01-02-2006, 06:27 AM
A dark veil of smog was all that could be seen in the sky above the smoldering remnants of the central artillery piece. The somber hush that had fallen over the nearby soldiers ended just as soon as it started. Even as Seventeen?s lifeless body escaped the thick cloud of dust and took a plunge down the back of the hill, the demons and angels continued to slaughter one another like cattle. At least by sacrificing his well-being, the machine-hybrid had spurred a cadre of divinities to amass the courage to assault the remaining two tanks.
Yet, the android still plummeted into obscurity without the slightest inclination of sorrow from the seraphs he had been striving so hard to guard and help. As his figure smashed and bounced off of the rock-laden hillside, the cybernetic warrior started to feel his senses dwindle. Screams of demon and angel alike faded into the night sky, and the light from the rising sun was lost to the blurriness that consumed the android?s internal display. Seventeen tried to reach out to halt the painful tumble, but his entire body was starting to numb.
Unable to feel, see, or hear anything, the machine-hybrid gave into the realization and stopped trying to stop himself from falling. Just when it seemed that blackness was going to completely overwhelm him and death was going to release him from the state of helplessness he was in, Android Seventeen hit the bottom of the incline. As he rolled forward for a few more feet, he felt the lack of sensation lift, and he could see clearly once more. After rubbing his eyes, the android?s momentary glee died, and he suddenly got a feeling that he wasn?t on Kala anymore.
Standing up slowly and using the avatar?s sword as a cane to support his shaky leg muscles, the android started to scan the horizon. A strong feeling of uneasiness swept over him, because a sky that once been in the process of beautifully transforming due to the rising sun was now completely gray. Beneath Seventeen?s feet, the ground was black as coal, and looking forward, he noticed that the sky and earth melded into one another in the distance. On top of that, the black wasteland seemed to stretch to the end of time.
Something triggered a cold shiver that cascaded down the android?s back, and valiant as ever, Android Seventeen immediately spun around to face whatever was there. Gasping, the machine-hybrid noticed that the tall incline he had fallen down was flat as ever. Not only that, what should have been a field rich with carnage was silent and vacant. Realizing he truly was no longer on the forsaken asteroid, Seventeen started to feel a bit queasy. He grasped that if he was no longer on the rim of the battlefield, something terrible must have happened. He knew that either he had lost conscious long enough that the armies of Satan had triumphed and cast the planetoid into darkness, or he must have perished and gone to the afterlife.
I am afraid you are not entirely correct, mortal. The voice in Seventeen?s mind wasn?t the warm, soothing words of his guardian angel, Paige that usually lifted his hopes. They were cold, lifeless, and echoed long after the speaker had finished his statement. Squinting, the panicky android noticed a shifting blur amidst the incoherent scope of black on the horizon. Gliding across the ebony terrain, the figure, light gray so that he stood out among the black backdrop, soon came into perspective, and for the cybernetic warrior, it only dampened his hope and added to his already heightened alarm. The figure?s face was shrouded beneath a giant, black hood that became a cape draped around his shoulders. Concealing his entire body down to his knees, the cloak had a single slit where the visitor?s left arm could be clearly seen. Beneath where the cloak terminated, two obsidian boots coated the length of the creature?s legs and feet. After coming to a halt, the floating apparition flexed his gloved fingers, and by the soft movements of his body, seemed to snicker at the uninformed android.
?Who are you, and where the hell am I?? The raven-haired warrior cried frantically, trying in vain to conceal his swelling fright from the strange figure. After a short period of silence, the cloaked individual pointed towards the ground behind the android and spoke.
?You mean you failed to notice?? The voice of the hovering apparition was the same that had invaded the machine-hybrid?s mind moments earlier. Seventeen, betraying his overpowering feeling of dread, turned around and stared at the ground behind him that the figure had indicated. In some sort of bizarre paradox, lying inert and in a tangled mess, was the android. Succumbing to the insanity of the situation, Android Seventeen dropped to his knees and reached out to touch the representation of himself.
Yet, as hard as he tried, his fingers passed straight through the crumpled mass. What terrified the android the most was that this lifeless version of himself was as gray as the specter, and upon closer examination, the machine-hybrid realized that he was the only thing in the entire realm with color. Even worse, Seventeen noticed that the tips of his fingers were starting to lose their tone and were turning into the same lifeless gray as the inert representation in front of him.
?I?m dead?? The android muttered as he tried in vain to touch his lifeless form?s gray forearm with his still-vibrant fingers. From behind him, he could hear the hooded apparition continued to ridicule him. Swallowing down his dread, Seventeen rose from his knees and turned to face the horrific beast. As he fell deeper into fear and disbelief, the machine-hybrid let his legs carry him towards the cloaked figure in an explosion of abhorrence and ire. Yet, the composed, unruffled apparition seemed to only laugh at the bundle of unmanageable emotion his guest had been reduced to. Stepping to the side, the phantasm raised its visible hand, and in a flash of black flames, an onyx cutlass appeared in his gloved fingers. The sudden manifestation of the sword brought Android Seventeen?s emotional gambit to a screeching halt.
?You haven?t the slightest clue where you are, do you?? The machine-hybrid was too busy looking at the edge of the blade, which had stopped a few centimeters in front of his Adam?s apple. Turning his gaze back to the apparition, Seventeen was taken aback by the creature?s unveiled face. Shadows still concealed most of the figure?s gray, aged face, but these were from a black tricorne hat that the specter wore atop his cranium. Besides the odd choice of headgear, the only thing that stood out was the mask that the ghoul wore over the left half of his face.
Only covering from the left half of his nose to the left half of the back of his head, and simply stretching from the bottom of his hat down to where his mouth was, the ivory mask seemed eerie and out of place in such a drab, gray and black world. Furthermore, the mask had no hole for an eye, only a grove shaped like an eye socket. Seventeen took a few steps back, triggering the figure to lower his cutlass and resume his snicker.
?What the hell is this place?? The android said with a noticeably quiver to his voice. After allowing his weapon to vanish in a burst of black fire, the masked figure smiled for a few moments before bothering to give his frantic visitor a response.
?You are not in Hell?yet,? the phantasm spoke, sounding a bit saddened by what he had said, ?you are in the void between the mortal coil and the hereafter. Although your body has all but succumbed to its humanity, your soul has yet to yield to its mortality, and thus, you are stranded in this astral realm until your soul finally weakens enough that you can no longer exist outside the next dimension,? Seventeen felt his knees buckling beneath the growing weight the words of the creature bestowed upon him, but he was trying his best to be resolute against whatever situation he was in, no matter how hopeless it seemed.
?So what does that make you?? Android Seventeen asked, weakly trying to stave off the reality that was slowly being force-fed to him. Another grin slowly spread across the specter?s wrinkled countenance, and this time the android could see his yellowed, broken teeth, partially hidden behind his cracked, black lips.
?It makes me a reaper of souls, but it surprises me that you do not remember who I am, human,? the beast spoke, soundly slightly agitated near the end of his statement, ?it was your actions that cursed me to this inhospitable place for the rest of eternity. It was you who marred my mortal body and damned me to inhabit a broken, mutilated corpse for the duration of my torment,? reeling back, the android interjected the ghoul?s tangent.
?I have no idea what you are talking about, nor do I recall who you are,? Seventeen said sheepishly, eying the creature that began to fume in front of him. The comment was what drove the ghoulish figure over the edge and into a state of unabridged abhorrence.
?You fucking piece of trash! I am not the only cursed soul who is glad you were pathetic enough to get yourself trapped in this void. I rule this realm, and now not only do I get to have my revenge for as long as your soul holds out, I get to sate the vengeance of a countless legion of bedeviled souls!? Before he could reply to the intense rant of the reaper, it darted forward and drove its observable fist deep into the android?s chest. Ribs shattered beneath the inhuman strength of the phantasm, and Seventeen felt his feet leave the ground.
He was airborne for merely a few feet, but the landing was anything but graceful; however, adrenaline quickly overrode the terror and dread that was contesting to consume Seventeen?s deteriorating spirit. Rolling forward, the android evaded the heel of the reaper as it tore through the ground he had been laying on moments earlier. Underneath the pressure of what would have been a deathblow, the earth split apart until there was deep, jagged hole where the reaper?s boot had hit.
As he gasped for revitalizing oxygen, the machine-hybrid?s eyes fell upon the sword of the avatar. He had dropped the blade after he nearly ran into the reaper?s blade a few minutes ago. Scooping his hands down, Seventeen closed his hands around the cold steel of the weapon?s hilt and felt a small bit of his insecurity dissipate. With a weak smile, the android stood back up and turned to face his ghoulish adversary. The reaper?s partially decomposed features had gone from seething rage back to what seemed to be an overabundance of arrogance. When he saw the sword the mortal clutched in his bony hands like a security blanket, he started to cackle again.
?You truly think you can kill me?? He asked, with that same, supercilious grin plastered across his corpse-like visage, ?I control this entire realm, and that means until your soul finally runs of out steam, I get to toy with you. You may have heard stories about the horrors of Hell, but just you wait, the torment I am about to put you through is going to make and eternity in the Pit pale in comparison!? Android Seventeen watched the specter slowly raise his visible hand until it was perpendicular with his body. He clenched his fingers together, but before they got close enough to make a first, his cutlass assimilated between them amongst a blaze of ebony. It was a bizarre that such a violent, grotesque ghoul felt the need to incorporate so much flair into everything he did, but Seventeen had only a moment to ponder the thought before the phantasm was upon him. For someone who had to veil his deformed and decomposed appearance beneath such a surplus of garments and accessories, the reaper moved with an unparalleled speed.
His initial reaction towards the swiftness at which the animated corpse moved nearly cost the android his head, but just as the blade was moving down to cleave away his cranium, he managed to swing up his sword to intercept the obsidian cutlass. The two weapons met loudly above their respective owners, and the impact sent small sparks of electricity raining down on android and reaper alike. Seventeen bit his lip and tried to force the reanimated corpse to draw back, but it soon became painfully obvious that the masked beast was as stalwart as he was fast. He shoved his sword forward, sending the cybernetic warrior hobbling backwards in a desperate attempt to regain his equilibrium, yet a last minute idea formulated in the android?s mind as he hobbled. Not content to tolerate a recovery of any sorts, the phantasm glided forward, prepared to cleave his prey in twain, but he failed to distinguish the cruel trickery before it got the best of him.
Android Seventeen dove to the side just as the cutlass ripped apart the air where he had been standing. Bewildered by the quick movement of a seemingly staggered opponent, the specter was unprepared for the swift attack that ensued. Fueled by an immense hate for the startled reaper whose identity he still couldn?t decipher, the machine-hybrid swung his sword at his head. For as shocked as was, the ghoul managed to duck beneath the attack in its final moments, yet he was unable to save his tricorne hat from an untimely demise. As its owner stooped below the blow meant for him, the hat was obliterated by the avatar?s sword. Seventeen swore loudly, but before he could move away, a retaliation strike by the reaper sent him skidding across the course, black earth on his back.
When he finally came to a stop, Seventeen immediately sat up, shook the dizziness away, and glared up at the phantasm. The caped monstrosity was twitching with rage once again. With his hat gone, the machine-hybrid noticed the battered, decayed remnants of what was once a natural helmet around the creature?s scalp. Over the central region was what appeared to be a large jewel that stretched from above the figures eyes and to the back of his inborn headdress; however, the luster of the bizarre genetic anomaly was tainted by cracks and permanent blemishes. Two horns harmonized the remainder of the exposed cranium and served to be the final clue that Seventeen required. What had once been a changeling was now something far greater at the cost of both sanity and body.
Still, the question lingered as to who the reaper had been in life, and almost as if he read the thoughts of the machine-hybrid, the undead fiend cleared his throat and spit a wad of coagulated blood and saliva. Mortified that this creature seemed to be perpetually bleeding and deteriorating, Seventeen was more frightened, however, that all of his fingers had become gray. The android knew he had to destroy the monstrosity before he ran out of time, or he would fail the people of Earth whom he swore to defend from the bio-androids.
You still fail to remember who I was? The reaper?s cold, hateful voice invaded the cybernetic warrior?s mind, triggering a few shivers. Perhaps I need to jog your memory a bit, cretin?
As the words dragged off into infinity, Seventeen felt an outlandish sensation cascade over his boy, and then the ground and sky began to shift and churn into one another. Although the lack of color remained constant, the resulting scenery was very different: the rutted, cracked fields that once emulated the wastelands of the forsaken planetoid were now an indifferent stretch of land, save for a few random rock formations. As he shifted his weight and prepared to leap to his feet, Seventeen was surprised by the strange crunching noises he heard beneath him as he moved. Gazing down, he noticed something he hadn?t initially been able to distinguish--the ground was masked beneath a light layer of snow as monochrome as the sky and earth. The machine-hybrid shoveled up a small handful of the gray snow and let it run through his colorless hands and noticed that fresh snow was falling from the sky as well.
?I'll see you in hell!" The voice, which seemed so familiar to the android, came from behind him, and when he turned around, he was shocked by the scene before him. A few feet away, he could see a fallen changeling, his legs pinned beneath a large chunk of earth and standing beside the trounced lizard humanoid was yet another representation of Seventeen. Even though the tattered military fatigues were a dead giveaway, the android already knew exactly where and when he was during the invasion.
"That's really what you want your last words to be?" the grayed emulation of Seventeen questioned, "a horribly overused clich?? So be it!" A small blast of ki exploded from the representation?s palm and tore its way through the changeling?s right eye. Just as the machine-hybrid reliving the events went to take a seat on the rock that had smashed the freshly dead CIA officer, everything froze. Flakes of obsidian snow paused in midair, the blood pooling from the fallen changeling came to a complete stop, and the historical version of Seventeen paused just as he was moving to sit down. The soul reaper assimilated next to what the android knew was his mortal depiction. He knelt down and carefully ran his uncloaked, gloved hand over his mortal head. Although he couldn?t physically touch the simulation, he seemed intent to imagine he could, and the act itself both bewildered and sorrowed Android Seventeen. When he remember that he had done the same thing earlier when exposed to his mortal form, the android shuddered.
?In life my name was Rime, and I was but a humble officer in the ranks of the Cold Industries Army?? The undead monstrosity spoke as he stood back up. Reaching up to his neck, he grasped the collar of his cape and tore it away in a single, swift motion. As the piece of cloth fell to the earth, weighed down by the heaviness of its thick lapel, the terrain around the two ethereal figures shifted once again. When it hit the shifting floor of the realm, the cape vanished, assimilated into the churning blackness, ?and in death I am nothing. A revenant, cursed to make combating souls accept their mortality and move on to eternal peace, while I myself can never truly be free from my fate. A fate you damned me to when you shattered my legs and splattered my brains across the ground!? Seventeen, after noticing the terrain had returned to the shadowy mimic of Kala, turned to Rime and was taken aback by the what he wore beneath the formless cloak.
The former changeling?s boots that were visible beneath his cape earlier continued up to the top of his pelvic bones, and his chest and abdomen were encased in an ebony material similar to his leg armor. After the reaper removed his gloves so he could crack his knuckles, the machine-hybrid noticed how emaciated his exposed hands and arms were. His gray, sunken flesh did little to shelter his bones underneath them, and the issue that bothered Seventeen the most was how this withered, deteriorating corpse could manifest his immense level of strength and speed. Rime lifted his right arm so that his hand was at the same level and his head, and so his palm was facing the android. With his left hand, he raked his black, cracked fingernails across the sunken tissue above his wrist. Veins and arteries, whose destruction would have quickly been the death of any living being, were severed immediately and began oozing coagulated blood.
Reeling away from the self-mutilation that the former changeling was inflicting upon himself, Seventeen glanced down at the pool of blood forming on the ground. Because of how the realm was dyed, the liquid, which should have been sanguine, was black, and to the passerby, could have been mistaken as dark chocolate syrup. However, much to the mortification of the android, the fluid started to bubble and swell, and then as it bulged upwards, it began to divide into several portions. Each mass that fell away hit the ground with a wet smack and quickly took shape, and within seconds, Seventeen was looking at four vague humanoid creatures. All of the blood-borne constructs promptly began to diversify from each other and take on forms the android found horrifying familiar.
From left to right, the cybernetic warrior easily deduced who each of the aqueous shape-shifters was emulating. Grayed facsimiles of Android Sixteen, Piccolo, Yajirobe, and Kirano were staring lifelessly at the android from their black eyes. Seventeen took another step back, a common precautionary measure he was starting to exercise quite frequently in bleak situations like this.
?You wouldn?t imagine how fun it is to control an entire plane of existence, but yes, let?s see how you fare against these shadows of a few warriors that seem to constantly perpetuate inside your mind,? the reaper spoke as he stepped through the line of immobile monstrosities. Seventeen reached for the bag always tied to his belt and felt nothing. When he realized that his effects had vanished and his boots were almost completely gray, his eyes widened with sheer terror, ?the accessories you seek are on your mortal body, Android Seventeen, you should know that the dead can?t bring anything with them,? just as he was about to submit, the machine-hybrid remembered the weapon that he was clutching in his scrawny fist and smile.
?If I am dead, then why do I still have this?? Seventeen inquired, his sarcastic attitude becoming prevalent for the first time in ages as he twirled the avatar?s sword around like a baton. After flashing the android a smug grin and spitting up another wad of blood and saliva, Rime cracked his neck and motioned for the creatures he had created to attack. As they darted forward, the cybernetic warrior had only enough time to listen to the phantasm?s response before he had to turn tail to avoid the blood-borne constructs.
?You hold the weapon of an avatar, an agent of the afterlife not restricted to the laws and principles of life and death?how I despise loopholes,? Seventeen flipped over the ebony fist of Sixteen as it swung at his face and was surprised when he realized that the liquid duplicates had become, to a degree, dense enough to be a real threat. Sword held high, the android went to carve the automaton?s back apart with the mighty blade, but his attack was halted when the weapon of the samurai Yajirobe decided to interject. However, from the power that it could exert, it became apparent the black fluid replica was physically inferior to the valiant warrior that was its basis.
Although he failed to quickly deal with the Android Sixteen reproduction, gravity aided the machine-hybrid by burying the samurai?s weapon in the ground. With his target momentarily defenseless, Seventeen threw his free palm towards the face of the emotionless construct and let out a primal roar; however, the battle zeal of the cybernetic warrior fizzled out the second he realized nothing manifesting in front of his open palm. Once again, at another all-too inopportune moment, Seventeen was left gawking and wide-eyed. Two namekian fists shattered his daze and sent him soaring through the air like a child?s play thing. When he landed on his right arm, the android was certain he heard something pop out of place, but he was too busy being dumbfounded by what had transpired a few seconds ago.
?You just now realized that you?ve lost the ability to harness you inner energy? You?re body is in a different plane, you idiot!? Rime?s words stung, but the cybernetic warrior knew that he should have realized his earlier. He hadn?t received any assistance from his internal processing unit, nor was he able to sense the ki of any of the monstrosities in the gray void. Too resolute and high on adrenaline to let his lack of supernatural powers diminish his fighting spirit for too long, Seventeen collected himself and took note of his sword lying several yards away. Ignoring the demonic chorus of laughter spewing from the reaper?s mouth and the wave of gray slowly spreading up his legs and arms, the android immediately realized that both the Kirano and Sixteen ?shadows? were advancing rapidly. After eying to immobile clone of Yajirobe walking over to sword, the machine-hybrid deduced his only option.
Just as the duo of blood-borne replicas jumped forward to bury their black, semi-solid boots into the skull of their pray, Android Seventeen made a leap of fate of his own. He dove beneath the kicks of his obsidian opposition and rolled across the ground, traveling the precious few yards he needed to reach his final lifeline. Collecting the sword from the earth, Seventeen swung with as much strength as he could muster, so the edge of his weapon wouldn?t miss its rendezvous with the stomach of the Yajirobe clone.
Shooting off the ground while his sword cleaved through synthetic tissue, the cybernetic warrior made it to his feet at the same moment that the halves of the obsidian duplicate hit the ground. The machine-hybrid pivoted and watched as the bisected construct twitched a few more times before falling still. When the last signs of life vanished, the two parts of the aqueous replica shattered into a million ash-colored particles. It was a neat way for a mindless eidolon to make his leave, but unfortunately for Seventeen, the time he spent enraptured by the pile of ash the creature had become, the remaining facsimiles found the perfect opportunity to strike. Speeding ahead of the other, inferior clones, the Piccolo shadow drove his fist into the arm that his first strike had intended to break. After releasing a high-pitched shriek of agony, Seventeen retaliated, blindly swinging at his attacker.
Instead of cleaving through what was mimicking the namekian, the android was greeted with the massive form of Sixteen?s recreation. With its overwhelming amount of brute force, the imitation drove his armored shoulder through the chest of his smaller target. Just as the wind was being forcefully stolen from his lungs, Seventeen fought through the agony and retaliated with a vengeance. With a well-placed stab, he drove the entire span of his weapon through the replica?s throat. The sword tore apart the artificial android?s next, decapitating it and reducing it to a pile of ash moments later. Retribution, however, cost the android the precious time he needed to alert himself of the others. Another painful punch by the namekian duplicate threw the android to the ground.
Accepting the equilibrium destroying blow as an invitation for a breather, Seventeen quickly started to suck in several lungfuls of air. Nonetheless, it seemed like every breath he took in drained the life from his body, and an action that would normally fill him with the strength and stamina he so desperately needed was going to lead directly to his demise. After glancing over his grayed legs and arms and attempting to ignore the growing terror welling up within him, Seventeen prepared to deal with the remaining clones.
For as prepared that he believed he was, the cybernetic warrior was still taken off guard by the aqueous duo. Four fists punished the android?s face, obliterating most of his facial bones and triggering several, new wounds to open the bloodgates. Unable to cope with a frontal assault, the bewildered machine-hybrid stumbled away from his assailants. Brushing aside his budding fatigue, he forced his battered legs to advance once more. Evading a lethal, jade punch, Seventeen bashed the Piccolo recreation in the jaw with the hilt of the avatar?s sword; however, as a spun to face his other adversary, he was upstaged by the Kirano replica. With a dazzling right hook reminiscent of the real blonde-haired warrior, the obsidian duplicate succeeded in sending Android Seventeen back to the black earth.
Kirano?s copy unleashed some type of a war cry, but the sound seemed more like someone furiously gargling water. The drained cybernetic warrior knew that he had to defend himself or he would be killed by the first person to ever befriend him. When he heard the replica?s partially-solid boots kick off the ground, Seventeen brought up the avatar?s sword. Pointing the blade towards the wraith descending upon him, the android watched as the construct inadvertently impaled itself on the blade. Seventeen bit down on his lip, another little habit he had picked up during his stay on Kala. Flailing, the ebony duplicate of Kirano swung his fists as his body started to revert back to its fluid nature. Although only half the sword had impaled the construct, it still had enough space to reach out and claw apart the android?s already scarred, bloodied face.
With an audible groan, Android Seventeen shoved the blade forward, and in doing so, he slowly moved up to a sitting position. The machine-hybrid propelled his weapon in the direction of the copy once more, and with a final, gurgled cry, it detonated, leaving nothing but a faint cloud of ash. Using the sword as a walking stick, the cybernetic warrior leaned on it and tried to brush away the suffering recently inflicted upon him. When he dropped his head down to catch his breath, he noticed something that scared him more then the quartet of the aqueous monstrosities: his chest was completely gray. Grabbing a lock of his hair, the android breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was still jet black. Still, Seventeen understood that he was running out of time, and if he couldn?t do something, his life would be void. Although it stung painfully, the machine-hybrid wiped the fresh blood from his face and prepared for what could be his termination.
?And now your life ends!? Rime?s voice rang out from several yards away, and when he turned to face the phantasm, the android became the victim of another vicious attack from the namekian reproduction. Before he could retaliate, Android Seventeen felt an aqueous fist close around his throat. Dropping the avatar?s sword, the panicking machine-hybrid started to scratch helplessly at the massive forearms, but despite his best efforts, he started to slowly lose consciousness. All he could hear was the laughter of the reaper, and the bubbling snickers of who would become his second murderer for the day. At that time, when nearly all his hope had faded away, Seventeen heard the beast strangling him cry out in anguish. Opening his weary eyes slightly, the cybernetic warrior found the blood-borne construct twitching in agony. As its strength vanished, it released its vice-like grip on the android?s throat.
When he hit the ground, a new wave of adrenaline was triggered at the sight of his savior--Paige. She must have shed her formless robes prior to the battle on Kala, because the whitelighter now wore two, simple pieces of armor. Around her bosom, she modeled a simple band of ivory plating, and the only other protective garment she wore was a short, plated skirt. All the android?s former views of her as being overly feminine where shattered in that instant. The look on her face as she buried her pearly white sword through the spine of the namekian recreation was a new experience of Seventeen, because he had never seen the placid women running of such pure, unadulterated rage.
With the same look of hatred plastered across her delicate features, she ripped her weapon free from the innards of the construct, and a split second later, the final blood-borne clone was nothing but a pile of ash. When her gaze moved to the fallen machine-hybrid, it quickly reverted from hate to compassion. Lowering her bloodstained weapon, she darted forward, her ivory boots lightly clicking across the coal-colored terrain. Reaching her fallen charge, the fiery-haired guardian angel discarded her impressive weapon and immediately went to Seventeen?s aid.
?Paige,? the android gurgled through the grayed blood bubbling over his lips and down the sides of his face, ?I?ve run out of time,? he murmured nearly incoherently. As if to prove his point, he referenced his grayed physique with a weak nod of his head. Paige, fighting against the tears welling up in the pristine pools of brown that were her eyes, placed the machine-hybrid?s head on her lap, gingerly brushing her fingers down his monochrome hair.
?Don?t worry, Leo is on the other side resuscitating you as we speak. You?ll be free from this nightmare momentarily? she said, tears starting to stream down her immaculate visage. Rime, who had been standing a few feet away, took Paige?s revelation without a grain of salt.
?What the fuck are you talking about!? The reaper screamed erratically, ?he?s already dead; there is no escape for him! His soul will be completely absorbed into this realm in a matter of seconds!? Paige had already noticed the color returning to the face of the fallen android. Leaning forward, she delicately planted a kiss on his bloodied, torn cheek, and after a moment of thought, whispered something into his ear.
?I love you,? she spoke before laying the recovering android on the ground and standing up to confront the reaper, ?are you as ignorant as you are ugly?? The guardian angel asked the beast with a smirk. Her voice was filled with a wit she had developed from an overexposure to Seventeen, ?no matter what rhetoric you babble, this mortal will not perish. In a few, brief moments, my mentor will have revived his broken, corporeal form. You lose, and we win,? Paige?s stern words shattered Rime?s fledging composure. After summoning his ebony cutlass, he took a menacing step towards the whitelighter.
?Imbecile,? the reaper spoke as he watched Paige retrieve her weapon, ?here your immortality is null, and a minute is all the time I will require to dispatch both you and your pal over there!? Although he felt his strength returning, Seventeen could do little but watch on with blurry eyes as Paige and Rime locked swords a few feet away from him. Sparks of electricity became the byproduct of the contest between the two warriors and were being thrown all around the battleground. When his vision and other senses returned to their full compatibilities, the cybernetic warrior was instantly stunned by Paige?s swordsmanship. Even her movements and style reflected the pinnacle of elegance that she embodied; however, this realm of shadow was Rime?s canvas, and that was a fact that he soon took cruel advantage of. Android Seventeen saw the shadowy creature sneaking up on the woman he adored, and unable to stand, he screamed a warning without delay.
After she heard the brief warning, Paige parried another one of the former changeling?s attacks, knocking him off balance. She followed up with a high kick to Rime?s face, shattering the white mask he wore over the left half of his face. With a mortified shriek, the reaper spun around and fell to his knees, both his hands quickly shooting up to conceal whatever had been hidden the eerie mask. Twirling around once again, the whitelighter decapitated the beast that had been creeping up on her. Seventeen?s breath of relief was cut short when the demasked Rime let out another earsplitting shriek. The undead monstrosity turned to face his two attackers, and the sight of his uncovered face was enough to sicken even the strongest of stomachs. His death wound--a massive hole, bordered by what had to be years of decay, gave a clear view through his head. The region that had been concealed by the mask was still charred by the fatal blast of ki that had taken Rime?s life.
Unleashing another primal scream, the changeling lobbed his sword towards the fallen android like it was a minute throwing knife. Seventeen tried to get out of the way, but the strength still had not returned to him; however, Paige took it upon herself to save his life once again. In the moments before the lethal projectile would have split his chest apart, the machine-hybrid?s whitelighter leaped into its path. The force at which it was thrown merited the weapon enough power to travel all the way down to its hilt when it tore into Paige?s snow-white skin. The impact of steel against skin unleashed a torrent of blood, and the android had the mortifying pleasure of being dowsed in the blood of his love. By the time she hit the ground, the desecrated guardian angel was nothing but a twitching, ensanguined memory of her former glory. Android Seventeen rushed forward on his hands and knees, ignoring the aches that were still slowly being cured from the mortal realm.
Upon reaching her, the android hugged the dying woman close to him, never wanting to relinquish her. The floodgates behind his eyes gave way, and the machine-hybrid was soon lost in the influx of sobs and tears that overcame him. A soft mutter escaped the blood-glossed lips of the whitelighter, but before the cybernetic warrior could ask her what she had said, Paige exploded into nothing but small orbs of blue and white. Still wrought by the uncontrollable sobbing, Android Seventeen could do nothing but watch the small specs of light fizzle out, and along with them, the last remains of the only person he truly loved. Seventeen stared down at his arms, still cupped as if the frail, broken body was still there, and then he suddenly felt a new sensation flush over his body.
Hate and rage were something the android tried to keep under wraps, but as his strength reached its pinnacle, he knew that the reaper deserved to experience Seventeen?s unadulterated dark side . The machine-hybrid clenched his fists until he could see fresh blood dripping through his clasped fingers. Rime laughed at the trembling android, but the reaper soon noticed his former victim had been completely restored to full vibrancy. Yet, it was the fact that the twitching, black-haired fighter was holding a brilliant, golden sphere of ki in each hand that brought his fun to an immediate end.
?Impossible!? The phantasm shrieked, but before he could react, the formerly expiring machine-hybrid slapped his palms together. As Rime recalled the attack that lead to his death in the first place, his eye widened to take in its painful brilliance. He threw up his withered hands as a final defense, but the power of the Final Flash threw him to the earth and dragged him painfully across the terrain for the duration of its lifespan. When the dust settled and the layer of dust dissipated, Seventeen was already standing above the fallen reaper. In an act of retribution, the android closed his right hand around the neck of the walking corpse. With a swift, violent motion, he tore the monstrosity of the ground and placed him on his feet.
?I will be reincarnated in no time?destroying me will do little to bring her back to life or rescue your soul,? Android Seventeen spit on the deformed face of the former changeling.
?It will be a start,? the machine-hybrid said, clenching the small orb of ki in his free fist until it became the weapon he desired. With a rapid, upward motion, the android cleaved through the reaper?s black heart with the yellow sword. Rime screamed out in agony, and white cracks started to fan out from the ki saber. Seventeen pushed away the sniveling changeling and watched as light because to spill out from the thin cracks originating from where the sword had pierced his heart. Falling to his knees, the dying phantasm was wrought by a fit of uncontrollable spasms that consumed his entire body. The wounds began to hum like florescent lights as they stretched across Rime?s gyrating from. Soon the brilliance became too much to handle, and Seventeen had to shield his eyes with his forearm.
Beneath the powerful humming and the blinding light, the android heard a final shriek, and then Rime ceased to exist. His withered, splintering form?s detonation created a radiance powerful enough to put a super nova to shame. Rime?s painful shrieks of agony persisted long after the side-effects of his death faded away. When he finally dropped down his arm, Seventeen was startled by the sudden change in atmosphere. After rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing straight, the android concluded that he was, in fact, back on the asteroid. Shrieks of dying warriors returned along with his hearing, but it wasn?t the wailing of the dead that brought the machine-hybrid to his knees. It was the reality that the object of his adoration was dead. With Paige gone, the android felt his will to live die as well. Leo suddenly interjected from somewhere behind the cybernetic warrior.
?Seventeen?? It was all the former whitelighter could offer to console the shattered man?s heart. Leo had spent the last few minutes watching his prot?g?e die a horrid death while he could do nothing but look on. Brought off his knees by the man?s words, Seventeen turned and noticed the avatar?s sword in the fallen angel?s hands. Succumbing to his emotions, the android wrenched the weapon away from him. Leo tried to calm down the machine-hybrid, but his soothing words fell on unresponsive ears. Gripping the hilt of the weapon until his knuckles were as white as he could make them, Android Seventeen exploded into the sky. His rage left an admirable impression on the ground in front of Leo--the ex-whitelighter had to leap back to avoid falling into the crater left behind by the cybernetic warrior.
Quickly blazing above the span of the hill, the black-haired fighter?s shoulder?s slumped forward. Seventeen had lost everything to this horrible competition: Paige, Piccolo, and for a while, his mental well-being. Above all that, he was finished dancing around the point, and inside he wanted nothing more then to end the hellish game. He was through watching people die for him, and he was finished getting embroiled in a war that he shouldn?t even be fighting in. Android Seventeen recognized the leader of the demonic forces near the heart of the chaos. He was combating both the archangel Gabriel and the two surviving contestants.
?It?s impossible for you to think you can take on Satan,? Leo said, arriving behind the floating android, ?the leader of Heaven?s army and the two strongest fighters from the competition haven?t been able to slay him yet,? although he was only trying to advice the troubled youth, the former whitelighter?s words were again wasted on an unappreciative audience.
?I don?t care,? Seventeen said, starting at the four warriors, ?I don?t care about anything or anyone. Whether or not my death will be obligatory or not, I am going to see to it that this ends now,? Leo tried once more to talk logically with the android, but Seventeen was gone before he could speak. Holding the avatar?s sword close to his body, the android--physically and emotionally wrecked--made a direct beeline towards the foursome of superpowers. His decision was made, and he was going to see this thing through to the very end. With that final thought, he arrived at the scene, landing with a scream and moving to attack Hell?s general.
OOC: I know it may be long, but I felt justified that I needed to end my tenure in this saga with a bang. So, uh, enjoy.
Yet, the android still plummeted into obscurity without the slightest inclination of sorrow from the seraphs he had been striving so hard to guard and help. As his figure smashed and bounced off of the rock-laden hillside, the cybernetic warrior started to feel his senses dwindle. Screams of demon and angel alike faded into the night sky, and the light from the rising sun was lost to the blurriness that consumed the android?s internal display. Seventeen tried to reach out to halt the painful tumble, but his entire body was starting to numb.
Unable to feel, see, or hear anything, the machine-hybrid gave into the realization and stopped trying to stop himself from falling. Just when it seemed that blackness was going to completely overwhelm him and death was going to release him from the state of helplessness he was in, Android Seventeen hit the bottom of the incline. As he rolled forward for a few more feet, he felt the lack of sensation lift, and he could see clearly once more. After rubbing his eyes, the android?s momentary glee died, and he suddenly got a feeling that he wasn?t on Kala anymore.
Standing up slowly and using the avatar?s sword as a cane to support his shaky leg muscles, the android started to scan the horizon. A strong feeling of uneasiness swept over him, because a sky that once been in the process of beautifully transforming due to the rising sun was now completely gray. Beneath Seventeen?s feet, the ground was black as coal, and looking forward, he noticed that the sky and earth melded into one another in the distance. On top of that, the black wasteland seemed to stretch to the end of time.
Something triggered a cold shiver that cascaded down the android?s back, and valiant as ever, Android Seventeen immediately spun around to face whatever was there. Gasping, the machine-hybrid noticed that the tall incline he had fallen down was flat as ever. Not only that, what should have been a field rich with carnage was silent and vacant. Realizing he truly was no longer on the forsaken asteroid, Seventeen started to feel a bit queasy. He grasped that if he was no longer on the rim of the battlefield, something terrible must have happened. He knew that either he had lost conscious long enough that the armies of Satan had triumphed and cast the planetoid into darkness, or he must have perished and gone to the afterlife.
I am afraid you are not entirely correct, mortal. The voice in Seventeen?s mind wasn?t the warm, soothing words of his guardian angel, Paige that usually lifted his hopes. They were cold, lifeless, and echoed long after the speaker had finished his statement. Squinting, the panicky android noticed a shifting blur amidst the incoherent scope of black on the horizon. Gliding across the ebony terrain, the figure, light gray so that he stood out among the black backdrop, soon came into perspective, and for the cybernetic warrior, it only dampened his hope and added to his already heightened alarm. The figure?s face was shrouded beneath a giant, black hood that became a cape draped around his shoulders. Concealing his entire body down to his knees, the cloak had a single slit where the visitor?s left arm could be clearly seen. Beneath where the cloak terminated, two obsidian boots coated the length of the creature?s legs and feet. After coming to a halt, the floating apparition flexed his gloved fingers, and by the soft movements of his body, seemed to snicker at the uninformed android.
?Who are you, and where the hell am I?? The raven-haired warrior cried frantically, trying in vain to conceal his swelling fright from the strange figure. After a short period of silence, the cloaked individual pointed towards the ground behind the android and spoke.
?You mean you failed to notice?? The voice of the hovering apparition was the same that had invaded the machine-hybrid?s mind moments earlier. Seventeen, betraying his overpowering feeling of dread, turned around and stared at the ground behind him that the figure had indicated. In some sort of bizarre paradox, lying inert and in a tangled mess, was the android. Succumbing to the insanity of the situation, Android Seventeen dropped to his knees and reached out to touch the representation of himself.
Yet, as hard as he tried, his fingers passed straight through the crumpled mass. What terrified the android the most was that this lifeless version of himself was as gray as the specter, and upon closer examination, the machine-hybrid realized that he was the only thing in the entire realm with color. Even worse, Seventeen noticed that the tips of his fingers were starting to lose their tone and were turning into the same lifeless gray as the inert representation in front of him.
?I?m dead?? The android muttered as he tried in vain to touch his lifeless form?s gray forearm with his still-vibrant fingers. From behind him, he could hear the hooded apparition continued to ridicule him. Swallowing down his dread, Seventeen rose from his knees and turned to face the horrific beast. As he fell deeper into fear and disbelief, the machine-hybrid let his legs carry him towards the cloaked figure in an explosion of abhorrence and ire. Yet, the composed, unruffled apparition seemed to only laugh at the bundle of unmanageable emotion his guest had been reduced to. Stepping to the side, the phantasm raised its visible hand, and in a flash of black flames, an onyx cutlass appeared in his gloved fingers. The sudden manifestation of the sword brought Android Seventeen?s emotional gambit to a screeching halt.
?You haven?t the slightest clue where you are, do you?? The machine-hybrid was too busy looking at the edge of the blade, which had stopped a few centimeters in front of his Adam?s apple. Turning his gaze back to the apparition, Seventeen was taken aback by the creature?s unveiled face. Shadows still concealed most of the figure?s gray, aged face, but these were from a black tricorne hat that the specter wore atop his cranium. Besides the odd choice of headgear, the only thing that stood out was the mask that the ghoul wore over the left half of his face.
Only covering from the left half of his nose to the left half of the back of his head, and simply stretching from the bottom of his hat down to where his mouth was, the ivory mask seemed eerie and out of place in such a drab, gray and black world. Furthermore, the mask had no hole for an eye, only a grove shaped like an eye socket. Seventeen took a few steps back, triggering the figure to lower his cutlass and resume his snicker.
?What the hell is this place?? The android said with a noticeably quiver to his voice. After allowing his weapon to vanish in a burst of black fire, the masked figure smiled for a few moments before bothering to give his frantic visitor a response.
?You are not in Hell?yet,? the phantasm spoke, sounding a bit saddened by what he had said, ?you are in the void between the mortal coil and the hereafter. Although your body has all but succumbed to its humanity, your soul has yet to yield to its mortality, and thus, you are stranded in this astral realm until your soul finally weakens enough that you can no longer exist outside the next dimension,? Seventeen felt his knees buckling beneath the growing weight the words of the creature bestowed upon him, but he was trying his best to be resolute against whatever situation he was in, no matter how hopeless it seemed.
?So what does that make you?? Android Seventeen asked, weakly trying to stave off the reality that was slowly being force-fed to him. Another grin slowly spread across the specter?s wrinkled countenance, and this time the android could see his yellowed, broken teeth, partially hidden behind his cracked, black lips.
?It makes me a reaper of souls, but it surprises me that you do not remember who I am, human,? the beast spoke, soundly slightly agitated near the end of his statement, ?it was your actions that cursed me to this inhospitable place for the rest of eternity. It was you who marred my mortal body and damned me to inhabit a broken, mutilated corpse for the duration of my torment,? reeling back, the android interjected the ghoul?s tangent.
?I have no idea what you are talking about, nor do I recall who you are,? Seventeen said sheepishly, eying the creature that began to fume in front of him. The comment was what drove the ghoulish figure over the edge and into a state of unabridged abhorrence.
?You fucking piece of trash! I am not the only cursed soul who is glad you were pathetic enough to get yourself trapped in this void. I rule this realm, and now not only do I get to have my revenge for as long as your soul holds out, I get to sate the vengeance of a countless legion of bedeviled souls!? Before he could reply to the intense rant of the reaper, it darted forward and drove its observable fist deep into the android?s chest. Ribs shattered beneath the inhuman strength of the phantasm, and Seventeen felt his feet leave the ground.
He was airborne for merely a few feet, but the landing was anything but graceful; however, adrenaline quickly overrode the terror and dread that was contesting to consume Seventeen?s deteriorating spirit. Rolling forward, the android evaded the heel of the reaper as it tore through the ground he had been laying on moments earlier. Underneath the pressure of what would have been a deathblow, the earth split apart until there was deep, jagged hole where the reaper?s boot had hit.
As he gasped for revitalizing oxygen, the machine-hybrid?s eyes fell upon the sword of the avatar. He had dropped the blade after he nearly ran into the reaper?s blade a few minutes ago. Scooping his hands down, Seventeen closed his hands around the cold steel of the weapon?s hilt and felt a small bit of his insecurity dissipate. With a weak smile, the android stood back up and turned to face his ghoulish adversary. The reaper?s partially decomposed features had gone from seething rage back to what seemed to be an overabundance of arrogance. When he saw the sword the mortal clutched in his bony hands like a security blanket, he started to cackle again.
?You truly think you can kill me?? He asked, with that same, supercilious grin plastered across his corpse-like visage, ?I control this entire realm, and that means until your soul finally runs of out steam, I get to toy with you. You may have heard stories about the horrors of Hell, but just you wait, the torment I am about to put you through is going to make and eternity in the Pit pale in comparison!? Android Seventeen watched the specter slowly raise his visible hand until it was perpendicular with his body. He clenched his fingers together, but before they got close enough to make a first, his cutlass assimilated between them amongst a blaze of ebony. It was a bizarre that such a violent, grotesque ghoul felt the need to incorporate so much flair into everything he did, but Seventeen had only a moment to ponder the thought before the phantasm was upon him. For someone who had to veil his deformed and decomposed appearance beneath such a surplus of garments and accessories, the reaper moved with an unparalleled speed.
His initial reaction towards the swiftness at which the animated corpse moved nearly cost the android his head, but just as the blade was moving down to cleave away his cranium, he managed to swing up his sword to intercept the obsidian cutlass. The two weapons met loudly above their respective owners, and the impact sent small sparks of electricity raining down on android and reaper alike. Seventeen bit his lip and tried to force the reanimated corpse to draw back, but it soon became painfully obvious that the masked beast was as stalwart as he was fast. He shoved his sword forward, sending the cybernetic warrior hobbling backwards in a desperate attempt to regain his equilibrium, yet a last minute idea formulated in the android?s mind as he hobbled. Not content to tolerate a recovery of any sorts, the phantasm glided forward, prepared to cleave his prey in twain, but he failed to distinguish the cruel trickery before it got the best of him.
Android Seventeen dove to the side just as the cutlass ripped apart the air where he had been standing. Bewildered by the quick movement of a seemingly staggered opponent, the specter was unprepared for the swift attack that ensued. Fueled by an immense hate for the startled reaper whose identity he still couldn?t decipher, the machine-hybrid swung his sword at his head. For as shocked as was, the ghoul managed to duck beneath the attack in its final moments, yet he was unable to save his tricorne hat from an untimely demise. As its owner stooped below the blow meant for him, the hat was obliterated by the avatar?s sword. Seventeen swore loudly, but before he could move away, a retaliation strike by the reaper sent him skidding across the course, black earth on his back.
When he finally came to a stop, Seventeen immediately sat up, shook the dizziness away, and glared up at the phantasm. The caped monstrosity was twitching with rage once again. With his hat gone, the machine-hybrid noticed the battered, decayed remnants of what was once a natural helmet around the creature?s scalp. Over the central region was what appeared to be a large jewel that stretched from above the figures eyes and to the back of his inborn headdress; however, the luster of the bizarre genetic anomaly was tainted by cracks and permanent blemishes. Two horns harmonized the remainder of the exposed cranium and served to be the final clue that Seventeen required. What had once been a changeling was now something far greater at the cost of both sanity and body.
Still, the question lingered as to who the reaper had been in life, and almost as if he read the thoughts of the machine-hybrid, the undead fiend cleared his throat and spit a wad of coagulated blood and saliva. Mortified that this creature seemed to be perpetually bleeding and deteriorating, Seventeen was more frightened, however, that all of his fingers had become gray. The android knew he had to destroy the monstrosity before he ran out of time, or he would fail the people of Earth whom he swore to defend from the bio-androids.
You still fail to remember who I was? The reaper?s cold, hateful voice invaded the cybernetic warrior?s mind, triggering a few shivers. Perhaps I need to jog your memory a bit, cretin?
As the words dragged off into infinity, Seventeen felt an outlandish sensation cascade over his boy, and then the ground and sky began to shift and churn into one another. Although the lack of color remained constant, the resulting scenery was very different: the rutted, cracked fields that once emulated the wastelands of the forsaken planetoid were now an indifferent stretch of land, save for a few random rock formations. As he shifted his weight and prepared to leap to his feet, Seventeen was surprised by the strange crunching noises he heard beneath him as he moved. Gazing down, he noticed something he hadn?t initially been able to distinguish--the ground was masked beneath a light layer of snow as monochrome as the sky and earth. The machine-hybrid shoveled up a small handful of the gray snow and let it run through his colorless hands and noticed that fresh snow was falling from the sky as well.
?I'll see you in hell!" The voice, which seemed so familiar to the android, came from behind him, and when he turned around, he was shocked by the scene before him. A few feet away, he could see a fallen changeling, his legs pinned beneath a large chunk of earth and standing beside the trounced lizard humanoid was yet another representation of Seventeen. Even though the tattered military fatigues were a dead giveaway, the android already knew exactly where and when he was during the invasion.
"That's really what you want your last words to be?" the grayed emulation of Seventeen questioned, "a horribly overused clich?? So be it!" A small blast of ki exploded from the representation?s palm and tore its way through the changeling?s right eye. Just as the machine-hybrid reliving the events went to take a seat on the rock that had smashed the freshly dead CIA officer, everything froze. Flakes of obsidian snow paused in midair, the blood pooling from the fallen changeling came to a complete stop, and the historical version of Seventeen paused just as he was moving to sit down. The soul reaper assimilated next to what the android knew was his mortal depiction. He knelt down and carefully ran his uncloaked, gloved hand over his mortal head. Although he couldn?t physically touch the simulation, he seemed intent to imagine he could, and the act itself both bewildered and sorrowed Android Seventeen. When he remember that he had done the same thing earlier when exposed to his mortal form, the android shuddered.
?In life my name was Rime, and I was but a humble officer in the ranks of the Cold Industries Army?? The undead monstrosity spoke as he stood back up. Reaching up to his neck, he grasped the collar of his cape and tore it away in a single, swift motion. As the piece of cloth fell to the earth, weighed down by the heaviness of its thick lapel, the terrain around the two ethereal figures shifted once again. When it hit the shifting floor of the realm, the cape vanished, assimilated into the churning blackness, ?and in death I am nothing. A revenant, cursed to make combating souls accept their mortality and move on to eternal peace, while I myself can never truly be free from my fate. A fate you damned me to when you shattered my legs and splattered my brains across the ground!? Seventeen, after noticing the terrain had returned to the shadowy mimic of Kala, turned to Rime and was taken aback by the what he wore beneath the formless cloak.
The former changeling?s boots that were visible beneath his cape earlier continued up to the top of his pelvic bones, and his chest and abdomen were encased in an ebony material similar to his leg armor. After the reaper removed his gloves so he could crack his knuckles, the machine-hybrid noticed how emaciated his exposed hands and arms were. His gray, sunken flesh did little to shelter his bones underneath them, and the issue that bothered Seventeen the most was how this withered, deteriorating corpse could manifest his immense level of strength and speed. Rime lifted his right arm so that his hand was at the same level and his head, and so his palm was facing the android. With his left hand, he raked his black, cracked fingernails across the sunken tissue above his wrist. Veins and arteries, whose destruction would have quickly been the death of any living being, were severed immediately and began oozing coagulated blood.
Reeling away from the self-mutilation that the former changeling was inflicting upon himself, Seventeen glanced down at the pool of blood forming on the ground. Because of how the realm was dyed, the liquid, which should have been sanguine, was black, and to the passerby, could have been mistaken as dark chocolate syrup. However, much to the mortification of the android, the fluid started to bubble and swell, and then as it bulged upwards, it began to divide into several portions. Each mass that fell away hit the ground with a wet smack and quickly took shape, and within seconds, Seventeen was looking at four vague humanoid creatures. All of the blood-borne constructs promptly began to diversify from each other and take on forms the android found horrifying familiar.
From left to right, the cybernetic warrior easily deduced who each of the aqueous shape-shifters was emulating. Grayed facsimiles of Android Sixteen, Piccolo, Yajirobe, and Kirano were staring lifelessly at the android from their black eyes. Seventeen took another step back, a common precautionary measure he was starting to exercise quite frequently in bleak situations like this.
?You wouldn?t imagine how fun it is to control an entire plane of existence, but yes, let?s see how you fare against these shadows of a few warriors that seem to constantly perpetuate inside your mind,? the reaper spoke as he stepped through the line of immobile monstrosities. Seventeen reached for the bag always tied to his belt and felt nothing. When he realized that his effects had vanished and his boots were almost completely gray, his eyes widened with sheer terror, ?the accessories you seek are on your mortal body, Android Seventeen, you should know that the dead can?t bring anything with them,? just as he was about to submit, the machine-hybrid remembered the weapon that he was clutching in his scrawny fist and smile.
?If I am dead, then why do I still have this?? Seventeen inquired, his sarcastic attitude becoming prevalent for the first time in ages as he twirled the avatar?s sword around like a baton. After flashing the android a smug grin and spitting up another wad of blood and saliva, Rime cracked his neck and motioned for the creatures he had created to attack. As they darted forward, the cybernetic warrior had only enough time to listen to the phantasm?s response before he had to turn tail to avoid the blood-borne constructs.
?You hold the weapon of an avatar, an agent of the afterlife not restricted to the laws and principles of life and death?how I despise loopholes,? Seventeen flipped over the ebony fist of Sixteen as it swung at his face and was surprised when he realized that the liquid duplicates had become, to a degree, dense enough to be a real threat. Sword held high, the android went to carve the automaton?s back apart with the mighty blade, but his attack was halted when the weapon of the samurai Yajirobe decided to interject. However, from the power that it could exert, it became apparent the black fluid replica was physically inferior to the valiant warrior that was its basis.
Although he failed to quickly deal with the Android Sixteen reproduction, gravity aided the machine-hybrid by burying the samurai?s weapon in the ground. With his target momentarily defenseless, Seventeen threw his free palm towards the face of the emotionless construct and let out a primal roar; however, the battle zeal of the cybernetic warrior fizzled out the second he realized nothing manifesting in front of his open palm. Once again, at another all-too inopportune moment, Seventeen was left gawking and wide-eyed. Two namekian fists shattered his daze and sent him soaring through the air like a child?s play thing. When he landed on his right arm, the android was certain he heard something pop out of place, but he was too busy being dumbfounded by what had transpired a few seconds ago.
?You just now realized that you?ve lost the ability to harness you inner energy? You?re body is in a different plane, you idiot!? Rime?s words stung, but the cybernetic warrior knew that he should have realized his earlier. He hadn?t received any assistance from his internal processing unit, nor was he able to sense the ki of any of the monstrosities in the gray void. Too resolute and high on adrenaline to let his lack of supernatural powers diminish his fighting spirit for too long, Seventeen collected himself and took note of his sword lying several yards away. Ignoring the demonic chorus of laughter spewing from the reaper?s mouth and the wave of gray slowly spreading up his legs and arms, the android immediately realized that both the Kirano and Sixteen ?shadows? were advancing rapidly. After eying to immobile clone of Yajirobe walking over to sword, the machine-hybrid deduced his only option.
Just as the duo of blood-borne replicas jumped forward to bury their black, semi-solid boots into the skull of their pray, Android Seventeen made a leap of fate of his own. He dove beneath the kicks of his obsidian opposition and rolled across the ground, traveling the precious few yards he needed to reach his final lifeline. Collecting the sword from the earth, Seventeen swung with as much strength as he could muster, so the edge of his weapon wouldn?t miss its rendezvous with the stomach of the Yajirobe clone.
Shooting off the ground while his sword cleaved through synthetic tissue, the cybernetic warrior made it to his feet at the same moment that the halves of the obsidian duplicate hit the ground. The machine-hybrid pivoted and watched as the bisected construct twitched a few more times before falling still. When the last signs of life vanished, the two parts of the aqueous replica shattered into a million ash-colored particles. It was a neat way for a mindless eidolon to make his leave, but unfortunately for Seventeen, the time he spent enraptured by the pile of ash the creature had become, the remaining facsimiles found the perfect opportunity to strike. Speeding ahead of the other, inferior clones, the Piccolo shadow drove his fist into the arm that his first strike had intended to break. After releasing a high-pitched shriek of agony, Seventeen retaliated, blindly swinging at his attacker.
Instead of cleaving through what was mimicking the namekian, the android was greeted with the massive form of Sixteen?s recreation. With its overwhelming amount of brute force, the imitation drove his armored shoulder through the chest of his smaller target. Just as the wind was being forcefully stolen from his lungs, Seventeen fought through the agony and retaliated with a vengeance. With a well-placed stab, he drove the entire span of his weapon through the replica?s throat. The sword tore apart the artificial android?s next, decapitating it and reducing it to a pile of ash moments later. Retribution, however, cost the android the precious time he needed to alert himself of the others. Another painful punch by the namekian duplicate threw the android to the ground.
Accepting the equilibrium destroying blow as an invitation for a breather, Seventeen quickly started to suck in several lungfuls of air. Nonetheless, it seemed like every breath he took in drained the life from his body, and an action that would normally fill him with the strength and stamina he so desperately needed was going to lead directly to his demise. After glancing over his grayed legs and arms and attempting to ignore the growing terror welling up within him, Seventeen prepared to deal with the remaining clones.
For as prepared that he believed he was, the cybernetic warrior was still taken off guard by the aqueous duo. Four fists punished the android?s face, obliterating most of his facial bones and triggering several, new wounds to open the bloodgates. Unable to cope with a frontal assault, the bewildered machine-hybrid stumbled away from his assailants. Brushing aside his budding fatigue, he forced his battered legs to advance once more. Evading a lethal, jade punch, Seventeen bashed the Piccolo recreation in the jaw with the hilt of the avatar?s sword; however, as a spun to face his other adversary, he was upstaged by the Kirano replica. With a dazzling right hook reminiscent of the real blonde-haired warrior, the obsidian duplicate succeeded in sending Android Seventeen back to the black earth.
Kirano?s copy unleashed some type of a war cry, but the sound seemed more like someone furiously gargling water. The drained cybernetic warrior knew that he had to defend himself or he would be killed by the first person to ever befriend him. When he heard the replica?s partially-solid boots kick off the ground, Seventeen brought up the avatar?s sword. Pointing the blade towards the wraith descending upon him, the android watched as the construct inadvertently impaled itself on the blade. Seventeen bit down on his lip, another little habit he had picked up during his stay on Kala. Flailing, the ebony duplicate of Kirano swung his fists as his body started to revert back to its fluid nature. Although only half the sword had impaled the construct, it still had enough space to reach out and claw apart the android?s already scarred, bloodied face.
With an audible groan, Android Seventeen shoved the blade forward, and in doing so, he slowly moved up to a sitting position. The machine-hybrid propelled his weapon in the direction of the copy once more, and with a final, gurgled cry, it detonated, leaving nothing but a faint cloud of ash. Using the sword as a walking stick, the cybernetic warrior leaned on it and tried to brush away the suffering recently inflicted upon him. When he dropped his head down to catch his breath, he noticed something that scared him more then the quartet of the aqueous monstrosities: his chest was completely gray. Grabbing a lock of his hair, the android breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was still jet black. Still, Seventeen understood that he was running out of time, and if he couldn?t do something, his life would be void. Although it stung painfully, the machine-hybrid wiped the fresh blood from his face and prepared for what could be his termination.
?And now your life ends!? Rime?s voice rang out from several yards away, and when he turned to face the phantasm, the android became the victim of another vicious attack from the namekian reproduction. Before he could retaliate, Android Seventeen felt an aqueous fist close around his throat. Dropping the avatar?s sword, the panicking machine-hybrid started to scratch helplessly at the massive forearms, but despite his best efforts, he started to slowly lose consciousness. All he could hear was the laughter of the reaper, and the bubbling snickers of who would become his second murderer for the day. At that time, when nearly all his hope had faded away, Seventeen heard the beast strangling him cry out in anguish. Opening his weary eyes slightly, the cybernetic warrior found the blood-borne construct twitching in agony. As its strength vanished, it released its vice-like grip on the android?s throat.
When he hit the ground, a new wave of adrenaline was triggered at the sight of his savior--Paige. She must have shed her formless robes prior to the battle on Kala, because the whitelighter now wore two, simple pieces of armor. Around her bosom, she modeled a simple band of ivory plating, and the only other protective garment she wore was a short, plated skirt. All the android?s former views of her as being overly feminine where shattered in that instant. The look on her face as she buried her pearly white sword through the spine of the namekian recreation was a new experience of Seventeen, because he had never seen the placid women running of such pure, unadulterated rage.
With the same look of hatred plastered across her delicate features, she ripped her weapon free from the innards of the construct, and a split second later, the final blood-borne clone was nothing but a pile of ash. When her gaze moved to the fallen machine-hybrid, it quickly reverted from hate to compassion. Lowering her bloodstained weapon, she darted forward, her ivory boots lightly clicking across the coal-colored terrain. Reaching her fallen charge, the fiery-haired guardian angel discarded her impressive weapon and immediately went to Seventeen?s aid.
?Paige,? the android gurgled through the grayed blood bubbling over his lips and down the sides of his face, ?I?ve run out of time,? he murmured nearly incoherently. As if to prove his point, he referenced his grayed physique with a weak nod of his head. Paige, fighting against the tears welling up in the pristine pools of brown that were her eyes, placed the machine-hybrid?s head on her lap, gingerly brushing her fingers down his monochrome hair.
?Don?t worry, Leo is on the other side resuscitating you as we speak. You?ll be free from this nightmare momentarily? she said, tears starting to stream down her immaculate visage. Rime, who had been standing a few feet away, took Paige?s revelation without a grain of salt.
?What the fuck are you talking about!? The reaper screamed erratically, ?he?s already dead; there is no escape for him! His soul will be completely absorbed into this realm in a matter of seconds!? Paige had already noticed the color returning to the face of the fallen android. Leaning forward, she delicately planted a kiss on his bloodied, torn cheek, and after a moment of thought, whispered something into his ear.
?I love you,? she spoke before laying the recovering android on the ground and standing up to confront the reaper, ?are you as ignorant as you are ugly?? The guardian angel asked the beast with a smirk. Her voice was filled with a wit she had developed from an overexposure to Seventeen, ?no matter what rhetoric you babble, this mortal will not perish. In a few, brief moments, my mentor will have revived his broken, corporeal form. You lose, and we win,? Paige?s stern words shattered Rime?s fledging composure. After summoning his ebony cutlass, he took a menacing step towards the whitelighter.
?Imbecile,? the reaper spoke as he watched Paige retrieve her weapon, ?here your immortality is null, and a minute is all the time I will require to dispatch both you and your pal over there!? Although he felt his strength returning, Seventeen could do little but watch on with blurry eyes as Paige and Rime locked swords a few feet away from him. Sparks of electricity became the byproduct of the contest between the two warriors and were being thrown all around the battleground. When his vision and other senses returned to their full compatibilities, the cybernetic warrior was instantly stunned by Paige?s swordsmanship. Even her movements and style reflected the pinnacle of elegance that she embodied; however, this realm of shadow was Rime?s canvas, and that was a fact that he soon took cruel advantage of. Android Seventeen saw the shadowy creature sneaking up on the woman he adored, and unable to stand, he screamed a warning without delay.
After she heard the brief warning, Paige parried another one of the former changeling?s attacks, knocking him off balance. She followed up with a high kick to Rime?s face, shattering the white mask he wore over the left half of his face. With a mortified shriek, the reaper spun around and fell to his knees, both his hands quickly shooting up to conceal whatever had been hidden the eerie mask. Twirling around once again, the whitelighter decapitated the beast that had been creeping up on her. Seventeen?s breath of relief was cut short when the demasked Rime let out another earsplitting shriek. The undead monstrosity turned to face his two attackers, and the sight of his uncovered face was enough to sicken even the strongest of stomachs. His death wound--a massive hole, bordered by what had to be years of decay, gave a clear view through his head. The region that had been concealed by the mask was still charred by the fatal blast of ki that had taken Rime?s life.
Unleashing another primal scream, the changeling lobbed his sword towards the fallen android like it was a minute throwing knife. Seventeen tried to get out of the way, but the strength still had not returned to him; however, Paige took it upon herself to save his life once again. In the moments before the lethal projectile would have split his chest apart, the machine-hybrid?s whitelighter leaped into its path. The force at which it was thrown merited the weapon enough power to travel all the way down to its hilt when it tore into Paige?s snow-white skin. The impact of steel against skin unleashed a torrent of blood, and the android had the mortifying pleasure of being dowsed in the blood of his love. By the time she hit the ground, the desecrated guardian angel was nothing but a twitching, ensanguined memory of her former glory. Android Seventeen rushed forward on his hands and knees, ignoring the aches that were still slowly being cured from the mortal realm.
Upon reaching her, the android hugged the dying woman close to him, never wanting to relinquish her. The floodgates behind his eyes gave way, and the machine-hybrid was soon lost in the influx of sobs and tears that overcame him. A soft mutter escaped the blood-glossed lips of the whitelighter, but before the cybernetic warrior could ask her what she had said, Paige exploded into nothing but small orbs of blue and white. Still wrought by the uncontrollable sobbing, Android Seventeen could do nothing but watch the small specs of light fizzle out, and along with them, the last remains of the only person he truly loved. Seventeen stared down at his arms, still cupped as if the frail, broken body was still there, and then he suddenly felt a new sensation flush over his body.
Hate and rage were something the android tried to keep under wraps, but as his strength reached its pinnacle, he knew that the reaper deserved to experience Seventeen?s unadulterated dark side . The machine-hybrid clenched his fists until he could see fresh blood dripping through his clasped fingers. Rime laughed at the trembling android, but the reaper soon noticed his former victim had been completely restored to full vibrancy. Yet, it was the fact that the twitching, black-haired fighter was holding a brilliant, golden sphere of ki in each hand that brought his fun to an immediate end.
?Impossible!? The phantasm shrieked, but before he could react, the formerly expiring machine-hybrid slapped his palms together. As Rime recalled the attack that lead to his death in the first place, his eye widened to take in its painful brilliance. He threw up his withered hands as a final defense, but the power of the Final Flash threw him to the earth and dragged him painfully across the terrain for the duration of its lifespan. When the dust settled and the layer of dust dissipated, Seventeen was already standing above the fallen reaper. In an act of retribution, the android closed his right hand around the neck of the walking corpse. With a swift, violent motion, he tore the monstrosity of the ground and placed him on his feet.
?I will be reincarnated in no time?destroying me will do little to bring her back to life or rescue your soul,? Android Seventeen spit on the deformed face of the former changeling.
?It will be a start,? the machine-hybrid said, clenching the small orb of ki in his free fist until it became the weapon he desired. With a rapid, upward motion, the android cleaved through the reaper?s black heart with the yellow sword. Rime screamed out in agony, and white cracks started to fan out from the ki saber. Seventeen pushed away the sniveling changeling and watched as light because to spill out from the thin cracks originating from where the sword had pierced his heart. Falling to his knees, the dying phantasm was wrought by a fit of uncontrollable spasms that consumed his entire body. The wounds began to hum like florescent lights as they stretched across Rime?s gyrating from. Soon the brilliance became too much to handle, and Seventeen had to shield his eyes with his forearm.
Beneath the powerful humming and the blinding light, the android heard a final shriek, and then Rime ceased to exist. His withered, splintering form?s detonation created a radiance powerful enough to put a super nova to shame. Rime?s painful shrieks of agony persisted long after the side-effects of his death faded away. When he finally dropped down his arm, Seventeen was startled by the sudden change in atmosphere. After rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing straight, the android concluded that he was, in fact, back on the asteroid. Shrieks of dying warriors returned along with his hearing, but it wasn?t the wailing of the dead that brought the machine-hybrid to his knees. It was the reality that the object of his adoration was dead. With Paige gone, the android felt his will to live die as well. Leo suddenly interjected from somewhere behind the cybernetic warrior.
?Seventeen?? It was all the former whitelighter could offer to console the shattered man?s heart. Leo had spent the last few minutes watching his prot?g?e die a horrid death while he could do nothing but look on. Brought off his knees by the man?s words, Seventeen turned and noticed the avatar?s sword in the fallen angel?s hands. Succumbing to his emotions, the android wrenched the weapon away from him. Leo tried to calm down the machine-hybrid, but his soothing words fell on unresponsive ears. Gripping the hilt of the weapon until his knuckles were as white as he could make them, Android Seventeen exploded into the sky. His rage left an admirable impression on the ground in front of Leo--the ex-whitelighter had to leap back to avoid falling into the crater left behind by the cybernetic warrior.
Quickly blazing above the span of the hill, the black-haired fighter?s shoulder?s slumped forward. Seventeen had lost everything to this horrible competition: Paige, Piccolo, and for a while, his mental well-being. Above all that, he was finished dancing around the point, and inside he wanted nothing more then to end the hellish game. He was through watching people die for him, and he was finished getting embroiled in a war that he shouldn?t even be fighting in. Android Seventeen recognized the leader of the demonic forces near the heart of the chaos. He was combating both the archangel Gabriel and the two surviving contestants.
?It?s impossible for you to think you can take on Satan,? Leo said, arriving behind the floating android, ?the leader of Heaven?s army and the two strongest fighters from the competition haven?t been able to slay him yet,? although he was only trying to advice the troubled youth, the former whitelighter?s words were again wasted on an unappreciative audience.
?I don?t care,? Seventeen said, starting at the four warriors, ?I don?t care about anything or anyone. Whether or not my death will be obligatory or not, I am going to see to it that this ends now,? Leo tried once more to talk logically with the android, but Seventeen was gone before he could speak. Holding the avatar?s sword close to his body, the android--physically and emotionally wrecked--made a direct beeline towards the foursome of superpowers. His decision was made, and he was going to see this thing through to the very end. With that final thought, he arrived at the scene, landing with a scream and moving to attack Hell?s general.
OOC: I know it may be long, but I felt justified that I needed to end my tenure in this saga with a bang. So, uh, enjoy.
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