Cage of the Shattered

Chapter 28

 Phaedra got up and moved towards William laying on the ground. "Ihope he's not dead," Phaedra's eyes began tearing up as she neared him.She stared at him, keeping her tears back with effort. His chest made amovement as he suddenly gasped for air. "Thank goodness!" Phaedraembraced him, unable to hold back the tears. "I thought I lost you.""You can't get rid of me that easily Phaedra." They both laughed atthe comment but stopped when Phaedra remembered Sapphire."Sapphire!" William covered his ears but helped searching."Sapphire!" They walked around for a while before Phaedra stopped. Shedropped down onto her knees next to a lump on the ground.William saw her drop to the ground and rushed towards her. Hedropped his hand on Phaedra's shoulder. Phaedra couldn't bear to see herfriend like this. She felt a second hand on her shoulder and caught a frightwhen she saw Andrew next to her."May I?" Andrew asked, staring at the body in front of him. Phaedranodded, still thinking the worst had happened. Andrew stepped forwardplacing his hand on Sapphire's arm. The green glow of his powerreplication appeared. Andrew closed his eyes, focusing on Sapphire'sthoughts. He waited to hear something, anything, a sign that she is ok.That's when a subtle whisper could be heard in her thoughts. 'Can't give...in... he can't... win' Sapphire's thoughts were distorted but at least herthoughts were still there. Andrew placed his hands on Sapphire's body."Please work," Andrew said, trying to encourage himself. He focusedall of his energy onto healing her. The same blue glow that usually camefrom Sapphire's hands now came from Andrew's. The healing powerseemed to be doing something, but Sapphire was still not waking up.Andrew used all of his energy trying to save her but it wasn't strongenough. He had never used this type of power before and his energy levelsweren't high enough for him to use this power to its full potential. Andrewstood up out of breath, out of energy and he felt as if all hope was lost. Heturned to Phaedra and William. "I don't know what else to do." his voicewas filled with sorrow, he tried but all hope seemed lost."I have an idea." Phaedra gave William a look and his expressionchanged in an instant."No... no... ain't gonna happen." William defended. "I've only done itonce and it failed.""It wouldn't hurt to try." Phaedra pleaded.William nodded in agreement, still not up for it."Ok Andrew," Phaedra turned to the pale looking guy next to her. "Tryagain, we have a plan to boost your energy."Andrew bent down again this time followed by William. William placedhis hand on Andrew's shoulder, he focused, sharing his energy level withAndrew. "Woah..." Andrew felt the energy flowing through his body."You two ready?" Phaedra asked, standing a few feet back.The two nodded in agreement as a blue glow came from Andrew'shands. Phaedra focussed all her energy into a beam of light. The beam hitWilliam on his back. His hand glowed a bright orange as the energy flowedfrom him to Andrew. Andrew's hands glowed brighter and Sapphire's bodybegan glowing a bright light blue. Her hands began twitching and her feetfollowed shortly after. Andrew saw a greenish glow from the healing anddecided to stop. Phaedra stopped the beam to not overload William."You think she's going to be okay?" Phaedra asked, walking closer.The wounds on Sapphire's body disappeared and her breathing returned tonormal, Sapphire opened her eyes sitting upright."That kinda hurt." she said jokingly. She looked around her noticingWilliam, Andrew and Phaedra, they all looked kind of pale and scared."What's wrong? Who died?" Sapphire asked, returning to her quirkyself."We thought we lost you." Phaedra admitted. Andrew nearly jumpedonto Sapphire when he heard her voice. He embraced her in a hug, "Neverdo that to us ever again."Sapphire smiled at her friend who stood around her. Once Andrewfinally let go she could get to her feet."Glad to see some people care about me" she let out a giggle. "Youcan relax now, you all look like you've seen a ghost."You could say that." Phaedra chuckled, giving Sapphire a hug.William handed Phaedra his handkerchief to wipe the tears away.William noticed something off in the distance that seemed familiar. Hepatted Phaedra on the shoulder reassuring her before moving to someoneelse laying in the distance."Glad to see everyone's made it so far." Sapphire said excited to seeeveryone in good shape."Not everyone made it." William's voice came from inside a crater.The three of them rushed towards him. Phaedra stopped at the edgeof the crater seeing a familiar face laying in front of where William knelt.She moved in slowly, kneeling next to William."That's Ceil isn't it?" Sapphire asked, she and Andrew didn't knowCeil that well so they didn't feel as much emotion as Phaedra and Williamdid.Tears started to fall down William's face. Ceil was his friend and nowhe had lost her. The tears continued and Phaedra held him in a hug.Andrew watched the two before turning to Sapphire. "This Negativefellow has caused too much harm. He has destroyed most of the world,killed dozens of innocent people and now he's killing all externals. He hasto be stopped."Kayle and Kawataki's battle raged both fighters refusing to let theother win,"You must know that you are nowhere near close enough to beat me" Kawataki laughed to which Kayle just scowled and powered upsurrounded in purple fire Kawataki looked slightly startled before he gotsucker punched and sent flying back, Kawataki exploded out of the rubbleand flew at Kayle going for a punch ending in their fists clashing as theyboth went off in a flurry of punches and kicks each attack being counteredevery now and then one of them slipping a successful attack.Kayle spun round and kicked Kawataki who blocked with his forearmand punched Kayle into a massive building"You know I didn't think I'd have this much fun taking over thismiserable planet" Kawataki grinned maniacally."Glad I can entertain you but I'm not here as your play partner " Kaylesaid, getting up holding his arm. " Ok time to go even further " Kayle said,tightening her stance, soon enough both fighters took off in a flurry ofpunches and kicks, each one astounded by the other's power.Kayle smiled a bit, noticing they were practically even as they fought,Kawataki pushed his energy outwards pushing Kayle back and appearingbehind Kayle and bringing both of his hands above his head and broughtthem down on Kayle sending him crashing through a building"Damn You!!! " Kayle yelled, powering up. He fired a blast at Kawatakito create a smokescreen trying to catch Kawataki off guard.Kawataki smirked a bit as he began to spin at inhuman speeds andhe put his arms around to dispel the trick, as well as potentially get a niceblow in.Kayle was struck so hard it took his breath away but she wasn't aboutto lose at lightning speed Kayle appeared behind Kawataki and brought hishands up and brought the down hard and fast on Kawataki's head sendinghim crashing into the floor.Kawataki got up a bit, groaning a bit. "How dare You!!!" Kawatakiyelled before rocketing at Kayle and punching him in the jaw."Kawataki snap out of it, I swear I will make Wrath pay for what he'sdone to you!!! " Kyle yelled, powering up even further his Purple Fire beinginfiltrated by Black Fire as wellHe got up and smirked. "The only thing Wrath did to me was see thepurity of his vision. I have devoted myself to help him achieve his dream"Kawataki fired one punch at Kayle's gut as Kawataki erupted surroundedby Fire, "And you're in his way so I must exterminate anyone who daresstand in his way." Kayle chuckled.Kayle stopped and stared. Kawataki was completely to what Kayleremembers him being, he had to accept that the Kind, Warm-HeartedKawataki that put everyone before himself was gone. The energy was fardifferent, yet slightly unstable too but he knew he could use that to hisadvantage.Kawataki lowered his unstable energy a bit to conserve it for now."Good luck." Kawataki smirked, almost seeming that he read Kayle's mind'he's smart' Kayle thought to himself 'Lets see how much energy hecan conserve against one of my strongest attacks' Kayle devised her planand gathered his energy "Hellfire: Demon Burning Ultimate Explosion!!!Kayle yelled, releasing the beam heading right for Kawataki.Kawataki raised his energy for a split second to its max and caughthis beam in his left hand, a deep green fire blast in his other hand. "AtomicFireBall!!!" Kawataki yelled out, using Kayle's energy to help fuel his attack." Oh Crap " Kayle said doing a cross formation with his hands toblock, when the smoke faded away his pants were torn and he had longpurple horns trailing down to his waist and a Bright Crimson Red lightningdancing around him he held his hand out "Hellfire: Demonic Atomic Blast!!!" Kayle yelled, firing a sharp and precise beam at Kawataki's chest.Kawataki could feel his energy soar significantly and he sweated. " Ididn't think he had this much power" He muttered in shock as he was firedaway." I thought you were stronger than Before! Come on!! Show me youpower!!! " Kayle roared, increasing his power even further, launchinghimself at Kawataki, unaware to both fighters Wrath was watching theirevery move.Kawataki then felt something inside him as he rushed at her with aspeed a little unseen. He went behind him and neck-chopped him. "I will killyou." Kawataki seethed violently those few words"Your running out of steam Kawataki now prepare yourself, you'venever gone up against the likes of this power before " Kawataki said,enveloping himself in intense red fire " prepare yourself " Cella said atbreakneck speed she attacked Kyo by spin kicking him into the side of themountain.Kawatkai was kicked into the mountain and lowered his head infatigue. He was bleeding pretty bad."Give Up now, or I will crush you " Kayle said landing on the ground."He-he-hell no." Kawataki could feel his vision beginning to blurslightly and while he couldn't sense Kayle, he felt he could fighthim...barely."Fine if you can't accept defeat I'm just going to have to force you intodefeat " Kayle said rising into the air again raising his power even higher "Prepare yourself this is one attack you can't block! " Kayle warned "Hellfire: Demon Ultimate Slash!!! Kawataki roared, sending the beam rightat Kawataki.Kawataki looked on in shock, knowing that he wouldn't survive this. Butthen, he remembered the feeling of Kayle's energy. He stopped using hiselements, closing his eyes as he brought his hands, palms down, out infront of him as the same intense fire enveloped him, affecting his Energy."Crimson... FLARE!" The beam fired out of his fingers instantly, right beforehis Hellfire: Demon Burning Slash enveloped him, one after the other."Huh " Kayle blinked before moving to the side to dodge a beam "Woah geez " Kayle almost screamed looking down at Kyo who was in hisbase and panting and bleeding " he's clearly out of strength yet he alwaysseems to summon up the right amount of it " Kayle said astounded beforegoing to meet at arms length with Kawataki."Fine, then I'll kill you now then! " Kawataki exclaimed"Elemental Buster!!! Kawataki yelled, unleashing his most powerfulmove as he sent giant waves of every element at Kayle."We've done everything together and I know we are gonna help takeNegative down together, now I'm not gonna let the likes of Wrath get in theway of us!!!" Kayle yelled, gaining all the power he can "Hellfire: BurningDemon Ultimate Slash!!!" Kayle screamed, both beams clashing.Dragonbourn stood next to Kayle " What are you doing?'' Kayleasked."Freeing his mind " Dragonbourn replied, holding his hand out.Kawataki stopped his attack and held his head in pain"Kawataki!" Kayle yelled about to fly over beforeDragonbourn put his hand in front of him. "Let him free his mind.There is no other way I've cleared all evil influences that guide him. He isnow struggling to decide what to do," Dragonbourn answered Kayle, after afew minutes Kawataki looked at Kayle and removed his hood and maskrevealing his face and flying over to pull Kayle into a hug " Kayle I'm sosorry I attacked you " Kawataki apologized sincerely " You aren't to blameWrath is '' Kayle seethed looking at Wrath who held an amused look on hisface '' We have to get through Negative first I've spent a lot more time withhim then I wanted to so I know his moves and how he attacks '' Kawatakisaid '' So what's his weakness? '' Kayle asked " From what I know hedoesn't have one " Kawataki lowered his head in disbelief Kayle andKawataki dropped to the ground with the other externals ready to dowhatever to defeat Negative and then Wrath.Negative's power was increasing. Raijin dashed towards Negative.Raijin was pushing his body beyond his limits. Orangish streaks of flamesand burn marks were left on the ground from each step. Raijin swiped hissword. The flames sliced through several hills and mountains behind them.Rajin released a battle roar. Raijin hovered above negative and released ahard downwards strike. Negative blocked with his black and red gauntlets.Raijin pulled his arm back and swung harder. The flaming blade piercedthrough Negative's shoulder. Blood spilled through the air. The rapidshockwaves produced by Raijin's body blew Negative further back. Raijinsoared through the air and swung heavily. The blade sheared through hisflesh. Negative retaliated with a flaming punch to Raijin's dragon headshaped breast plate. The flames bounced off the armor as Raijin swunghorizontally and slashed Negative's side. Raijin continuously slashedacross Negative's body. Raijin then focused his flames at the tip of hissword. A small flaming energy ball shot out a several meter long beam ofnuclear flames. Negative activated his energy barrier but it easily shattered.Negative was shot to the ground. Debris blew into the air. Negativedesperately slammed his hand on the ground. Several thick tree roots withspikes along them shot from the ground. Raijin pulled his blade back. Muchlike the fighting position that Deion took when he wore his knight armor,Raijin repeated the formation and then swung his sword rapidly across thebranches. Tons of wood fell to the ground as it was being sliced. Thesurrounding roots around Raijin burned away instantly due to his intensebody heat. Several thousand ice spikes shot into the sky. Raijin twirled hisblade and blew the ice away with the heat and pressure of his swings.Raijin then flew towards Negative. Negative unleashed a much largerenergy barrier that went on for miles. Raijin swung his sword at the sturdybarrier. The two wouldn't connect. Raijin's flaming cape twirled into ahorizontal tornado like thrusters. Raijin's sword pierced the barrier. Negativethen placed his hands in front of him and blasted Raijin away with darkenergy. Raijin's electricity protected his body. The air was cloudy. Raijin waspushed a few feet away.Allen then flew toward Negative and hit him in his face with a firepunch. Negative got knocked back a little. Negative then kicked Allen in thestomach as Allen started tearing up as his Calista was dying. "I WON'TSTAND FOR ANYMORE OF THIS BULLSHIT!!" Allen yelled out as he thenformed a fire dragon out of his hand. The dragon flew after Negative asNegative was trying to block it but in the end, it resulted in Negative gettinghurt badly but Negative was healing up pretty quickly. Allen then jumped upin the air and started shooting a lot of fire balls with his hands. At the endof the barrage, Allen then shot a fire beam attack toward Negative. Allencouldn't tell what happened since the smoke was covering Negative. Allensmiled as he flew down to the ground, exhausted. "You will be avenged,Calista..." Allen said as he just looked at Calista and started crying."That was a pathetic attack." Negative said while laughing andstanding up."How are you not dead!" Allen yelled out with his blood-shot eyes.Negative continued laughing as he walked slowly toward Allen. Negativethen picked Allen up by his collar and punched him in his stomach whileholding his collar."You were not bad." Negative said complimenting Allen. Negativethen threw Allen across the battlefield as Allen then got knocked out as hiswings vanished with his dragon power for the time being.Aku then flew up and quickly rushed toward Negative while trying topunch Negative but Negative swiftly dodged it and punched Aku in the facebut in Aku one hand is a dark energy blast that he kept hidden and blastedNegative in his stomach causing him to crash to the floor. "I will defeatyou!" Aku yelled out as Negative got back up and quickly grabbed Aku'shead and kicked him in his stomach. Negative was still grabbing Aku as hekept kicking him over and over. Negative then let go of Aku as he wentdown to the ground, passed out for the time being...Then, Cadell leapt in from behind and buried his glowing green swordin Negative's back. Negative roared in a mix of pain and anger, beforewhirling around and elbowing Cadell in the face, sending him tumblingaway. Cadell impaled his sword into the ground to slow him down, beforegetting back up to his feet and taking a fighting position.Cadell flourished the glowing balde in his hands. In truth, he;d neverused a sword in combat before, but, for some reason, he had theknowledge in the back of his mind on just how exactly he was supposed touse this new weapon.Negative tried to blast CadellCadell with his eye laser, but, like the bostaff he'd used earlier, the sword conducted the energy and sent it right bclat Negative. Using this, Cadell lunged forward in an attempt to run himthrough, but Negative blocked with his gauntlets. Cadell let the blade slideoff of the gauntlets, using the momentum to help him spin around and hithim in the chest with a hard back kick, which caused Negative to stumble.Cadell spun back around and landed two quick slashes acrossNegative's bare chest, before jumping up to avoid a retaliatory strike andhitting him with a flying front kick. Negative staggered back and sent abeam attack at Cadell, but it was absorbed by his armor."What?" he exclaimed, perplexed.A cloud of green energy engulfed Cadell, and he flew out of it with hisarmor changed somewhat. Now, A shirt of slim chainmail was beneath therest of the armor hanging down to just above the knees. A round shield alsoappeared in his left hand.Negative fired another beam attack, but Cadell raised his shield,which directly reflected the blast into Negative's face. As Cadell neared hisfoe, he flipped up through the air and slashed his sword down on Negative,who raised his gauntlets to block.Cadell landed just behind Negative, and he turned to face him, butCadell landed two more quick slashes before he could do anything.Negative, however, caught the light blade in his outstretched hand before athird blow could be landed. He grinned confidently, only for that grin to bewiped off his face with a sharp uppercut from Cadell's shield.Cadell then wrenched his sword free from Negative's grasp andslashed it across his face, before ramming the rim of his shield intoNegative's face. Cadell went in for another slash, but Negative teleportedaway, reappearing right behind Cadell. He kicked Cadell on the inside of hisknee and punched him in the back of the head, causing him to stumbleforward. Cadell turned around to face him, swinging his sword in ahorizontal arc at Negative. Negative side-stepped the attack, beforebackhanded him across the face and hitting him with a hard right hook.Negative went for a series of high roundhouse kicks, but Cadell raisedhis shield, blocking the blazing-fast flurry of blows. The shield beganglowing brighter and brighter, until a massive green pulse burst forth fromit, sending Negative flying.As it turned out, Cadell's new equipment was able to absorb kineticenergy, as well as general energy-based attacks and redirect them.Negative landed on his stomach, and Cadell leapt after him, drawingback his sword for a massive blow. Negative rolled out of the ebay beforehe could land the blow. Cracks glowing a pale green began spreadingthroughout the ground from where Cadell's sword was stuck into theground."What is this?" demanded a mildly-confused Negative.Just then, a massive geiser of green light shot through the cracks inthe grund, sending Negative rocketing up into the air. Cadell leapt up afterhim, slashing his back, before soaring up into the air and throwing hisshield down into Negative's chest. Negative grunted in pain and was flunginto the ground, creating a small crater.The light shield dissipated into nothingness and Negative got back upto his feet, more upset than anything else. He clambered up out of thecrater, an angry snarl drawn across his face and lunged towards Cadell.Cadell duycked as Negative drew closer, and he flew overhead. Cadellthen decided to close the distance, stabbing at Negative, but he caught hissword hand, before striking back with a hard right hook. Cadell, not missinga beat, kicked Negative in the chest. Cadell then spun around and threw hissword into Negative's chest, dropping him to his knees.Negative looked up and growled, his eyes narrowing. Two parallel redbeams shot out from his eyes and directly impacted Cadell's chest. The boystaggered back and the glowing mail over his chest had a reddish tint. Theenergy had been absorbed, but it seemed like it was close to the breakingpoint. Cadell then put up a light shield, reflecting the eye lasers that hadbeen hammering into his armor.The beam reflected directly back at negative, but he moved his headto the side, avoiding them as they came back at him. Green balls of energybegan forming in Cadell's hands, and he flung them at Negative. Negativeran forward, dodging the lasiads whenever they came across his path.Cadell was throwing as many lasiads as he could, but Negative was toofast. He sucked and dodged Cadell's barrage of glowing projectiles. As hedrew closer, and Cadell continued firing lasaids, Megative leapt up into theair and firing a blast of dark energy, not at Cadell, but at the ground he wasstanding on.Cadell was sent flying back, bouncing off of the ground beforeskidding to a stop, leaving a trail of debris in his wake. Negative leaptthrough the air and drew his fist back, screaming in a blood-filled rage allthe while. Cadell looked down at his armor and saw that it was rippling withenergy, sparks of green, gold, red, and purple occasionally flying out. Well,he thought to himself, when all else fails, blow stuff up.Suddenly, as Negative drew near. A multi-colored beam of energybegan engulfing Cadell, until it expanded out in a pulsing wave ofdestruction. Negative's eyes widened , before he was blown through the airinto a distant mountain. Other externals braced themselves, but most werestill, at the very least, thrown from their feet.Emmanuel increased his mass to the point where the pulse simplycouldn't move him, while others had to do in to avoid it.Then, when the dust and energy particles had settled, Cadell let out arelieved sigh and collapsed to his knees. He realized he no longer had anylight armor protecting his body, nor did he have green marking or yelloweyes. He had expended more energy than ever before, and it had taken asignificant toll on his body."Did he do it?" Emmanuel asked in a hushed voice."We'll, looks like Jackie Chan here's got more than just kicks up hisnonexistent sleeves," remarked Drew, in what Cadell assumed was acompliment, though he couldn't be sure.At that moment, they all heard a distant rumble. They turned to lookat the mountain Negative had been thrown into, only to see him flying upinto the air, preparing to head their way."Aw, shit," sighed Drew."Get ready!" Rose called out to the rest of the externals.Cadell was still on his knees, still weakened from his pulse, but theothers were ready to pick up the slack. As Negative drew closer, Ivannastepped forward and took a deep breath."Everyone, cover your ears!" Drew advised.The rest took heed of his words, and she let out the loudest screamshe could muster. Despite having their hands over their ears, they still hearthe shriek. Negative even seemed to be straining against the sheer powerof Ivanna's cry. Until he gritted his teeth and responded with a shriek of hisown. Ivanna had been at the World Tournament, and this he too had herpower, and he was more powerful with it than even she was.Ivanna covered her ears and dropped her knees, withering underNegative's intense scream."Oh, hell no," said Rose, reaching to Drew's side and drawing hispistol.He fired two rounds into Negative's chest. Negative stopped hisscream and turned a haughty gaze towards him, before he started laughingmaniacally. Then, a dark energy blast sent a lot of them sprawling on theground."You actually thought that would work?" He demanded. "Really, youhonestly thought that would work? I mean, have you not been payingattention? I am a God, you insolent fool! You are all nothing but a speck ofdust beneath my feet!"Cadell looked up at Negative defiantly, however his facial expressionchanged from anger to relief as he looked up into the sky."What do you have to be smug about?" Negative demanded. "Youshall be obliterated into nothingness, you're power is nothing next to mi-"Just then, a Jormungandr heat-seeking missile, fired from one of themissile pods mounted on the Chimera, slammed into Negatvie's back."Yes!" exclaimed Cadell.:How're you guys doin; down there?" Chloe asked him over the radio."Better now," replied Cadell enthusiastically.The Chimera whipped around and the 30mm rotary cannon mountedbeneath the nose began spitting high-powered rounds at obscenely highspeeds.Wrath roared in anger and shot a blast of dark energy, hoping to swatthe vtol helicopter out of the sky. But Chloe was a good pilot, arguably thebest in the world, and she swerved out of the way to avoid the deadly blast.Emmanuel then came for a brutal punch to the back of Negative'shead. As he turned around, he hit him with a follow-up left uppercut andright hook. Negative caught his left fist as it came in for a cross, squeezingit and forcing him to his knees. He then shot out his other hand andwrapped his hand around Emmanuel's throat and lifted him up off of hisfeet."What makes you so special?" Negative asked him, spitting in hisface.Emmanuel smirked confidently. "Let me show you," he said, beforereaching out and simply touching Negative on the chest."Wha-" Negative was about to ask, before he shot off into thedistance.Emmanuel had removed all friction and inertia from Negative, and hewas sent sliding across his own continent. He tried to slow himself down bysticking his hand in the ground, but it did nothing.Upon seeing Negative skidding along the rocky terrain, Chloe veeredthe Chimera towards Negative and began firing missiles and machine gunrounds at the seemingly-helpless figure.30mm rounds ripped up the ground around him, while a trio ofunguided Hydra missiles streaked towards him. Negative was blown up intothe air by one of the missiles, before being hit by a burst of minigun fire.When he landed, he tried to slow himself, but he still had no friction orinertia and continued his slide.Negative, deciding that he had engulfed these meddler enough, flewup into the sky and fired his eye beams at the Chimera. Chloe veered hervessel upward and the beams singed them bottom of the fuselage, but didno real damage to the structure or systems themselves. The Chimeraturned upwards so that it's rear hatch was directly over Negative."Go, go, go!" Chloe called back to the crew compartment, as theaccess ramp was lowered.Cadell watched as a figure wielding dual hook sword, with a trenchcoat billowing out behind them, leapt from the back of the Chimera. Theirface may have been obscured by a metallic mask with a glowing, red visor,but Cadell knew who it was. It was Ryan Briggs.A purple aura began to surround the speedster and he dasheddownwards, slicing Negative across the chest, before he lunged upwardsonce again. He then slashed vertically down the center of his chest, beforefinally landing.Ryan had moved so fast that all that could be seen on Negative wasa purple x with a line through it drawn across his chest. Until, however, thepurple mist dissipated and three massive cuts opened up on his chest,sprawling copious amounts of blood over the rocky landscape below.Ryan, once on the ground, dashed to Cadells's side, where the twofriends embraced and shook hands."Ryan! My God, it's so great to see you!" said Cadell excitedly."Hey, Cadell," replied Ryan nonchalantly. "How's it going?""Well, frankly, it could be better," Cadell responded truthfully. "Agenocidal madman is trying to-""Don't sweat it, Cheryl briefed me on the way here," Ryan brushed offany further explanation."Alright then," said Cadell, "you wanna fight?"Ryan, though Cadell couldn't see it, grinned beneath his mask. "Youknow I do.The externals surged forward, Ryan leading the group, all of themready to take down Negative once and for all. The Chimera flew overhead.Chloe piloted it with expert precision, while Dylan manned the weaponswith the skill only a genius like him could.Negative hovered in the air as the externals drew closer, his eyesheating up with his fiery beams. While Emmanuel had robbed his body offriction, he could not come back down, nor would he be able to do anydamage in close quarters. Thus, he knew who his first target would be. Heflew upwards to avoid another barrage from the Chinera, before firing adark energy blast at Emmanuel, but, before the beam could make contact,rear access hatch of the Chimera was lowered once more, and CherylAirmed leapt out of it, cushioning her fall with one of her shields andlanding in front of Emmanuel, where she put up another barrier, blockingthe dark energy blast.Negative growled in frustration, before being hit with an unguidedmissile from the Chimera. He fell through the air several meters, beforeregaining his senses and flying back up. He fired his eye beams at thehelicopter, but Chloe maneuvered out of the way enough so that anydamage sustained from the beams was minimal. Suddenly, he was metwith Cadell's foot in his face. The boy had launched himself into the air andhit him with his signature flying sidekick, green and gold energy emanatingfrom his leg all the while. Cadell flipped up into the air and brought his footdown on the top of Negative's head in an overhead axe kick. Negative wassent several feet down and looked up, firing a blast of dark energy atCadell, who put up a light barrier to block. The concussive force, however,had been enough to knock Cadell out of the sky.Cheryl cushioned Cadell landing with another one of her shields. "Areyou okay?" She asked him.Cadell grinned and, as he always did, responded with: "better, now thatyou're here."Cheryl returned the grin."What's our next move?" Asked Rose."We'll," began Cadell, "it looks like Emmanuel's move is affecting hisability to fight up close, so I think we need to force him to fight, we'll, upclose.""Makes sense," remarked Drew, "but how do we do that?""Cheryl, you launch me and Rose up at him and we'll fight him fromthere.""Don't leave me out!" Ryan spoke up."Are you sure that's the smartest idea?" She asked."Not really," admitted Cadell. He thought back to Spira, to seeing the lifeimmediately leave her eyes after being blown apart. His tone took a moreserious note, "but we have to try something," he urged them. "We may gethurt, hell, we may even be killed, but we owe it to those who aren't herenow to give it a try. Especially now that he's on the back foot, we need toput everything we have into bringing this guy down, are you all with me?"The externals surrounding him all nodded their ascent."Alright then," Cadell continued, "let's do this."Cheryl formed three of her shields on the ground. "When you guys areready, just step on and they'll do the rest," she told them.Cadell, Rose, and Ryan nodded, and immediately leapt onto the shields,which expanded outwards as soon as they touched them and hurled themaway, up into the air.Ryan whooped with excitement, while Rose simply cursed. Ryan,obviously, was the first to reach Negative, his blades little more than apurple blur. He slashed and hacked, sending torrents of blood from behindhim, until a blast from Negative's eye lasers sent him back down to earth.Cadell once again hit Negative in the chin with a flying side kick,followed by a spinning axe kick to the top of his head. Cadell then dodgedbehind him, and side kicked him in the back. Negative whirled around,attempting to hit him with his eye lasers, but Cadell kept dodging to avoidhim, going from front to back and landing a series of kicks and punchedbefore Negative could counter. Until, Cadell was grazed with a blast of darkenergy, with threw him off-balance just enough for Negative to blast himwith another, sending him, once again, back down to the surface.Rose was the last to reach Negative and, as he drew closer, Cadell heldout his hand and focused his energy on him, trying to recall what hadhappened when he'd gained his armor. Pale green gauntlets formed onRose's forearms, eliciting a smirk from the man. When he reached his foe,he hit him with a powerful uppercut which sent Negative up higher into thesky. Rose then came up and drew his fist back for a gravitational punch,one which was more powerful than anything he'd done before. With thatlast mighty blow, Negative was thrown down into the ground, throwing uppieces of rocks and other debris and leaving a massive crater where he'dlanded.Rose landed next to Ryan and Cadell, his descent made easierthanks to Cheryl, and the three of them, reinforced by the rest soon after,walked over to the edge of the crater. Inside, they saw a Negative that wasbattered, bruised, and even bleeding.When he saw Emmanuel peek over the side, he grinned and fired hiseye beams at him, catching him in the shoulder. The man fell backwards,crying in pain and clutching his burnt arm. Flesh and muscle had beenburnt off, leaving only bone visible in certain spots. Cheryl immediately ranto his side and began focusing her healing powers on the burn. ButNegative would not be dissuaded so easily. He flew up into the air and senta blast of a powerful dark energy that had taken a significant portion of hisenergy to produce towards the prone form of Emmanuel, blowing him apartwhen it met his body. His head, arms, and legs shot out in oppositedirections and sprayed Cheryl in viscera.Negative grinned. The fight was back in his control.