Prizmatic Hope #6: The Shining Brave!

"Nicole, that thing isn't finished yet. You can't use that yet! Please!"

"I'm sorry Doc, but I must do what I must do.

"Nicole, wait! I don't want that thing to cost your life or anything! Please.. stop!"

Disregarding Rachel's pleads, the large Scotswoman continued her hunt for the Deviant scum who killed three of her friends. She fought him before twice back in the past, and the timing was ripe for her this time. Zaphiel has been cornered in Polaris Sanctuary ever since the security system was turned back on thanks to Marika and Irene's cooperation and his cronies, Bongo and Althea has met their untimely fates from their failure to capture Gabbie and send her to Valhalla for experimentation purposes and to get rid of Daiki, who has been protecting Gabbie as of recent, despite the Canadian girl's negative feelings towards the swordsman.

"Zaphiel, it's time we settle this once and 'fer all" said Nicole aggressively. She then went to Polaris via bullet train from Yokohama to Sapporo before continuing to Polaris via bus. Meanwhile back in Polaris, Daiki decided to look after Gabbie as he still wanted to win the blonde martial artist's heart. He wanted a sidekick and someone to love, as he was very lonely and lost everything to the Revenant back in Afilia.

"I'm glad she's recovering. However, she won't be able to fight for a while so I have to watch over her" said Daiki.

"I put my trust in you. You saved my younger sister twice, and I feel that you're going to win her heart soon. Your loneliess will come to an end eventually!" said Amy.

Daiki was relieved to hear that, yet he doubted Amy's words because the last time he saved her younger sister, he was rejected again even after he slain Bongo and his Deviants all by himself. He almost risked his own life as he was curb-stomped by the trio of Deviants that Bongo summoned, until the Freezeburn Enestal saved his life and helped him in defeating the Deviant trio and Bongo himself. Meanwhile, Gabbie was exercising in her room, stretching her arms to get her fighting spirit back after she was defeated by Zaphiel.

"Come on, you can't be like this all the time. You do realize that you'll need someone by your side to fight against those wretched beings, right?" asked Daiki.

"Hmph…" sighed Gabbie as she gave the swordsman the cold shoulder again.

"This isn't gonna work. Looks like I'll have to talk with ma sœur face to face. You still remember what happened back in, what was that place again? Oh yeah, Afilia. You still remember those, right?" asked Daiki.

"Mhm" answered Daiki. He then retold his dark past to Amy. She then went to Gabbie to talk her out of her cold yet competitive personality.

"Écoute, ma sœur. This person helped you a lot since the time we ended up here. Not only that, this person lost everything that meant a lot to him. His home kingdom, his people, his family, his mentor and also his beloved one. He came here because he needed a new land to live in and a new person to love and to fight alongside as a sidekick. You don't want to leave his broken heart unmended, because if you do, you're not a kind younger sister. You're nothing but a selfish jerk who thinks about winning and fighting, and nothing else!" said Amy.

Upon hearing that, Gabbie was shocked. Tears dripped from the blonde girl's water blue eyes as she could not imagine the loss that Daiki faced back in the past. Images of Afilia's ruination flashed into her mind. Euphemia losing her life to the Fallen Ones horde, Ken Enomoto losing his life next and the deaths of Daiki's parents and sister. She then stopped exercising and cried. She couldn't believe that the person who saved her twice was a broken-hearted yet lonely swordsman, in search of a new land to live in and a person to love.

"Je suis désolé…" said Gabbie as she apologized to Daiki. He could not understand, until Amy told that her and her younger sister speaks in Canadian French sometimes. He then understood and accepted the blonde girl's apology.

"I'm glad you finally realized. Wait, have we introduced ourselves yet? I haven't knew you yet but, you can call me Daiki. Just Daiki for now, I don't wanna be called Daiki Higurashi again because I don't want to risk myself getting my ass kicked by the real Mamoru Higurashi person when he comes back from whatever he's doing right now. And you?" said Daiki.

"Gabrielle.. Gabrielle Charity Minato. Or just Gabbie for short." Introduced Gabbie to the swordsman.

"Gabrielle… what a beautiful name. I am so blessed with a girl like you. You're so strong, charming and beautiful, just like how Euphemia was back then. I always liked strong girls, girls who could fight alongside me and protect each other in trying times like these. I'm glad that you finally opened yourself" said Daiki.

Daiki spent some time with Gabbie as the two familiarized themselves with each other. They talked about their interests, their life and other things. Lucy took a peek into Gabbie's room and couldn't believe that her online friend whom she usually chatted with is right in front of her eyes. She remembered that during Christmas around two years ago, she sent a pair of fingerless gloves to Gabbie with flags of her country and her friend's on it as a gift.

"I can't believe it! Gabbie, is that you?!" said Lucy.

The blonde Canadian cried in joy as she saw her online friend in person. She then walked towards Lucy and cuddled her. "I'm so glad to see you, Gabbie! You sent me videos and photos of your fights, and I was amazed. I myself is a wrestler too, since my umm… adoptive brothers are also wrestlers as well. Maybe we could spar with each other someday, or even cross paths if you join AFW someday" said Lucy.

"AFW? What's that?" asked Gabbie in curiosity.

"It's a wrestling league based in Tokyo where I'm signed at. I heard someone named Kathleen Parker just got crowned as Entropy Champion there. She's a pretty amazing girl, a skiller high-flyer, brawler and grappler all at once!" said Lucy. Gabbie was amazed upon hearing that, yet she's more inclined to tournaments that specializes in her fighting style than pro wrestling. She had some knowledge of MMA submission holds with her, but they were limited.

"I'd love to join, but I don't like pro wrestling. Not only that, I'm also busy with my tournament too once this is all over. I need to get back and get it finished" declined Gabbie as she disliked pro wrestling and she remembered that she still had to come back to Thailand to finish her tournament there. She had a tough fight against her rival Nanami Aoi, who was considered as a local champion there. Nanami was a pretty strong fighter, and she was even taller and more muscular than Gabbie. However, Nanami wasn't a fair fighter. She was a former thug and loved to pick fight against weaker fighters than to pick someone of her own size. Her fighting skills were honed through street brawls and underground fights rather than proper training.

"I know how you feel, Gabbie" said Daiki as he cheered her up and cuddled her.

Just as the two were having their quality time together, a rather tall and imposing Scotswoman entered the Turquoise HQ. She was looking for something that could power her gadget that she took from Rachel to defeat Zaphiel once and for all. Without a word or two, Daiki looked at the gadget. It had a slot that could fit an Enestal perfectly. Right now, he's only left with a Freezeburn Enestal that he haven't used.

"May I use it?" asked Nicole politely.

"Alright, you needed it more because Zaphiel is still around and I have to look after Gabbie for now. End him, defeat that scum for good!" said Daiki. He then surrendered his only Enestal to Nicole.

After receiving the Enestal from the swordsman, Nicole jammed the Enestal into the slot. The gadget came to life and introduced itself as Alibot, a companion robot similar to Rachel's Nemesis that helped her in saving her sister Claire and defeating the Valhalla army led by Melissa Gould who took Claire away from her and did terrible experiments on her. "Let's go, we got ourselves a butt ta kick" said Nicole as she and Alibot left the scene.

"Who was that girl?" asked Gabbie.

Meanwhile, Zaphiel was holed up in an empty alley. He had no one protecting him as all of the members of the Serpentine Cartel were already dead. His fellow cartel members were defeated by Daiki and Gabbie, save for Althea who was killed by him for her failure in keeping Gabbie inside the warehouse for Reiko and the Valhalla crew to take. On his hands were three weapons belonging to the Blood Gear leader and her two subordinates, who were killed by Alfredo. Serpentine Cartel itself was a splinter from the Blood Gear gang, remnants of those who managed to slip away from the Scarlet Reaper himself and the Lazuline forces.

"Damn, I lost everything, yet I refuse to die right now. If only I hadn't killed Althea, but it's all too late now" said Zaphiel. A shadow of a tall woman loomed over him as she walked towards the Deviant.

"Yer not goin' anywhere, cunt!" said Nicole as she was geared up in an armor similar to what Rachel wore back during her fight to save her sister, except it was a prototype for a mass-produced variant, intended for Takahitsuji Securities personnels. She clenched her fists and charged at Zaphiel, who then transformed into his monster self and became one with the weapons of the three Blood Gear personnels.

As a mindless yet mutated Deviant, Zaphiel leaped at Nicole in an attempt to inject the tall Scottish woman with his venom. "Ya gotta do better than that, ya wimp!" said Nicole as she used her strength to hurl the Deviant off of her. Zaphiel crashed into the wall, yet he refused to give up as he sharpened his claws and attempted to tear through Nicole's armor. "I'll kill you! Kill! Kill! Kill!" said Zaphiel in his deranged fully-mutated state.

Nicole effortlessly blocked Zaphiel's claw attack with her own palms, before pummeling him down to the ground. She then grabbed the immobilized Deviant and used her Gigant Impact to hammer the leader of the Serpentine Cartel to the ground. Zaphiel took a huge damage as his body thudded into the concrete floor.

"Hahahahaha… Hahahahahahah!" laughed Zaphiel before he got back on his legs and shot blade-like spikes out of his back. Nicole deflected them and before she could attack, she was slashed by a bladed chain shot from Zaphiel's arm. "This is no ordinary Deviant… yet I fought him before. I can't lose this time…" said Nicole before she grabbed the bladed chain and snapped it with her bare hands.

"No! Nooooooooo!" said Zaphiel as all of the three weapons he absorbed are broken. The claws from Janis, the knives from Lethe and the bladed chain from Christie, the three weapons from the leaders of the Blood Gear gang, all destroyed and reduced into shrapnel by Nicole. "It's time ya to die, fer what ya did to me comrades back in 2011!" said Nicole before she charged at Zaphiel and used her Sky Piercer EX Skill to break the Deviant's face for good. Without any last words, the fully-mutated Zaphiel finally died, and his body disintegrated into black ash and smoke.

"See ya never, Zaphiel. This is the end for ya" said Nicole before she left the scene.

The news of Zaphiel's death brought joy upon Hayato and Irene. The Serpentine Cartel has been defeated, and their leader and higher-ups are all dead. Daiki and the Minato sisters also heard the news, and they felt relieved. "Looks like my Enestal ended Zaphiel's reign. It was not just born from my powers, but also from my new friends Akiko and Yukiko. I hope they're still doing well" said Daiki.

"Good riddance to that bastard who kidnapped me and I hope nothing like that happens to me ever again" said Gabbie.

However that night, Gabbie was having difficulties sleeping. She felt uneasy as a mysterious dark aura engulfed her. The aura turned into a smog, which caused her to cough and choke as she inhaled it. She tried to fight back, but the smog slowly revealed its true form, a feminine figure with glowing red eyes with sharp reptilian claws, reminiscent of a maniraptoran dinosaur glaring upon its prey. Her mouth was locked in an incredibly wide smile, showing her sharp yet jagged teeth.

"Who… are you?" said Gabbie as she trembled in fear upon the figure.

"I need you now… come with me.." said the figure with a horrible, vaguely feminine voice that sounded very raspy and grating to her ears, as if she was dangerously parched.

"NO!" shouted Gabbie in disagreement. "When I said come with me, I said… COME WITH ME!!" said the figure before she forcefully attacked Gabbie with her claws. The figure screamed at Gabbie with a shrill rage-filled screech comparable to a banshee, no longer sounding raspy and whispery like before.

Gabbie fought against the figure, but to no avail. She was outsmarted and defeated single-handedly by the mysterious clawed person. She fell unconscious after she was grappled by the figure from behind. She struggled to breath, but her mouth and nose were clogged by the figure's claws. The Canadian martial artist herself fell limp afterwards, and disappeared with the figure without a trace.

Daiki woke up from his bed upon hearing Amy screaming. He went to the Minato sisters' room and found that Gabbie has disappeared. "This does not look good at all…" said Draco Piscis from within Daiki's heart. He was devastated upon seeing that his crush, the very girl he met when he arrived at Polaris Sanctuary and the same girl whom he fought to protect and fought alongside with was kidnapped by a mysterious being. He could not do anything but to scream.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!" screamed Daiki in anguish.