The din of the battlefield had overtaken the capital of Falos. The skies above the city flashed with conflict between the various replicas of the Ziegfried, their black and gold color scheme denoting their alliance with Emperor Visto. Cheap copies as they were and smaller in scale, they were formidable but not as striking as the original. As Katsi flew through the air, striking each Falos Knight with nanites, her friendly machines using the DNA from their systems to reverse the damage of Falos custom. Even the mannequins were slowly being restored from their precise reworking of the materials.
As Ra’cil squared off with Dean, he laughed, “Isn’t it glorious!? Play both sides and there is nothing but profit! A war to end all wars! And I’m in the pocket of both, raking in the dough! Leithan’s plan was only worth it while I stood to turn a profit. Now I can-”
It had been a rough night. The last deal was supposed to get him out of the hole. And now here he was barely able to afford his tab. Still, as he looked over to the idiot rookie who had volunteered to work for him for nothing but a roof over his head, Ra’cil couldn’t help but chuckle. Such an innocent rube.
Shawn leaned on the counter with a smile that was clearly green and begging to have a few teeth knocked out of it. And yet there was something excited behind his eyes. Something genuine. He pointed his thumb towards himself like a total rookie and lied with such innocence that no one felt like calling him out when they could just laugh. “I fought a proktota and lived to tell the tale. I’m kind of a badass. That’s why Ra’cil and I are gonna rise to the top. Two badasses that thou shalt not fuck with.”
If it was anyone else under and other circumstance he would tell Shawn to shut the hell up to stay out of trouble, but there was something innocent in his eye. Something genuine that Ra’cil had lost a long time ago. But every rookie loses their optimism one day. Until then, Ra’cil would just keep pulling him along….
He swayed with the returning memory, his voice cold as he said, “The last time I betrayed him… I died… didn’t I?” He looked to where he could feel a ripple in the fabric of reality itself. Ra’cil sinking to his knees as he felt the return.
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Heias was laughing casually as Zwei struck at his defenses, the red crystals that had consumed his acid burned left arm. He grabbed the blade… and in that moment he and his foe both felt the searing headache form behind their eyes… and a look of sheer terror and pure survival instinct flashed in Heias’ eyes. “No! No! I was finally free! I was finally strong enough!”
As Heias’ power overflowed, Zwei and her sisters felt it wash over them.
Heias had Shawn by the collar, punching him over and over again, each one releasing the sound of cracking bone and pooling blood, but that smile. That arrogant smile and the fury in Shawn’s eyes. He had beaten him, right? Hit him so hard the ‘Cosmic Phoenix’ was just a man! So why?! Why wouldn’t he stop. Heias shouted, “You can’t fool me! She sent you to finish me! If you were as free as you said, you would have-”
Shawn laughed as he grabbed the incoming fist, his smirk dominating the room, “Did that make YOU feel any better?! Because I can see the fear in your eyes. You never got away from her.” He laughed darkly, but not broken. “I did what I did to save someone. I will bear the mark of that with pride because every sacrifice means something. You sacrificed your arm for nothing. You sacrifice your people just because you had a bad day.” He bent Heias’ arm backwards as the joints cracked, raising his other hand in channeled outrage. “So now I’m going to show you what that feels like. After all… power is the only lesson you respect, right?”
Heias could feel the shiver up his spine. He knew. He knew better than anyone. This wasn’t enough. There wasn’t enough power… not against… THAT…
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Corva walked in the shadow of her prince, her eyes sharp and ready for any trick the Emperor may have waiting. As she saw Prince Garm walk with reluctant purpose, she allowed the faintest smile to come to her face… and then the world rumbled to its foundations.
Status: Disabled
Damage Report: Legs no longer found. 50% of spine unaccounted for. Damage to cerebral structure exposed circuitry but is still functional including cybernetic eye. Arms compromised but functional for movement.
Sub-oceanic Base: Core structure compromised. All hangers devastated. No chance of escape.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Directive: Execute Emperor’s Assassin: Completed
And yet he was standing there, his left eye destroyed from her claws early in their fight, blood covering most of his body and many of his bones broken. He reached into his jacket as he seemed to be deep in thought. Pulling free a flask, he took a few good drinks before he spoke again. His tone wasn’t that of an enemy but rather of a reluctant uncle. “You aren’t a bad person. You just wanted to protect your brother and help the man you love with his revenge… So I’m going to get you out of here.”
Error. There is no ‘getting out of here’. There is no mercy from enemies. There is success or failure. Even being saved would just lead to more of her being replaced upon her return.
“I know. I get it. Trust me I do… but the more you give up for the people you love the more human you get, no matter what it costs you. So make the most of the time you have with them. That’s all I ask.” And before she knew it, he had lifted her to his shoulders, pulling free his pistol and firing into one of the walls to create a hole. They were so far below the sea and he was so injured. Even if he could have carried her heavy body to the shore, he likely wouldn’t survive the process… and yet from the look on his face she couldn’t help but believe he would see it done. That he knew he could save her. And if he could save her…
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The battlefield fell quiet as the memories of every act of heroism he had ever done for each of them spoke to them from the whispers of the cosmos. For some it was a rallying cry. For others a chilling call of a death that had yet to find them. But among those who had lived long enough to see it was one memory shared across the entire cosmos.
Shawn was battered and bloodied, stepping free from the stone walls of the arena. Grand General Juggernaut of the Shuians standing across from him. A towering mound of oddly agile and terrifyingly powerful steel that technically contained a man somewhere within it. Shawn laughed weakly, clearly tired and worn from the job… and yet he grabbed the camera and pulled it close. As he spoke into the camera for all the Cosmos to see, battered and half blind but a genuine smile on his face, he said, “I want all of you to watch this. To remind you all of who I am and what I do… of what it means to be a hero. And when I’m done, none of you will ever have an excuse to phone it in again. If I can do this, you can be a hero in your own way too.” And with that he cracked his neck, let a smile settle on his face, and got into his signature pose. “Alright, Juggy. This was fun and I look forward to the next time… but you are going to need to hit a hell of a lot harder if you want to take me down.”
The wise among the Falos placed their weapons on the ground as the weight of the memory settled in. Whatever they feared from Emperor Visto, they knew that the Cosmic Phoenix would do far worse. They would live… even if it hurt… and any effort to try and stand against it was nothing but a humiliating waste of time.
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A gash in the tapestry. Golden light shining from the infinity that lay beyond it. An emerald gem came out first, caught with practiced ease from Sienna, a smile coming to her face as she did so. Gina rushed towards it, only slowing as the energy that poured from it began to overwhelm her senses. The first form that stepped out was wreathed in orange flames before his casual stride and confident smirk became more striking than the light itself, his long coat flowing behind him like a cape. The second figure would arrive a moment later.
Leithan said to his former nemesis with amusement and awe, “Well… I’ll be damned… you truly are an impossible man…”
Shawn laughed and wagged a finger at the villain, “I told you! I keep my promises. No matter who it is… and now that that’s done…” Shawn reached into his coat and casually pulled out a single old cigar, one that looked crumpled from having been carried for years in the coat of a rather active warrior. As Shawn lifted it out, Everyone froze. A small shadow had formed in the golden light but was growing darker very quickly as a foul omen, a crimson gleam in it that couldn’t be mistaken for anything but eyes. As he lifted the cigar suspiciously to the sky the armored face of the shadowy force made itself known, and even looking at it felt as though it was trying to steal their souls.
And the tapestry waved in the breeze. As scarlet and gold wove itself through the fabric, it was as if time itself had ceased. Life told in embroidery instead of motion. And yet in the center of them all was the figure of Shawn. No fear. No doubt of what had been coming. Every ounce of certainty that he had the matter under control… and as the light of the Ziegfried’s main cannon dissipated, the figure in the tear had faded and with a pull of his arm, Shawn’s golden chains pulled the tear back together.
Moving the now lit cigar to his lips, he took a deep puff before blowing the smoke out. He laughed at their stunned expressions but spoke as though he was in his own world, “Wow… this thing tastes terrible...”
