief, “I AM THE GOD OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION!!!!!, THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY I CAN LOSE TO A MERE CHILD!!!” he says as he puts all of his weight into one final blow which makes contact with Myonic who, as the blow impacts his face, throws one of his own that hits Darksoul squarely on the nose, causing it to be rammed back through his head, killing him instantly. And so, as Darksoul falls to the ground a lifeless husk, Myonic collapses and passes out on top of him, exhausted.

Several hours later he awakens to the sound of an aircraft hovering overhead and two familiar yet blurry figures, one of them an insanely attractive woman, and the other an innocent looking girl , lifting him into it

“you’re gonna be alright Myonic”, one of them says soothingly “once we get you on board we’ll tend to your wounds”

“what of the others”, Myonic coughs, “do they still live?”

“yes, they do”, the other figure responds, “fortunately Narcael managed to send a distress call soon after Darksoul left her to fight you, so we were able to get here within hours”

“how are they?” Myonic questions worriedly

“ Phalacea’s pretty banged up, but she’ll be back to normal in a couple of days, Fearal, on the other hand, lost a significant amount of blood and slipped into a coma, he’ll wake up, but we have no idea when, Nova is fine, except for having her limbs busted up, but she’ll recover and Narcael won’t be able to walk for awhile but other than that she’s perfect”

“no need to worry”, the innocent looking girl says, “for now you need to rest”.

And with that an adventure that began with the capture of a titan ends with the world at peace and justice dealt to a monster made for blackest evil.

__END__