Post by Guardsman Patrick on Oct 12, 2006 23:10:25 GMT -5
Chapter 21: Power Beyond Power
Patrick’s blade began to glow and Patrick took a step back so he would be able to stand his ground. Alright, here goes, Patrick aimed his sword at the tower and held strong.
“UNIVERSAL BLAST!” he roared, releasing the Orb's energy. The sword turned white and released the blast, making the entire world turn white. The blast fired and incinerated all the soldiers that sat at the front of the tower, still entranced by the phenomenon before them. The blast destroyed the tower as well, destroying everything except the top thirty feet of the tower. The blast cleared as all the energy from the Orb was sapped. Patrick fell to the ground in exhaustion, his blade falling to his side.
“Patrick!” Rachel cried as she ran up to him.
“No, go, Ulptian will make sure I’m alright,” Patrick said as he grabbed his blade again and pulled himself up using it to balance himself. Ulptian picked him up and took off from the ground, going high into the sky where it was safer.
Rachel nodded and ran back into the battle, Pairon on her heels and blade at her side.
The Tower! Alex thought in panic as the statue below him began to fall. The tower was nearly a hundred feet high, making it a seventy foot drop to the ground below. Alex’s heart stopped as a weightless feeling came over him and he felt the world rushing past. He was going to die, he knew it. He wouldn’t let himself though. He wouldn’t allow himself to die unless he knew Shade was also dead. He grabbed onto the statue that fell just below him and held on for impact. Every second seemed forever.
Alex pushed off the rock statue just as it hit the ground, and he flew a couple of feet into the air before he landed safely on a piece of the broken glass dome, making it shatter under his feet. Alex looked around, not seeing any sign of his brother. He started to smile, but knew when the strange feeling that had brought him to the top of the tower returned like a haunting presence. Shade still lived.
Lava began to eat away at the brown bricks of the tower. The scar of cooled lava was broken, penetrated by the stone dragon’s tail. Alex looked around as the walls of flames and smoke grew around him. Alex looked through the grey smoke that bellowed around his island of brick, glass and stone. Alex clutched his sword and waited, knowing Shade was still there.
“So it comes to this.” Shade stood up, covered in blood. The scar on his left arm was open and bleeding again, bringing with it all the memories and hate that went along with it. “Fighting within a wall of flames, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, just me and you.” He drew up his blade that was smeared with blood and took it in his left hand, placing his poorer right hand below it, “I plan on this being our final fight.”
“Yes, indeed,” Alex said failing to notice the cut along his left arm as well, nearly matching Shades. His blue jacket was stained purple and dripped. Alex took his jacket off and threw it into the lava. It sizzled when it hit.
“We are not so different Alex, and now you will have something to remember me by,” Shade took his black, torn jacket off slowly, hanging it on a long piece of glass that stuck out of the stone beside him.
Shade rushed down the dragon’s spine, running between the large pieces of glass and brick in his way. He jumped high into the air and struck Alex, nearly cutting his shoulder.
Alex retaliated, intending the take Shade out before the lava consumed them both. The hot melting iron around them increased the heat and made both the combatants feel like they were cooking.
Ulptian looked in the distance at the rising smoke that consumed the entire clearing. The battle was growing more intense by the second. He wanted to go help, but he knew Patrick needed him now.
“Ulptian, go help them, I can take care of myself.” Patrick was regaining his energy slowly. His sword was glowing nearly white from all the energy that ran through it. It was trying to get back on its feet as well. Though the Orbs have endless energy, they have a limit of how much it can use at once, and the blast was obviously the limit.
“No, you need me here,” Ulptian said, staring back at him as he continued to circle. He looked back before him and watched what was left of the tower slowly being overtaken by the lava. The ocean was rushing into the fault as fast as it could, but it could not hold the lava back. Ulptian couldn’t leave Patrick unattended, but he couldn’t let the others be lost to the army.
“Go, Ulptian, and don’t say no again. I will be back up on my feet in an hour or so. It’s nothing serious. I am going to be fine, so put me down in the big tree and go help.” Patrick was dead serious, but he didn’t have enough energy to scream at Ulptian yet.
“You will be attacked by something in the forest. I can’t leave you to be killed.” Ulptian was beginning to get frustrated with Patrick for the first time. Ulptian tried to calm down, but he wouldn’t let his closest friend die. He wouldn’t put him in harms way, no matter the cost. If Alex and the others died, that was a loss that was on someone else, not him. He cared for them of course, but Patrick remained the most important to him.
“Ulptian, it was my father that told me that saving one life is worth all costs, and I understand, but if you can save four others as well, then I would choose that option over saving mine. It doesn’t matter how important that person is. I am at risk in the forest, yes, but they are guaranteed to die if you don’t help them. I know the forest beasts better than even my father knew them, now put me down and help Alex and Rachel,” Patrick said through gritted teeth. Ulptian was wise, but he was stubborn. When he thought that one of his family members was at risk, he would protect them rather than help others that needed his help more.
Ulptian didn’t say anything for a long moment. Finally he nodded and turned to the big tree that was scarred from the planes that had crashed into it. He placed Patrick on the highest, sturdiest limb he could find and flew off again, back towards the pillar of smoke where the war raged on. He looked back while he flew and spotted Patrick sitting against the trunk of the tree, looking in Ulptian’s direction.
Rachel fought as many of the remaining soldiers off as she could, but fatigue was taking over, and her strength was running out. Each soldier took more effort to kill, and when she killed one, another would take his place and continue fighting. Pairon who was behind her was fighting ferociously, but even against this number of soldiers he was having trouble. Each bullet that hit him caused him more and more pain, and caused him to bleed more and more under his thick armor. He wasn’t going to be able to take this kind of bombardment much longer.
Just as Pairon thought the soldiers were running out, a circle of tanks rolled in around them, aiming all of their cannons at Rachel and him. Pairon knew this was it. He closed his eyes and hoped that it would be quick.
They didn’t fire though. Only the sound of twisting metal and screaming soldiers was heard. Pairon opened his eyes slowly and saw a dragon in front of him, ripping into the tank hulls as if they were paper, but it wasn’t Ulptian.
This dragon was a light blue and covered with plates that were bright silver. It had three large horns, two on the back of its metal helmet, and one long curved one coming straight from the nose. It was smaller than Pairon, probably because it was a girl dragon.
“Is that… Kage?!” Rachel sounded excited as she ran and leapt onto the dragon. It let out a dull roar and took off, flying low over the army members, releasing a stream of icy breathe that froze each of the soldiers in their spots. Pairon ran behind the dragon, ripping into each soldier quickly as he went.
Pairon took tanks apart as well, simply hitting them with the blade on his tail, causing them to shatter instantaneously. Rachel landed and drew her sword again, knowing that she would have to fight more, though she had nearly run her energy reserves dry.
Pairon devastated the closest tanks, and blasted whole legions of soldiers that were still fighting. Ulptian landed not a second too soon and ripped through many more tanks. This war was about to get easier.
The lava continued to eat away at the brown bricks of the remaining portion of the tower. Alex and Shade were locked, blade to blade once again, both sweating in the sweltering heat.
“You have put up more fight than I thought you had in you,” Shade said, his spiked hair bending over drenched in sweat.
“You have fought harder than I knew you could, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that you’re not dead yet.” Alex broke the grapple and slammed his sword into Shades again, starting another grapple.
“No, I guess I’m not, but then again, I was always stronger than you, so you wouldn’t know how long an even fight with me would go on, would you?” Shade smiled evilly and broke the grapple again, smashing his large, black blade into Alex’s. Alex caught the blade on his, and slung it to the ground. He struck for Shade, but missed as Shade rolled around Alex’s feet and tried to slash upwards along Alex’s back, just barely missing, then leaping forward and striking at Shade again, beginning another grapple.
“No, but I always had an idea of how long the battle would take, and let’s just say, if it didn’t end in my imagination before the first minute, it wasn’t worth remembering.” Alex broke off Shade’s blade again, striking low toward his knees. Shade blocked and stabbed at Alex’s gut. Alex didn’t hesitate to jump back, and launch himself feet first by stabbing his sword into the ground and pushing off it. Alex kicked Shade in the middle of the chest and he stumbled back a couple feet before catching himself and jumping back into the battle.
“You are too predictable Alex. You have never fought a fair fight, so you wouldn’t know how long a real one lasts.” Shade grappled with Alex again, spitting blood on the hot stone from where his lungs were bruised from kicks. Both the combatants were in pain now, but neither of them could afford to let it get in their way. They would not let pain be the main concern.
“I knew it would. You can’t blame a brother for hoping though,” Alex smiled at Shade as he slammed his sword as hard as he could into Shade's.
Shade began to fight harder, not giving in to Alex’s attacks, and Alex struck harder to try to make Shade stumble long enough for him to strike the final blow.
The flames around the Light Blade were growing brighter and brighter with each strike.
Patrick’s blade began to glow and Patrick took a step back so he would be able to stand his ground. Alright, here goes, Patrick aimed his sword at the tower and held strong.
“UNIVERSAL BLAST!” he roared, releasing the Orb's energy. The sword turned white and released the blast, making the entire world turn white. The blast fired and incinerated all the soldiers that sat at the front of the tower, still entranced by the phenomenon before them. The blast destroyed the tower as well, destroying everything except the top thirty feet of the tower. The blast cleared as all the energy from the Orb was sapped. Patrick fell to the ground in exhaustion, his blade falling to his side.
“Patrick!” Rachel cried as she ran up to him.
“No, go, Ulptian will make sure I’m alright,” Patrick said as he grabbed his blade again and pulled himself up using it to balance himself. Ulptian picked him up and took off from the ground, going high into the sky where it was safer.
Rachel nodded and ran back into the battle, Pairon on her heels and blade at her side.
* * *
The Tower! Alex thought in panic as the statue below him began to fall. The tower was nearly a hundred feet high, making it a seventy foot drop to the ground below. Alex’s heart stopped as a weightless feeling came over him and he felt the world rushing past. He was going to die, he knew it. He wouldn’t let himself though. He wouldn’t allow himself to die unless he knew Shade was also dead. He grabbed onto the statue that fell just below him and held on for impact. Every second seemed forever.
Alex pushed off the rock statue just as it hit the ground, and he flew a couple of feet into the air before he landed safely on a piece of the broken glass dome, making it shatter under his feet. Alex looked around, not seeing any sign of his brother. He started to smile, but knew when the strange feeling that had brought him to the top of the tower returned like a haunting presence. Shade still lived.
Lava began to eat away at the brown bricks of the tower. The scar of cooled lava was broken, penetrated by the stone dragon’s tail. Alex looked around as the walls of flames and smoke grew around him. Alex looked through the grey smoke that bellowed around his island of brick, glass and stone. Alex clutched his sword and waited, knowing Shade was still there.
“So it comes to this.” Shade stood up, covered in blood. The scar on his left arm was open and bleeding again, bringing with it all the memories and hate that went along with it. “Fighting within a wall of flames, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, just me and you.” He drew up his blade that was smeared with blood and took it in his left hand, placing his poorer right hand below it, “I plan on this being our final fight.”
“Yes, indeed,” Alex said failing to notice the cut along his left arm as well, nearly matching Shades. His blue jacket was stained purple and dripped. Alex took his jacket off and threw it into the lava. It sizzled when it hit.
“We are not so different Alex, and now you will have something to remember me by,” Shade took his black, torn jacket off slowly, hanging it on a long piece of glass that stuck out of the stone beside him.
Shade rushed down the dragon’s spine, running between the large pieces of glass and brick in his way. He jumped high into the air and struck Alex, nearly cutting his shoulder.
Alex retaliated, intending the take Shade out before the lava consumed them both. The hot melting iron around them increased the heat and made both the combatants feel like they were cooking.
* * *
Ulptian looked in the distance at the rising smoke that consumed the entire clearing. The battle was growing more intense by the second. He wanted to go help, but he knew Patrick needed him now.
“Ulptian, go help them, I can take care of myself.” Patrick was regaining his energy slowly. His sword was glowing nearly white from all the energy that ran through it. It was trying to get back on its feet as well. Though the Orbs have endless energy, they have a limit of how much it can use at once, and the blast was obviously the limit.
“No, you need me here,” Ulptian said, staring back at him as he continued to circle. He looked back before him and watched what was left of the tower slowly being overtaken by the lava. The ocean was rushing into the fault as fast as it could, but it could not hold the lava back. Ulptian couldn’t leave Patrick unattended, but he couldn’t let the others be lost to the army.
“Go, Ulptian, and don’t say no again. I will be back up on my feet in an hour or so. It’s nothing serious. I am going to be fine, so put me down in the big tree and go help.” Patrick was dead serious, but he didn’t have enough energy to scream at Ulptian yet.
“You will be attacked by something in the forest. I can’t leave you to be killed.” Ulptian was beginning to get frustrated with Patrick for the first time. Ulptian tried to calm down, but he wouldn’t let his closest friend die. He wouldn’t put him in harms way, no matter the cost. If Alex and the others died, that was a loss that was on someone else, not him. He cared for them of course, but Patrick remained the most important to him.
“Ulptian, it was my father that told me that saving one life is worth all costs, and I understand, but if you can save four others as well, then I would choose that option over saving mine. It doesn’t matter how important that person is. I am at risk in the forest, yes, but they are guaranteed to die if you don’t help them. I know the forest beasts better than even my father knew them, now put me down and help Alex and Rachel,” Patrick said through gritted teeth. Ulptian was wise, but he was stubborn. When he thought that one of his family members was at risk, he would protect them rather than help others that needed his help more.
Ulptian didn’t say anything for a long moment. Finally he nodded and turned to the big tree that was scarred from the planes that had crashed into it. He placed Patrick on the highest, sturdiest limb he could find and flew off again, back towards the pillar of smoke where the war raged on. He looked back while he flew and spotted Patrick sitting against the trunk of the tree, looking in Ulptian’s direction.
* * *
Rachel fought as many of the remaining soldiers off as she could, but fatigue was taking over, and her strength was running out. Each soldier took more effort to kill, and when she killed one, another would take his place and continue fighting. Pairon who was behind her was fighting ferociously, but even against this number of soldiers he was having trouble. Each bullet that hit him caused him more and more pain, and caused him to bleed more and more under his thick armor. He wasn’t going to be able to take this kind of bombardment much longer.
Just as Pairon thought the soldiers were running out, a circle of tanks rolled in around them, aiming all of their cannons at Rachel and him. Pairon knew this was it. He closed his eyes and hoped that it would be quick.
They didn’t fire though. Only the sound of twisting metal and screaming soldiers was heard. Pairon opened his eyes slowly and saw a dragon in front of him, ripping into the tank hulls as if they were paper, but it wasn’t Ulptian.
This dragon was a light blue and covered with plates that were bright silver. It had three large horns, two on the back of its metal helmet, and one long curved one coming straight from the nose. It was smaller than Pairon, probably because it was a girl dragon.
“Is that… Kage?!” Rachel sounded excited as she ran and leapt onto the dragon. It let out a dull roar and took off, flying low over the army members, releasing a stream of icy breathe that froze each of the soldiers in their spots. Pairon ran behind the dragon, ripping into each soldier quickly as he went.
Pairon took tanks apart as well, simply hitting them with the blade on his tail, causing them to shatter instantaneously. Rachel landed and drew her sword again, knowing that she would have to fight more, though she had nearly run her energy reserves dry.
Pairon devastated the closest tanks, and blasted whole legions of soldiers that were still fighting. Ulptian landed not a second too soon and ripped through many more tanks. This war was about to get easier.
* * *
The lava continued to eat away at the brown bricks of the remaining portion of the tower. Alex and Shade were locked, blade to blade once again, both sweating in the sweltering heat.
“You have put up more fight than I thought you had in you,” Shade said, his spiked hair bending over drenched in sweat.
“You have fought harder than I knew you could, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that you’re not dead yet.” Alex broke the grapple and slammed his sword into Shades again, starting another grapple.
“No, I guess I’m not, but then again, I was always stronger than you, so you wouldn’t know how long an even fight with me would go on, would you?” Shade smiled evilly and broke the grapple again, smashing his large, black blade into Alex’s. Alex caught the blade on his, and slung it to the ground. He struck for Shade, but missed as Shade rolled around Alex’s feet and tried to slash upwards along Alex’s back, just barely missing, then leaping forward and striking at Shade again, beginning another grapple.
“No, but I always had an idea of how long the battle would take, and let’s just say, if it didn’t end in my imagination before the first minute, it wasn’t worth remembering.” Alex broke off Shade’s blade again, striking low toward his knees. Shade blocked and stabbed at Alex’s gut. Alex didn’t hesitate to jump back, and launch himself feet first by stabbing his sword into the ground and pushing off it. Alex kicked Shade in the middle of the chest and he stumbled back a couple feet before catching himself and jumping back into the battle.
“You are too predictable Alex. You have never fought a fair fight, so you wouldn’t know how long a real one lasts.” Shade grappled with Alex again, spitting blood on the hot stone from where his lungs were bruised from kicks. Both the combatants were in pain now, but neither of them could afford to let it get in their way. They would not let pain be the main concern.
“I knew it would. You can’t blame a brother for hoping though,” Alex smiled at Shade as he slammed his sword as hard as he could into Shade's.
Shade began to fight harder, not giving in to Alex’s attacks, and Alex struck harder to try to make Shade stumble long enough for him to strike the final blow.
The flames around the Light Blade were growing brighter and brighter with each strike.