Last Stand

I braced myself for any kind of attack that would follow Fico's charge. Her legs, moving quicker than before, hit a sharp turn at an angle I didn't think possible. From there, she curved from my direction, and into Tavian.

She planted the heel of her foot into Tavian's stomach, grabbed his hair, and then slammed his head into the base of her knee.

Before the impact shot him back, Fico picked him up by his leg and threw him into a nearby wall. I couldn't run... I could only stand still as Fico switched positions, facing toward me.

Dante jumped in front of me with his swords crossed and a wide smile on his face. I could see it from behind him.

"Bring it, Birdie!" Dante screamed out.

Fico clicked her tongue in irritation and charged into him. Dante swung horizontally to engage and caused her to swing back in retreat.

Fico, curving her body off of the base of her palm when she backflipped, kicked toward Dante's jaw.

He absorbed the brunt of the hit with the handle to his saber, let go of it, and pushed forward with a sharpened tip to his saber, in a formation I hadn't seen before.

Dante was changing the composition of his saber, and what shape it took.

The two were going fast in combat. Dante was, by far, the fastest, most proficient fighter when it came to one-on-one combat. He was built for it.

He swung upward, dropped his saber, and curved his body to redirect attacks and dodge slashes altogether. He was an unstoppable force...

Fico was speeding up, moving so fast that the only way Dante could block her attacks is by predicting her movements... and he was doing just that.

Fico swung up, down, left, and right, all in quick succession, and Dante redirected each attack. He was purposefully irritating Fico, and smiling while doing so. A bystander would think Dante was the antagonist.

"Tell me Birdie!" Dante screamed out, clashing together with Fico's claws. They were both held in place, as Fico decided to hear him out.

"I had my wings clipped at a very early stage in my life, I was unable to participate in a very important war I was supposed to win, and ever since, I've been dying to fly! You gave me the wings, you gave me the supports, so tell me, how am I flying?!" He screamed out.

He chipped Fico's claws that sprouted out of her hands, grabbed onto her face with his hands, and stuck his saber through her skull.

"You think that's enough to kill me?" Fico asked, sharpening her claws before slashing at Dante.

"No... but, I'm afraid that I've done all I can," Dante said. He closed his eyes with a light smile, and from behind Fico, a surge of golden and purple strands shot out and cut her in half, right down the middle of her body.

She regenerated it almost as fast as she lost it, and booked it toward the gate, running so fast that I thought she was using her ability to reach the speed of light, or whatever it was.

"Thank God you made it, things were looking grim," Dante said, holding his hand out to the man who cut Fico in half.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. Noboki, are you okay?" Sky asked as the smoke cleared all around him.

"You're... here? Why are... you here?" I asked him, watching nervously as he walked over to me.

"I'm supposed to be watching for Cole to see where he goes, but I saw you were in trouble, so I thought I'd help you," Sky explained.

"You don't... want to... chase her down?" I asked him.

"Oh, I'll catch her, don't you worry," Sky told us, looking toward the gate where she ran.

"Sky, she knows about the Essence Strands... and got a lot more powerful," Tavian muttered, limping up beside him.

Sky put his hand on the left side of my face, and I could feel Golden Strands surge all the way to my wound.

"Huh?" He said out loud, "It's not regenerating... and it's this thick substance again. What the hell is this?" He asked, flinging it off of his hand. It collided with the ground and splatted.

"I got... hit... hard..." I muttered, trying to form a sentence.

"You did great, I'm sorry you sustained this injury, and we'll get it fixed, don't worry. Does anybody need to be healed? Did you guys receive the strands?" Sky asked, looking all around.

"That was you, huh? Fico said she gave them to us... how did you give them to us?" Tavian asked.

Sky held up his left hand, and a sprout of Golden Strands shot out like a blooming flower.

"Zeka died first since I put our strongest people on him. I took his Incarnation with mine and was able to spread strands everywhere to anybody who needed them. All you need is the correct willpower to pull them out, and you can wield them as if it's second nature," He explained.

Damn... when did he get that smart? He thought to kill Zeka first?

"Not bad kid... Ellie was thrown by Fico, and there's a lot going on, but we're okay, and we'll use your Strands. Are you okay? Do you need help with anything?" Tavian asked Sky.

"Go chase Fico, she's getting weaker, and you three are probably all she needs to fall. I'll be taking Moon and Amera to medical after healing them, and you need to retreat if you feel necessary. We're doing good so far... we just need to keep up," Sky said.

There was a look of concern on his face...

I had known it since we first started, but this is a huge accomplishment we're taking on. This isn't a war, this is suicide if we didn't know what we were doing. Our biggest battle yet... one to be remembered until the end of time, and this kid is taking charge of it all.

He's nervous... I have to understand that. I should probably go to medical as well...

"Sky... Noboki has that head injury, but you don't want her to go to medical?" Tavian asked.

"If you aren't feeling up to it, don't fight, but if you are, I'll put more Golden Strands into you. I patched you up for the most part, so your brain isn't exposed anymore," Sky told me. I practiced moving around, and surprisingly, everything was fixed... Golden Strands is an insane thing.

"Got it... I'll... fight..." I said, still unable to talk fast.