Story:Twilight Crystal/Chapter 18

THIS IS CRONO'S BEAUTIFUL WORK

Max looked up and saw only a beautiful vermillion storm descend from the skies. He was never a sentimental man, but even he would have stopped in his tracks and looked up at such a gorgeous scene. He would have, that is, if the red petals falling meant anything other than death. Breathing came to him with difficulty as he rolled on the ground and dodged another wave of the razor sharp precipitation. Grinding his teeth in anger, he raised his sword and slashed away a wave of the deadly materials from his side and jumped from yet another. This was getting ridiculous - ever since the battle began, the twisted and blind Augustus sister had been stalling them all with the countless amounts of red flower-like blades. They cut as hard as swords and met resistance as if they were being held by a battle-hardened soldier, and even Max in his formidable speed had been unable to battle unscathed. He made a wary look around him and saw that nobody was down, yet. Ivy was dancing and dodging as artfully as ever, her graceful movements wastin no time in counterattacking as he did. She was looking around every chance she got, no doubt looking for cover or a way to stop the death showers. Avec was mere feet behind Max, and was having Driza block all of the shots for him as he prepared some attack. Dante was having no trouble blocking with those tools of his, but he seemed to be having trouble keeping up with Ivy's efforts. However, both Cynthia and April were nowhere to be found. Max's stomach fell as he began to assume the worst, but then he noticed Taarin rise into the air with a mighty leap and his wings flapping furiously. Not bothering to look back up, Max jumped backwards and slashed away a mass of petals that had materialized next to him. They must be in the air, he thought to himself. That was never my dominion, for sure, but there's got to be a way to get them down from there... Indeed, Cynthia and April were both in the air, suspended by the daunting size of their Crystal-augmented wings. April was very high in the sky and, looking down at them all with a gaze she did not have, she had folded her arms and crossed her legs, as if she were sitting upon a throne that could never exist. That's just like her, Cynthia thought. The half-Seer danced around in the air propelled by her now-buffed wings and struggled to stay afloat. Her sword, also glowing in the same sapphire blue light that encased her wings and tail, was much longer and lighter than she ever remembered, and just holding it was enough to gift her with increased confidence and magnified anger. The anger was new to her, and somewhat bewildering, but familiar - a representation, a symbol even, of everything she and all of her friends had been through. Not just them, either; all the ones who gave their lives to end what was endless, all of the ones whose deaths were unjustified and unnecessary, and all of the ones who had died so that she would live. All of their power - Cynthia could feel it. And now it was time to use it and end this Endless War. The power complimented her and she wore it like a well-fitting glove. She slashed at one of April's flying energy crescents, and it pathetically faded out of existence. Whatever it was that was empowering Cynthia was either equal or superior to the sorcery that April was letting out, she noted with joy. She wasn't helpless at all. There was no time to let this feeling last very long, however, as another crescent danced out of reach and began to glow with a bright red light before letting out hundreds of flying energy bolts. Cynthia deftly dodged what she could and slashed away what she couldn't avoid. As she took her breath and the circle of power disappeared, April's smile widened. What had looked so hopeless before, she had realized, was in actuality something that would be easily circumvented. To what end was it if the small fry resisted? What did it matter if the Crystal shard was denied her for but a moment? April laughed as a queen would when looking upon squabbling peasants in a court of the highest authority. None of it mattered, she knew, because she had the power and they did not. They reached for it, all of them ants grasping hopelessly for the twinkling stars, but they could never hold it. Their hope was annoying, to be sure, but that had a simple solution as well. After all, corpses could never hope - and what mattered a few more corpses to pave the way to her perfect, stainless world? With a mighty push, Cynthia's wings propelled her forward and above towards where April was reclining. Her mind worked in overdrive as she struggled to plan out a way to finally dethrone the one who sat above all of the world. The first thing she noticed were April's two largest wings - unlike before, when were wreathed in golden light and reached forward in beseechment for the Crystal shard, now they were continually raised and glowing bright red. As she dodged more energy bullets from every direction, Cynthia risked a look downwards, and saw her friends fighting against what looked like the energy bullets she was battling with, only in a red variation. She looked back up with determination - first things first, she would have to stop those bullets and save her friends. She made it past the energy barrier with a slash of her sword, and then she was closer to April than she expected. Cynthia yelped slightly as she descended straight down quickly and gathered magic energy in her free hand, the chance for a surprise attack ruined. These new wings of hers were astonishing, and much stronger than she was used to. The moment of reprieve disappeared when, in a flash of light, April appeared beside her. Cynthia cried out and twisted in the air, her wings closing together in front of her in a defensive embrace, when she was blasted backwards by a shine of white energy. Instead of being blasted through the air, however, she was suddenly held aloft and was unable to move. In front of her drifted April, who didn't even need to move her wings to float. "I tire of this game, half breed." The seraphim-esque villain crossed her arms tartly and her bare feet floated on the turbulent air as a ballerina's on a stage. As she inched ever closer to the immobile Cynthia, both their wings still poised and glowing, April's smile vanished and her lightly poised hands curled into tight fists. "Do you have any idea of that which you and your comrades contest? Do you even understand the magnitude of the new world I can create?" "I couldn't possibly sympathize with someone who doesn't follow reason or emotion at all!" Not being able to move was beginning to frustrate Cynthia, as did the warm feeling she was beginning to get throughout her body. Whatever April was planning or preparing, Cynthia knew she had to prevent it fast. The longer this fight dragged out, the less chance there was of the others escaping unharmed. "We fight for everyone who's died in this Endless War! We are the world, the protectors of all creation! We understand that for every action lies the chance of a terrible reaction - and now, so many lives are at stake!" She couldn't control herself at this point, and hot tears flowed freely down Cynthia's cheeks. "We can't just let you throw all of that away! Everyone's memories, struggles, stories, and sorrows - that can't be just for nothing!" April, who was now close enough to Cynthia for the two of them to touch, slapped the girl with a cry of anger. "You know nothing! You are nothing! All that has existed thus far has only done so because I allowed it! You - just - do - not - understand!" She punctuated each yell with a slap across Cynthia's messy, tear-streaked face, until the girl's eyes were squinted shut and both of her cheeks were bright red and bruised. "I have lived for so long in this weak, mortal body, and now I have finally acquired that which befits me! This petty squabble between nations - the atrocities committed between races - all examples of power and its corrupting properties! The only strength that stays untarnished is that of absolution! Absolute power is staring you right in the face, and still you would resist! I am creation! I am EVERYTHING!" She breathed audibly as one hand went to her forehead to collect her strewn-about hair, golden as the burning sun, and the other went to her side with a flourish. As she made the motion, a circle of pure white energy appeared before starting to spin in place. Within a second, it was moving so fast that it seemed to whistle. "Now," April whispered, her voice noticeably calmer but still retaining the same crazed, passionate quality it held moments before, "ends your life, and begins mine anew." She flipped a hand, and the circle flew into the air before descending slowly towards Cynthia's throat. "You have been marked clearly and unmistakably. It will not miss." Her mouth opened and prepared a laugh before she jerked her head the the energy circle suddenly darted in front of her. The medium-sized saw of energy spun in place, the motion creating a field of translucent energy that blocked a fast-moving orange and grey streak. Just as soon as the streak ricocheted away, a much larger streak of the same colors rushed into the barrier and broke through it with little effort. Time moved in slow motion, Cynthia swore, as she saw a shirtless Drakenaer - propelled into the air with his normal-sized wings and willpower alone - punched the angelic April Augustus right in her stomach, even as countless red petals appeared in front of her at the mere reflex of April's mind. The golden-hued woman was sent flying back to the ground, and Cynthia's savior whirled in place, breaking through April's barrier once again to grab onto Cynthia. The two fell as one, she cradled in his arms bridal style, even as the red blades honed towards the two of them and slammed into the man's back. He shielded her from every one of the energy weapons. "Taarin," she whispered breathlessly. "You broke her barrier..." Their faces were less than a hand's breadth apart, and his hardened face was cut and strained from the pain, but the two made eye contact all the same. She looked into his eyes, piercing and cerulean as ever, and watched as he gave his trademark confident smile, even in the face of their current situation. "Of course I did. When you're in trouble, I'm the strongest guy alive. Nobody hurts my girl," he muttered back. Despite his usual tough act, it was clear that Taarin had been extremely concerned for her, and now that he held her in his arms, relieved tears of his own threatened to fall from his eyes. Cynthia looked over him, her breathing slowed and heaving, and the rushing air of their descent seemed to disappear. The only thing the two saw was each other, and they were completely lost in the other's arms and eyes. As Cynthia felt her eyes closing out of her own power, both their faces leaned closer and they pulled each other tightly. The kiss they shared was passionate, yet full of delicate love and protective care. The embrace and affection lasted for but a moment before Cynthia broke it up with a gasp. She stretched her large wings, instantly slowing their fall to a halt, and just a moment after that, the ground met their feet in a reassuring embrace. Taarin landed and helped her to her feet, and the two of them looked at each other for another moment before he fell to the ground with a sigh. She gasped and fell to his side, absentmindedly flicking a hand above her in an arc and summoning a spell of light to block the incoming red petals. She turned the writhing Taarin onto his front and couldn't help but gasp at his wounds. Not only did the red blades stab into him at multiple spots, but his wings were bruised and limp from the colossal effort it must have been to push himself so high into the air. More tears fell down her bruised face as she was aghast at the things he'd done for her. Oh, Taarin... Avec slid into the large field she had conjured, followed by a jumping Dante that held Ivy on his back. The three of them took a moment in the force field to catch their breath before looking at the downed Taarin and all of them gasped in turn at his grievous wounds. "Oh no, is he going to be alright?" Ivy jumped off Dante and rushed to Cynthia's side while holding her hands to her chest. As much as she wanted to help, Cynthia was the only one of the group who knew any healing spells that would do any good with wounds like these. "He'll be alright, Cyn... Right?" Dante stepped up behind Ivy, various wounds of his own decorating his large figure, but none as terrible as Taarin's. He was clearly shaken up by what had happened to his friend, and his mouth opened to speak further but closed after a moment. Like Ivy, he could see the dire situation they were in, but had nothing to say to help it. Taarin was usually the one raising their spirits. "Come off it, you two," Avec muttered as he looked at Driza roosting on his wrist. She was also horribly damaged, with burn marks and singes abound on her mechanical frame, and Avec looked more than a little ticked that nobody seemed to care about her as much as they did Taarin. "Standing around and making Cynthia nervous isn't going to help anyone. Especially not with that still flying around." They all turned and looked to where Avec had nodded their head, and they all saw April descend purposefully until she was only a foot off the ground. As they did, Max jumped into the force-field and landed gracefully on his feet. "Nobody told me we had a home base," the dark haired swordsman breathed as he stood and dusted his shoulders. After looking at everyone's pained faces, and stealing a glance at the downed Taarin, he looked away and started examining his singed sword. "So, do we have a plan, or what? I don't think I need to remind you guys that she probably won't let us catch our breath much longer." Indeed, as Max insinuated, April spread her arms and they could all see several large-scale magic emblems map themselves out in the air behind her. The red bullets continued to relentlessly rain down on the opaque barrier that Cynthia had constructed. After a moment of silence, Cynthia stood with a huff and looked at each of them in turn. "Her wings are what's causing the energy rain. I have a spell I can use that might bring her down, but I won't be able to use it unless I let down this Reflect spell. And that's not happening until these shots stop." "Got it," Dante stated. His old confidence was back, as was a wide smile of his own. Ivy sighed at his complete ignorance of the party's tense mood. "We just hold Supreme Angel Queen off for a while and attack her wings so these energy shots stop, and then you blast the hell out of her! Then we go home and have a big party! Lots of wine and pretty ladies!" Ivy slapped him on the arm, to which he replied with a laugh. "Eh?" Avec snickered, and Ivy replied in an attempt to calm Dante down a bit and hide her own blushing face. "Uh... right. That's the gist of it, I think. But it won't be easy to do that and not get taken down like Taarin over here did..." "That's where I come in," Max stated with a dark tone. He raised his blade to eye level, looking at his reflection in it, before slashing it to his side with a strong swipe of his wrist. He began to walk towards the edge of the force field. "I'll knock some sense into her, and someone else slashes off those wings of hers while she's distracted." "Ah, you don't have to cut them off," Cynthia voiced. Her own wings, cramped and folded in the small space of the force field, cringed at the thought of having them being violently separated. "All you really have to do is-" "Avec?" Max stopped walking and cut Cynthia off. His meaning was clear. His blond comrade nodded with a grim look of his own, and Max continued without looking back. "I owe it to Taarin - and everyone else. Especially Seraph. We can't lose here." Without another word, he pounced out of the field with incredible speed, only to be followed by Avec and Dante. Ivy looked at Cynthia with a hesitant look before running off after the men. The half-Seer sighed as she started gathering all of her remaining energy into her free hand. Taarin's healing would have to wait. On the frontlines, Avec, Max, and Dante were all having trouble getting through April's defenses. All of them had initially thought that they would have no trouble winning if all she did was block them, but with the constantly raining red energy, they realized just how effective her strategy was. Only by staying close to each other and collectively pushing/dodging out of the way did they avoid energy. Max landed a hit on April that was blocked, sending him flying into the air, and he turned his momentum into a roll that propelled him off the ground and back towards her with another ruthless strike. Behind him, Dante tried his hand at her magic shields with his pickaxe, and the force of his strike caused its sharp end to chip off. With a shrug, he switched to his chainsaw, but when that was ineffective, he too moved out of her close attacking range. Avec, knocked to the ground from the force of one of his own attacks, wiped at his mouth with his sleeve and grimaced. "We're getting nowhere like this! Is there no way for us to break those damn shields?" He artfully dodged out of the range of an oncoming energy rain, but winced at the pain the movement gave him. He had various cuts and wounds around his body from grazes and perfectly timed energy attacks. Dante dodged as well, and ended up only a few paces away from Avec. He bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing hard and wiping at his forehead with his own sleeve. "I don't know how much more I can take this. It's like hitting a brick wall with a plastic spoon or something!" As if on cue, Max missed his landing from a deflected attack and went rolling through the dirt. He groaned. "Don't worry, boys," breathed Ivy. The girl, who had previously been hanging back from the battle and trying to come up with a plan, had suddenly moved in between them. She dodged perhaps most gracefully of them all, constantly changing directions and twisting her body with all the poise of a ballerina on a stage. Her slim hands glowed with an awesome power that was both opaque and translucent; as she twirled between each of the men, lightly feeling their hands and their weapons, some of the light transferred from her open palms to that which she touched. In the blink of an eye, the colorless lights changed to wisps of bright elements. Max was gifted with the power of wind; Avec with lightning; and Dante with fire. "I brought out the elements you're all most proficient with," she panted. For the first time, they all realized that Ivy was just as wounded as they were from the rapid firing magic. "From what I can see, she's got a pretty advanced Wall spell up, but with both magic and physical attacks, it should go down easily." She smiled. "I don't think I can do it again, but I know you guys can finish things. Do it for everyone!" With another shake of her hips and a wide flourish of her arms, she gifted all of the warriors with Haste before stepping away and absconding from the battlefield. Dante was the one most affected by her bravery and smiled himself. His heart was aflutter from her smile, as if she had given it solely to him, and he felt that it would always be his. Now the fight wasn't just to beat April - it was to save that smile, so that he could see it again outside of his dreams. "You heard the lady! Let's finish this! YEAAAARGH!" He rushed off, chainsaw roaring with energy and letting off a trail of red energy. Max looked to Avec with a smirk and raised his own blade in a sort of salute. "You heard the man." He ran off without another word. Avec, who ran after the Canidine, could only chuckle to himself. "She can do that now?" The group found that their attacks could break through the barriers April was putting up, and after the initial surprise from both parties, the skirmish intensified. April, gritting her teeth and growling, continued to levitate seemingly carelessly, but was clearly struggling to throw up translucent shields faster than they were being crushed. Dante in particular fought with particular passion, his sweating face drawn taunt with fury. "What is with these mortals," April muttered to herself in frustration, "and battling that which is inevitable? Is the hollow land of their sealed fates that bright that it would blind them to all reason?" As she spoke, her wings arched behind her and she raised her hands to the sky. In response, the rapid-fire drops of energy ceased raining from the sky. Avec looked up at the giant red emblems that were forming while Max and Dante continued to fight. He soon realized this was a mistake. An instant later, the three red emblems let out an insanely fast laser beam of red light. The attacks were easily dodged by Max and Dante, who continued to attack, but Avec was slower to dodge, and the beam caught him on the right shoulder. It singed off all of his sleeve and most of the skin on his arm, sending him screaming to the ground in agony. What was worse was that Driza had been resting on his right shoulder, and as he cradled the burnt bones of his arm that were barely contained in ragged skin, he searched for her burnt corpse, at least, but knew it was futile. April cackled and instantly disappeared from her location before materializing in front of Avec. The man looked up at her with a grimace, and he shook with equal parts pain and paroxysm. She raised a hand to his face and it began to glow with sheer magical power. Although her eyes were shielded, she smiled as if she could see and feel the pain that he did. "Yes," she gasped with joy. "Look at me with those eyes of yours. They see nothing - but now, I will allow them to see everything." "Am I supposed to take that as a way of saying that your eyes see everything?" Avec, despite the situation he was in, let off his trademark toothy smirk. "Because I bet you didn't see this coming." As he spoke, she lowered her hand and her smile faded. The very next instant, her back arched and her hands contorted as she let out a frenzied scream. Synchronized at almost the same time, Max and Dante had leaped through the air and cut off April's largest wings right where they connected to her back, and blood rushed through the air as her limp appendages fell and twitched. Ivy, who had seen the attack coming, began to run forward with knives in her hand, ready to finish April off. As soon as Dante and Max landed on the ground, however, April's hands curled into fists, and her screaming ceased. "I have had enough of you charlatan troglodytes!" In that instant, her entire body began to glow with a golden energy, and as the would-be seraphim reached her hands into the air once again, the energy bursted out from her body in a bright explosion. All four warriors were thrown into the air, all burnt, bloody, and almost unconscious from the attack. Avec, who was hurt the most, passed out seconds after the attacks commenced; the other three were left conscious to scream from the pains. Standing at the center of the blast was April, whose arms now wrapped around herself in a cold embrace. She shivered, wing stumps still bleeding, and finally landed on her feet. "It is time to end this little fantasy," she grimaced. "I tire of those too ignorant to learn when they have been outmatched." She raised her hands a final time towards the four fighters, who had landed a short distance to either side of Cynthia and Taarin, and they began to glow with energy once more. After the rain had ceased and the satellite magic had wounded Avec, Cynthia had let down her Reflect barrier and began focusing all of her energy into her own hands. Her sword was sheathed back at her waist and her wings were widely spread in a fashion that gave her the most concentration. Even as she saw April being gruesomely dewinged and her friends being blown away effortlessly, she continued to focus on her spell with all the power she had left. Sweat began to freely run down her forehead and her arms, but still she persisted. ''Please... Please work!'' Her time for preparation was over, and Cynthia felt a growing mass of magic rushing towards her before she saw it. She knew it, somehow, to be Scathe - one of the strongest destructive magics, meant to completely wipe out a mass of multiple foes. April was serious, committed, and determined to eradicate her enemies - but Cynthia was even more determined to protect her comrades. Tendrils of a mixed white and purple light encircled her as she let loose of the ultimate spell of her own, the absolute strongest magic she knew how to cast. Ultima. Her entire body shook as the spell rushed forward, faster than light, and met with the opposing comet of ethereal power. The clash of two pure white spells deflected all light and warped space around it, turning the area a logic-defying black and erasing the ground beneath it. Whichever side proved dominant would not only attack with all of its might, but would force upon its foe this field of antimatter magic, ensuring its destruction. Cynthia's wings shuddered for a moment, and she faltered. The Ultima spell began to move backwards as well, pushed away by April's Crystal-induced powerful state. She knew, then and there, that this was the crucial moment of the battle, and she had shown weakness. Truly, she could continue to feel the spell slipping more and more towards her. Despair and horror of the highest twisted her stomach and almost completely removed any will she had left to fight. There was no stopping April - the would-be musician was now playing the hymn of the endtimes, and only now had Cynthia begun to hear it. Then she felt Taarin's hand on hers. She looked down at him with a look of concern and incredulity. He flashed an exhausted smile at her before losing consciousness again, and his body went limp. But his hand, still warm and holding tight enough to turn his knuckles white, stayed entwined with hers. She felt all of their feelings together once again, as if his hand was a gateway to the memories and emotions that were locked inside both of their hearts. All of the environments they saw together - every inch of the beautiful world they lived in - all the wonderful people they had befriended and protected - and all the moments they had held each other and loved every moment of it. Cynthia knew, more than ever, that she could not let these die, and that it was up to her to protect everything. The time for her to be cradled had long, long passed. Now, the world was hers to cradle lovingly. Her spell began to edge forward, slowly at first but soon with a fervent energy. She heard nothing and could see nothing but her own battle, fought silently with April. Lights of every color sparked in various directions, terrain and dust flew about in a whirlwind, but all Cynthia saw was April, who was struggling with her own power, now. The ball of black void came closer to her, inching ever nearer to the seraphim, until it was clear that it would eradicate her. April let one hand fall from her magic, and the already slipping battle became even more one-sided, but in the split second before the antimatter was to collide with April and erase her existence, she raised an opaque wall in front of her that looked stronger than any barrier she had yet erected. The darkness met with the barrier, and in another explosion of this time harmless light, the energy was diffused. It broke through her barrier, and although most of it had been blocked or misdirected, enough of it still slammed into the barefoot woman that she was sent flying into the air and Cynthia was repelled to her bottom. Dust and pieces of the earth fell to the ground, her hands were raw and bleeding from the sheer energy she had wielded, and every muscle in her body ached, but Cynthia couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. They had won.