"Blazen!" Kalmar yelled, then realized that due to the vast network of tunnels, his voice could carry Blazen in the wrong direction as easily as toward him.

He focused his energy into the corrupted energy orb and made the chamber as bright as midday. "Follow the light!" He reflected on his statement and lightly chuckled, hoping Blazen would not see the 'light at the end of the tunnel' as a cruel joke.

"Oh damn! Are we dead?" Blazen yelled back, seeing the light now. He was hesitant on going forward. He would rather not die now that he was on a mission for a Daughter of Dawn, not matter how much of a pain she was.

Malvettix's feet tore through the ground as he tried to stop, fritction slowly easing him down. His sharp eyes caught Strong Arm Tactic's wild arc and Matt's effort to bring the heavy arm back up. With a quick smirk he launched back toward the fight, driving his armored shoulder into Matt.

"Oof!" Driven backwards, Matt's pocketed hand lodged itself out into the open, and with a flash, Strong Arm Tactic vanished. Gritting his teeth, Matt rapidly thrust and withdrew his hands, firing shining bursts of energy at a rapid pace. "Double Shippuden!"

*****

Hugo brandished his pickaxe. "Can't believe I've actually gotta dig someone out...this is embarassing."

But, he reasoned, as his pickaxe began to work its way through the rocks that had fallen on R.D., it was a neccessary evil if they were going to win.

"Not yet, Blazen. The weapon is just ahead, and I wanted to make sure you didn't get lost down here." Kalmar chuckled to himself and summoned his scythe, the black mist dissipating quickly as he held it upright with his right hand.

That Daughter of Dawn had better appreciate our efforts.. climbing through this mountain to retrieve her toy was bad enough.

Edited by Fallen on July 26, 2007 at 0:53:47.

Blazen walked forward, towards the light, despite his better instincts. He soon found himself before Kalmar, slightly blinded by the power light produced.

"Ok, enough with the light show already." Blazen said, his eyes shielded by his arm.

Kalmar killed the lights and turned around, quickly spotting an opening in the opposite wall of the room.

"Come, let us retrieve this toy and be done with this." With that he began walking forward toward the energy signature of the Daughter of Dawn's supposed 'Perfect Weapon.'

Dashing to the side to dodge the energy balls that flew his way, Malvettix narrowed his eyes. So by removing his other arm from his pocket, he could cancel the Strong Arm Tactic. A grin split his face. Really, now. This was becoming too easy. He launched back at Matt, his wing transforming into a scythe that tore through the ground in an attempt to slice Matt, who rolled out of the way.

Meanwhile, Hugo continued to work on the rubble. "Come on, dammit...we need you out there..."

Something shifted beneath the rubble, causing a rock to fall away, too displaced to have been affected by Hugo's work. It wasn't long before rays of iridescent light shone beneath the cracks of the debris, and the ground began to shake.

And with a loud, furious roar, it suddenly exploded, a ray of intense light piercing the sky from the middle and expanding rapidly, throwing away the rock with it. In the center of the crater stood R.D., head arched back in rage, his eyes glowing gold behind the visor. The light cleared as quickly as it came, and R.D. leapt upwards, his interface locking onto Malvettix in a quick second. The cannons swung into position again and R.D. aimed, firing all five beams at once at Malvettix as Matt rolled out of the way of the scythe.

Malvettix glanced backwards slightly. Damn it! Why wouldn't he stay dead?! As Malvettix spun about, the familiars formed a circle charged with dark electricity, catching the lasers within the field.

"Nightmare Reprisal!" Malvettix shouted, making a gesture. Energy gathered within the field, building power until it launched a black beam at R.D..

Strong Arm Tactic seized Malvettix's head. "GOTCHA!" Matt whooped as he slammed the dark one into the earth. "Super Fist of Awesomeness: Human Explosion Wave!" With that, he sent Malvettix forth with a strong push, and the dark one tore through the ground with great speed, kicking up rocks as he flew through.

"Dammit," R.D. growled, his mounted cannons folding back. His gauntlets suddenly ignited in the familiar blaze of Godhand, and he thrust them forward, catching the dark beam soundly. His arms jolted as contact was made, and he growled as he was forced back in the air by the beam. The energy was building up to dangerous levels, and he knew that if he didn't do something about it, he'd be flash-fried. He strained with the effort, but finally, he deflected the blast away from it, arcing it away to blast a distant, uninhabited waste.

Blazen nodded, following closely. He was eager to see this weapon for himself and would more then love to use it, if allowed. Then again, he just got a new toy and it would be better to allow Kalmar to keep it, again, if allowed.

Blazen turned his head back slightly when hearing some rustling behind them. His eyes narrowed and he silently drew his sword. The flames kicked up around the blade, heating up the area quickly. He used the light see the face of a giant insect, it immediately roared and lunged at them.

"Kalmar!" Blazen yelled as he held is sword in front of him and blocked the teeth of the beast. He grunted and gave to the side, allowing the insect to drive itself into the ground then bury deep into the ground and began to dig around the duo, planning to come up and surprise who it chose as its meal. Blazen looked around franticly, hardly able to see where it may come up.

Kalmar levitated off the ground, readying his scythe to throw the moment the beast popped up.

"Blazen, when it emerges, move." Kalmar's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued to scan the ground for signs of the insect.

"Move where?!" Blazen asked, a bit in a panic. Before his question could be answered, however the ground in front of him exploded it seemed as the centipede like insect erupted from the ground. Blazen flew back into the tunnel they had planned to go through. He dropped his sword upon impact, the flames dying.

"Well if you're going to do something, do it!" Blazen yelled. He picked up his weapon and stood up, the flames quickly returning around the blade.

"It's over, Malvettix!" Matt shouted, walking toward the dark one, with Strong Arm Tactic's fist clenched.

Pushing himself up from the earth, Malvettix glared at his advancing opponent. "...this is far from over." He rose to his feet. "I don't think you understand, boy. As long as there is fear within your heart, as long as there is a hint of despair, I will always return."

"Yeah, I may have been scared of you at first!" Matt snapped back. "But let me tell you this! When I think about all you're trying to do-trying to hurt me and hurt my friends-I ain't got time to be scared, because I'm gettin' pissed off the more I think about it! And when motherfuckers get pissed off..."

Suddenly he burst into motion, rocketing toward Malvettix. "Motherfuckers get their asses kicked!"

Malvettix's eyes widened. His speed was incredible!

As Matt advanced, his hand slowly withdrew from his pocket. What was he doing? If he removed his hand, wouldn't Strong Arm Tactic vanish?

"What the-?!" Malvettix shouted as both of Matt's hands-both armored with Strong Arm Tactic-seized him.

"Time to end this!" Matt shouted. Leaping up, he flipped over Malvettix, then hoisted the dark one and smashed him into the earth behind him, repeating this motion over and over. "Final..."

After five smashes, rearing back, Matt swung Malvettix around, flinging him high into the air with the strength of his powered arms. "Atomic..."

What-what's going on?! Malvettix snapped, as he helplessly flew upwards. His attacks must've paralyzed me! I can't move! All he could do was watch as Matt soared up to meet him. What was he going to do?

Matt grabbed Malvettix one last time from behind, tunring around in midair so their heads pointed down. Suddenly, their downward flight picked up tremendous speed, and an aura of energy burst around them, creating some sort of human meteor.

"BUSSSSSSSSSSTER!"

The meteor hit the earth with an incredible impact, and the world shook.

R.D. cried out and crossed his arms in front of him, the impact causing the earth to shudder and groan unearthly while the shockwave forced him back. The power released was much too great, he could feel the Dragon King Armor dematerialize from his body. The wind and dust sent his overshirt fluttering violently, and his shoes cut grooves in the eroded dirt. The amnesiac struggled to keep his balance as he rode out the earthquake.

Slowly, the earthquake died and the wind stilled, a cloud of dust and smoke rising into the air. Covered in dust, R.D. slowly lowered his arms and drew the Phase Scythe, looking at the impact zone with apprehension.

"Holy SHIT!" Hugo shouted, ducking under his helmet to shield himself from the impact.

The tremendous dust cleared, and in the midst of the great crater stood Matt, over Malvettix, as the dark one tried to stand.

This...this was impossible. Or was it?

Malvettix's leg slipped, and he almost fell before catching himself.

No, this was right. Matt's power was incredible, and it had grown stronger. No longer had he allowed fear to consume him. His anger and rage and vengeance was all he knew, and this was why he could dominate.

"...you never fail to impress me," Malvettix spat, standing up as best as he could. Even his shadowy form felt weak. "When we first met you were nothing, but now, we are equals...just as it should be."

Matt's face remained blank. "There is nothing equal between you and me. All that we share between us is our appearance. Nothing else."

"...heh. You say that with convinction." Malvettix's evil eyes met Matt's glance. "But we are more alike that you will hope to admit."

Matt spread his legs and arms. "Maybe...but today, I reject that. I reject you, Malvettix. I will not allow fear and despair to haunt me ANYMORE!"

With a great yell, an aura of life-giving power exploded around Matt. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!"

He attacked, his fists and knifehands raining all over Malvettix with blinding speed and power, tearing into the shadow demon with great force. "ATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA-" Rearing back, he launched one final uppercut. "A-TAAA!"

Malvettix, knocked into the air, held his eyes wide in pain and glory as a hundred different wounds exploded within his dark form, spilling black blood, staining the air.

Matt held his final fist aloft as time itself seemed to slow. "Hokuto...Hyuakuretsu Ken!"

Malvettix smashed into the earth, a mess of blood and darkness.

Matt stood there, watching the dark one lay there, until he finally turned around, and slid a hand in his pocket. "Omae wa no...shiideru."

R.D. stood at edge of the... there wasn't really any word to call it, except a massacre. It seemed appropriate. Igniting his left hand with the blaze of Godhand and holding the massive crystalline sword in his right, R.D. cautiously approached Malvettix' mangled body and nudged it with his foot before quickly backing away.

"Is he dead?" he asked, holding his blade forward.

Slowly, Malvettix's form reduced itself to nothing more than an inky mass, which sank into the earth, until nothing was left.

"...sure looks like it." Matt began to walk away, toward the lip of the crater. "Come on. Let's get the fuck outta here."

R.D. let his glowing hand fade to normal, and split the Phase Scythe into the two normal blades, deactivating them and sheathing them at his sides. He backed away from where Malvettix had last come to rest, feeling uneasy. Turning around, he moved back towards the battered car, a harsh thought suddenly plaguing him.

If it doesn't leave a body, it's probably not dead.

"Nice shot, Matt," Hugo said as Matt walked past the Mettaur.

"Thanks." He patted Strong Arm Tactic soundly. Good job, Helena. "Come on, let's go. Where's X?"

R.D. was looking at the car, using Earth energy to warp the metal back into shape where he could. Matt would have to take care of the rest, to replace any of the broken windows--he didn't trust his control over fire enough to make glass. He perked up when he heard Matt's question, remembering what had transpired.

"Someone attacked him," he said, turning to Matt, "Tall man in dark armor. I tried to help, but before I could get there, he had taken X and teleported off somewhere."

R.D. stepped forward, his armor materializing around him again. The visor slid into place. "I'll see if I can locate him while you finish fixing the car."

Kalmar nodded and shot forward at the insect, bringing his scythe overhead for a moment before slashing downward with it. The scythe would split the head of the creature moments before the Demon Hunter would follow with a powerful beam of corrupted energy.

In the aftermath, the bug would be vaporized, but hopefully his companion would be far enough away to avoid it.

Blazen watched, well out of the way. He held himself still as the beam was shot, shaking the earth slightly. He sighed once it was all over and stood up. He placed his sword behind his shirt once more and turned to the tunnel.

"There, now let's go before anything else decides to want us for dinner." Blazen said, exhasperated.

It was at this time that Matt turned back around, having been looking elsewhere. "MY CAR!" Matt fell to his knees, gripping his head. "WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!"

"Would you calm down?" Hugo demanded. "You can fix it."

"I guess I'll have to, the way Malvettix FUCKED UP my car!" He sighed. Release the anger...find your happy place. "All right, RD. Go see what you can find."

R.D. nodded and the scanner began its routine, picking up the faint signals of the people at the camp, while picking up very, very few animal lifesigns around them, and the lifesigns of monsters even further out. Of X's unique lifeforce signature, there was no sign.

"I can't find anything," he said, resigned, letting the visor revert back, revealing his face.

"Shit." Matt rubbed his stubble. "Well, what do you think we should do?"

"I'll keep a lookout for him," R.D. replied, looking back, "But right now, we should get the hell out of here before something else decides it has to kill us."

"Let me un-equip first." Holding Strong Arm Tactic aloft, Matt tapped the forearm, and suddenly, it was engulfed in a bright light. The light surged to Matt's side, dismissing Strong Arm Tactic, and reformed in the familiar shape of Helena, wings folded neatly behind her.

Matt nodded. "Nice run."

She smiled back. "Thanks."

"Now that that's done..." Matt slapped the ruined hood of the Firebird, and from his touch, the metal and glass reformed itself back into its undamaged state. "Let's roll."