Ch 9: Selfish Selflessness

As Alexander and the others somehow emerge alive from their battles, it becomes apparent that Amy has gone off on her own. Her thoughts consumed by the prophecy, she tries to save Grey alone.

             Spoiling Malum’s moment of triumph just as Patch had earlier, Mythra shot him out of the air from down the corridor with a beam of arcane magic from her wand, blowing him sailing back past Patch to land laid out on his back. Sitting up to look down the corridor, as he saw Mythra, Saria, and Giselle making their way over to Alexander, Malum got to his feet and dusted himself off as he muttered, “Now that was just careless of me…” Having gotten to her feet as well, Patch drove him back several steps as she shot a few molten spikes out of the floor around him and said, “Don’t forget I’m still here as well.” Opening a dark vortex with a frown, Malum shrugged his shoulders in defeat and said, “It seems it’s true what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. I’ve clearly missed my opportunity…” Walking into the dark vortex, Malum leaned back out of it before it could disappear and waved at Alexander with a grin as he said, “Another time Alexander, another time…” With that he disappeared into his vortex, which vanished soon after.

             Walking up to stand next to Alexander, Mythra looked down at him sitting there still shaking slightly, and in confusion she raised an eyebrow questioningly as she said, “What’s wrong with you?” Laughing weakly, Alexander merely replied, “It’s actually rather embarrassing…” Walking over to join them, Patch bluntly said, “He’s afraid. The opponent employed a technique that instigates fear.” Snickering, Mythra donned a sly expression and proceeded to poke fun at Alexander, saying, “Aww, were you scared without me around to protect you? Maybe we should buy you a security blanket? Or perhaps a night light?” Sitting there letting her have her fun, Alexander felt a different kind of shock pass through him as he heard Saria say, “I was scared too Dad.” Rising to his feet and turning about to see her standing there with Giselle, Alexander felt himself tearing up as relief washed over him. Rushing forward and embracing him, Saria was tearing up as well as she said, “I was scared I’d gotten you killed!” Putting his arms around her as well, Alexander smiled and said, “I don’t plan on dying for a good while still. I’m not called Gabriel the Immortal for nothing, right?”

             Watching Saria holding onto Alexander as she sobbed, Giselle felt a bit of jealousy stir within her, but more than anything she was happy that Saria would not face the sadness of having lost her family again. Having noticed her standing there watching them, Alexander turned his attention to Giselle and said, “I don’t know what’s happened, but something tells me you helped my daughter. Whatever your intentions, you have my deepest thanks.” As a look of surprise briefly crossed her face, Giselle felt her cheeks turn red and she turned away quickly as she said, “I don’t take the slightest pleasure in being thanked by you people! Do not speak to me!” Looking around for someone who she thought should have been there by now, Mythra suddenly said, “What happened to Amy? She was supposed to head straight here.” Letting go of Saria, Alexander turned to her in exasperation and said, “You honestly let that girl go alone?! There’s limits to how gullible you can be Mythra!” Taken aback, as Mythra realized how foolish she’d been to trust Amy with the way she’d been acting lately, she exclaimed, “You’re kidding me! She promised! I made her promise she wouldn’t go and do something reckless! Damn that idiot!” Becoming concerned by the things they were saying, Saria hesitantly asked, “Is Amy in danger?” Hurrying off down the corridor in the direction of the landing bay, Alexander was the most concerned of them all, muttering to himself, “When it comes to protecting Grey, Amy becomes a danger to herself…”

            Leaping from energy platform to energy platform, Bella avoided giant spirit serpents and spirit bolts from Ghost’s katanas as she chased her through the training room. Then calling back her spirit serpents, Ghost stopped running and turned to face Bella as she leaped onto the same platform, and Bella closed the distance quickly to swing her scythe in a mighty Chimera Strike. Crossing both katanas before her, Ghost channeled EDE into them and exclaimed, “Blade Guard!” Glowing with black spirit energy, the katana’s absorbed all the destructive energy of the strike, and Bella leaped back as the spirit serpents retaliated, lunging at her and snapping their fanged maws. Leaping up over the serpents, Ghost came down on Bella with twin slashes from her blades, who dodged narrowly again before turning and counterattacking with Fox Frenzy accelerated swings. Only able to hold her katanas up in defense, as they began to break under the strain of blocking the rapid strikes, Ghost grit her teeth and quickly called in her serpents. Slithering around to both sides of Bella as she assailed Ghost, they rose up and struck like the snakes they were, and Bella quickly leaped to another energy platform just as their jaws rent the air where she’d stood.

             Landing, Bella performed a hand sign and golden flames of foxfire lit themselves around her, flying out at Ghost as balls of foxfire as she cried out, “Moeru Seishin Kasou!” Quickly Ghost had her serpents move to defend her, casting aside her cracked katanas as she gathered another mass of EDE. The balls of foxfire striking the serpents as they used their bodies to shield their master, the serpents were destroyed in blasts of golden foxfire, and Ghost was obscured from view by the aftermath. Bella watched the smoke carefully as Mai cautioned her, “Watch out, she’s still got more Anima Weapons!” Shooting out of the aftermath, a large, black metallic throwing star suddenly flew straight at Bella, who quickly raised Mors Aurata in defense. Striking against the scythe’s handle, the throwing star spun like a buzz saw against it, sending sparks flying. Knocking it away at last, Bella watched as Ghost leaped up out of the cloud of smoke to snatch it out of the air. Touching down on a nearby energy platform, Ghost had in her other hand a grenade launcher, which she quickly raised at Bella and opened fire with.

            Moving out of the way as powerful EDE grenades rained at her, Bella ran across her platform and leaped off, beginning to move from platform to platform as Ghost kept firing more grenades after her. Jumping onto another platform as grenades exploded behind her, Bella performed a hand sign and said, “Shifuto No Kage!” Ghost let up on her attack as Bella disappeared and was replaced by multiple clones that stood upon the platforms surrounding her, and tossing aside her grenade launcher, Ghost hurled her throwing star at one of the clones as she formed another mass of EDE. Spinning violently through the air, the throwing star arced around after the Bella clones and cut them down one after another, and forming a long sword with strange horizontal lines running across it’s blade that made it look like it came apart, Ghost turned and blocked as Bella appeared and leaped at her from behind with her scythe. They clashed again and again as the sounds of their blades echoed through the room, and as the spinning throwing star came around for the real target now, Bella pushed Ghost away and deflected it powerfully with a Chimera Strike, sending it crashing into one of the walls where it embedded itself. Yet she was in for a surprise as Ghost swung her new sword and the blade slithered out at her like a snake, separating into segments linked by metal thread to give her attack unexpected range.

             The trick blade slashed Bella across the top of the left shoulder, and grimacing in pain as blood ran down her arm and through her clothes, Bella defended herself with her scythe as Ghost continued to strike, Mai saying in concern, “You ok?! Hang in there!” Managing to break away and move to another platform, Bella held Mors Aurata before her and absorbed her aura with Soul Eater, partially healing her wound while shrouding her scythe blade in ectoplasm and golden foxfire. Channeling EDE into her trick blade, Ghost summoned up another giant spirit serpent and leaped onto its head, sending it slithering after Bella. Closing in on Bella and rearing up, as the serpent struck, Bella quickly absorbed the ectoplasm around the scythe blade to take her Spirit Form just as the spirit serpent closed its jaws around her. Moving through the serpent’s body, Bella phased through its back to come out on top of it, and turning to see her rush across the back of her serpent at her, Ghost unleashed a deadly strike from her trick blade once again.

            Deflecting the trick blade as it came at her like a ferocious viper, Bella leaped at Ghost and spun vertically in the air, shouting, “Slipstream!” Holding her scythe up as she spun at high speed so that she became like a spinning saw, Bella flew at Ghost as a whirling blur. Coiling her trick blade up before her, Ghost created a makeshift shield for herself, and as Bella struggled to cut through, she smirked and said, “Nice try!” Pulling on her weapon so that the coiled up blade got caught on the scythe blade of Mors Aurata as it spun, Ghost captured the golden bone scythe in its grasp, halting Bella’s spinning and whirling her around to slam her powerfully into the surface of a nearby energy platform. Retracting her weapon with a smug laugh, Ghost looked down on Bella as she laid there on the platform and formed her original sniper rifle as she called out, “I think it’s just about time for me to end this.” Leaping off her serpent onto an adjacent energy platform, Ghost took aim at Bella with her rifle. As her serpent seemed to blur and quiver, it began to dissolve back into energy that quickly flowed through the air and gathered around the barrel of the rifle.

             Slowly rising to her feet, Bella watched the gathering energy and readied her scythe, the shroud of golden foxfire still dancing upon its blade. Fire in her eyes, she said, “That’s my line.” Her voice bursting with confidence, Mai exclaimed, “Yeah, we’ll show you! Talk all you want, but we’re just gonna throw it all right back in your face!” Her eye twitching angrily, Ghost charged up her attack and pulled the trigger as she shouted, “Time to DIE Belladonna! Death Snake!” As a beam of black spirit energy shot out at her from the barrel of Ghost’s rifle, Bella swung her scythe into the beam and unleashed the foxfire stored in Mors Aurata’s blade as she shouted, “Yugure Wave!” A wave of spiraling foxfire erupting from the scythe’s blade, it sucked in the energy of the beam and carried it along with it as it shot at Ghost. Watching as her attack was swept up in Bella’s, Ghost stood there in disbelief as both Bella’s attack and her own hit her full on, disappearing in a blast of black and gold destructive power that resounded through the room.

            The smoke from the combined attack finally clearing, Ghost laid face down on a far off energy platform she’d landed on after being blown sailing, her clothes torn and her body battered. Jumping onto the platform and rushing over to her, Bella set down her scythe as she kneeled next to her and said, “Still alive?” Turning her head and opening her eyes a bit to glare at Bella, Ghost muttered, “Anyone else wouldn’t be. The wavelength of the spirit waves in that attack are the same as my Death Shot. Chimeras created through the Entholx Process can use their soul’s individual wavelength to destroy other all other wavelengths. I don’t have the strength to keep fighting, but I’m not gonna die from being hit by my own wavelength.” Seeing a look of relief cross Bella’s eyes, Ghost shut her eyes and added, “Don’t get excited! This isn’t settled until one of us is dead! I don’t give a crap about all this family nonsense, and if you let me live, I WILL come back to kill you…” Shouting indignantly from Bella’s brooch, Mai exclaimed, “You lost you dumb broad! Just admit it!” Standing, Bella let Mors Aurata evaporate as she said, “Fine. Even if I have to fight, it means I’ll see you again. It gives me something to look forward to.” Sneering, Ghost simply said, “Whatever…” As Bella moved to go, in a hurry to go and find out how everything had turned out with her friends and Instructor Patch, she paused as she overheard Ghost mutter to herself, “This whole day was a joke. What the hell was Fury doing here in the first place anyways?” Only pondering this with a mild amount of curiosity, Bella dropped down from the energy platform to land on the floor of the training room and hurried to the door as she wondered to herself just what her Instructor was doing here.

            Struggling up off the floor of Dr. Nova’s laboratory, Zero readied his polearm and lunged at Alastor once more with a wind empowered attack. Dodging his strikes with ease, Alastor swung a sword to parry another of his attacks and knock his weapon aside, closing in and slamming his knee into Zero’s armored gut. Following up with a spinning jump kick while Zero staggered back, Alastor unleashed a blast of air pressure from his foot and blew him sailing into the far wall. Staring at Zero slumped against the wall, Alastor shook his head as he muttered, “To think I actually funded such a failed project. Even if he unlocked your affinity and gave your power suit an upgrade, I still can’t fathom what Nova was thinking when he decided to use something as weak as you to try and stall me.” Struggling up again, Zero raised his polearm at Alastor and called wind around its blade, focusing it and unleashing it as a blast of spinning wind that was pointed like a drill. Dodging the wind blast, as it sailed on to bore a hole in the wall behind him, Alastor rushed at Zero. Continuing to unleash more wind blasts, Zero could not land a hit, and as Alastor reached him and lashed out with a single sword, Zero tried to block with his polarm’s handle. The force of the strike knocked him back up against the wall, and swinging his swords in a cross strike as Zero slumped against the wall once more, Alastor sliced into his helmet, carving an x shaped gash into the front of the visor.

             Sitting against the wall unmoving, a bit of blood running from the gash in his visor, Zero was utterly defeated. Channeling EDE into his swords as he looked down on Zero, Alastor said, “It seems the lesson of this story is that one cannot breed a powerful energist through such means alone. You may have our genes, but you have not the same drive that makes Mr.Greyson and I the powerful beings we are. I’d even go so far as to say that whatever Nova has done to your mind has made you even weaker.” Still sitting there in defeat, Zero suddenly said in a weak voice, “Not… weak…” The sides of his mouth curling up into a faint smile, Alastor said, “Is that so? It seems you’ve still retained some self awareness after all. I’d wager Dr. Nova used you as another one of his little backups, injecting you with his nano-machines just in case he lost his current place in Mr. Matthews’ body. He didn’t count on me finding him so soon, so he sacrificed you as a distraction to escape. Tell me, if it’s as you say and you’re ‘not’ weak, do you really think you’d be getting used like a disposable tool?” Indifferent to Alastor’s words, Zero merely repeated himself, weakly saying, “Not… weak…” Staring at Zero in silence a moment, Alastor suddenly turned away from him and let his swords evaporate. Walking away from Zero, Alastor made his way to a nearby computer terminal as he said, “Count yourself lucky, for I haven’t the time to trifle with you further.” Punching in commands at the terminal, he added, “Pitiful things that give in to their weakness and allow themselves to be controlled, people who can’t oppose their fate… I’ll erase it all with the Second Truth…”

            Feverishly trying to break the airship free from the grasp of Amy’s psychic powers, Scott diverted all power to the repulsion engines, steering the airship towards the open doors of the landing bay as he poured on the steam. Holding him back with all her might, sweat ran down Amy’s face as she strained herself to pour out all the power she had. Yet she knew she could not hold him forever, and desperately she telepathically called out, “Scott! I know you can hear me! Dr. Nova is manipulating you! You have to wake up!” Listening to her pleas, Scott couldn’t help but laugh as he muttered to himself, “Soon there won’t be anything left of ‘Scott Matthews’ in this brain of his anymore.” Gathering EDE into his body, he prepared to try and counter her psychic abilities with his own as he added, “You’re vastly outmatched Sage of Memories. Science will triumph!” Yet at that moment, a chill ran down his spine as a cold and empty voice said from behind him, “I wouldn’t underestimate her Dr. Nova. You’ve already made the mistake of underestimating me…”

             Still holding the ship in place with her telekinesis, Amy was in for a surprise as the airship suddenly stopped trying to pull free, and a moment later she watched as Scott came flying out of the ship through the window of the airship’s cockpit, shattering the glass with a crash. Sailing through the air, he landed in front of the ship with a thud, and staring at him in confusion for a moment, Amy wondered aloud, “What just happened?” Then she turned her attention back to the ship as it began to land itself, touching down and shutting off its repulsion engines. All went quiet, and rushing over to the unconscious Scott in concern, Amy knelt next to him and cautiously shook him as she said, “Hey, what’s going on?” Suddenly the door of the airship opened and the gangplank slid out, and steering the hover container holding Grey down the gangplank, Alastor called out, “What’s going on you ask?” Standing back up and facing him as he stepped off the gangplank to stand before her, Amy glared at Alastor as he smiled faintly at her and said, “My victory, Ms. Grant. That’s what’s going on.”

            Forming Insigne Memoriae and the Ice Lord’s memory shard, Amy inserted the shard into her glove’s socket and readied herself for battle. Stepping away from the container, Alastor moved slowly towards her and Scott as he said, “It’s actually quite amazing how far you’ve come in such a short time, isn’t it Ms. Grant? I still remember that day in the graveyard, the way you were crawling around on the ground while hiding behind tombstones, powerless to do anything but watch as others fought the battle for you. Yet now you stand before me, just as determined and confident in your abilities as any of your comrades.” Watching him cautiously, Amy remained silent, and coming to a stop once he was halfway between her and the container, Alastor continued, “You probably think it was for him you’ve gained this power, but I’m afraid you’re only deceiving yourself in that regard. You’re far too selfish for that.” Getting slightly irritated, Amy indignantly replied, “I don’t want to hear that from someone like you! I worked hard to become useful to Grey, to make it so that I wouldn’t ever be a burden to him!”

             His faint smile firmly in place, Alastor simply said, “That’s a lie.” Her anger rising, Amy started to say, “Where do you get off even talking about me?! About us?! You’re just…” Interrupting her, Alastor said, “Did he really ever tell you he needed you to become useful? Did he ever say you were a burden?” Trailing off as she thought of the night of the battle at Gatria, of the words Grey had said to her then, Amy clenched her fists as she slowly said, “I just… wanted to stand by his side…” In triumph, Alastor held up a finger as he said, “You wanted to be his shield, Ms. Grant. You wanted to ensure you were always there to fulfill your mother’s prophecy. Yes, I know your little secret just as well as I know your true self. A girl who was too weak to do anything but grieve at her mother’s bedside, too weak to do anything but run while your father laid in a pool of his own blood, the truth is you’ve always hated yourself for being unable to save them. Rather than selflessly protecting the one you love, deep down you’re really just selfishly trying to atone for your weakness by sacrificing yourself, aren’t you?”

             Standing there with her eyes wide in shock from Alastor’s words, Amy’s voice trembled as she said, “That’s not true…” Glancing back at the container bearing Grey, Alastor said, “I’ll bet you even thought to yourself something like ‘My life is at least worth something if it can help him save the world’, didn’t you? I wonder which is more selfish, the fact that you’re still willing to throw your life away even knowing full well it would destroy him, or the fact that you’re establishing your own worth through his success? Either way, I don’t find a conceited love such as yours worthy of him.” Gritting her teeth as she started to tear up in shame, Amy formed a great axe of ice and lunged at Alastor, shouting, “SHUT UP!” Striking upon Alastor’s pressure barrier, as Amy hacked away at it, Alastor merely stood there continuing to smile faintly.

            Slashing away at Alastor’s pressure barrier in futility, Amy could not bear the fact that she knew some part of her felt exactly the way Alastor said she did. Her failure to protect Grey in Gatria had made it worse, but the root of the problem led back all the way to the beginning. Having done her best to suppress it since the day they’d left Celestis, her father’s death and her own helplessness during his final moments had been haunting her from the shadows of her mind ever since. Even her mother, who had died before she’d met Grey for the second time, had died before her eyes from illness, and despite it being no fault of her own, Amy could not help but despise her helplessness to do anything but watch sickness take her away. As much as she wanted to be with Grey, as much as she wanted to be with everyone, her mother’s prophecy had opened the door to dark thoughts born of insecurity and guilt. She’d even lied to Mythra and abandoned Alexander just to get here as soon as possible, all for the sake of the prophecy.

             Ceasing her pointless efforts at last, Amy panted as she stood before Alastor, sweat and tears running down her face. Watching her with his cold, empty gaze, after a moment Alastor said, “Do you see Ms. Grant? Everything you’ve done has been a lie. In a way, you could be seen as an example of why this world must be erased. The ulterior motives people like you shroud with notions of justice and righteousness only bring pain to those around them. Whether it’s the Special Forces or the Church of Light, this world is ruled by those people and their lies.” Glaring at him through her tears, Amy quietly said, “You think changing everything through force and bloodshed is any better? Do you really think you’re some kind of hero?!” Forming Acerbitas Desiderium, as Amy backed away from him cautiously, Alastor simply replied, “I make no pretenses of heroism. The world must change somehow Ms. Grant, and I made a promise that I would realize my ideals. I will see the Second Truth with my own eyes, no matter what the cost.” Her curiousity aroused by his words, Amy hesitantly asked, “A promise? To who? Alexander?” His faint smile disappearing for a moment, Alastor closed his eyes and quickly donned it again as he said, “Oh that’s right… Even after all this time, you haven’t read my mind have you Ms. Grant? I suppose I’m a bit grateful. Your father was actually quite rude when we met, he went poking about instantly.” Feeling a twinge of anger at the way he was speaking of her father, just as Amy was about to say something, she was surprised to hear Alastor say, “Would you like to know Ms. Grant? Go ahead, take a look twenty years into the past. Perhaps then you’ll understand…”