Sands of Destiny: Five Lights Appear

Chapter 23: The Perfectionist Vs The Sons of Midaco

Clash after clash caused sparks to fly through the air as the two battled. Aux held his sword like a fencer, and every attack he went for was a lethal one. It was all Medikus could do to keep him off. Medikus fought in the same style, and although he was using his lightning in hopes of giving himself the speed advantage, his attacks were still too slow.

"Come on Medikus, you're the ace here aren't you?! Show me how strong you really are!!!"

Medikus ducked and spun, taking Aux down with a sweeping kick. Medikus stabbed at Aux's heart only to be parried and kicked in the shin, falling to a knee. Aux stood up over him when suddenly a black ring of fire appeared under him. He quickly jumped outside of the ring, afraid he might have fallen into some sort of trap. Suddenly four pink claws of sand burst off to the ring, each holding somebody different. They grew out of the ground like pillars, and gripped their prey like talons. Purple wind slammed on top of them and the black fire slowly retreated up the pillars, ensuring that there would be no escaping this trap.

"What the hell did you kids do to us?!" screamed Frixius at the top of his lungs.

Frixius, Natura, Glacio, and Igneous found themselves in shock that they fell into a trap. But even worse, they looked up to notice silver rain flying down from the sky right at them. They all winced as the rain stopped right above them. The sand settled and you could see Ash, Kruise Dormia, and Trista standing confidently in the middle of the pillars. Kruise yelled out to them.

"Wanna give up now guys?!"

As the claws all tightened simultaneously, all four of them admitted defeat right then and there. The four slowly dissipated their trap, careful not to hurt their teachers. Kruise, Dormia, and Trista collapsed from exhaustion, all having expended too much energy in their one on one fights. Ash walked over to Medikus, who was just barely standing. His clothes were tattered, and he'd been sliced multiple times.

"Remember what we talked about after that meeting, Medikus?"

"Yeah yeah, I remember."

"Well then, let's end this, we still have a long road ahead, so we have to win."

Medikus's lightning turned green, and flared wildly healing himself and everyone around him, expect for Aux, who hadn't been touched anyway. Ash breathed in deeply, and an aura of black flames sprung from up under him nearly matching the size Medikus's aura of green lightning. Medikus switched his sword stance, getting a low, wide base and turning sideways, holding his sword above his head in one hand while holding his other hand out in front of him both for balance and defense. Ash put his guard up like a boxer, and together they prepared to face Aux.

"We'll if that's the case, I guess it's time for me to go all out as well."

"Wait you were holding ba..."

An overwhelming sense of doom shook the two brothers as they watched Aux's dull blue eyes come alight, as if awaking from a deep slumber.

"I hope you two are ready!"

Aux charged forward with an unreal speed. Medikus clashed with him, matching his speed. Medikus swung his sword expertly, choosing odd angles to attack from to keep Aux in his heels. Ash flew into the air and threw fire balls at Aux, in their attempt to keep Aux on the defensive. Aux parried an attack from Medikus, and grabbed him, tossing him into the air. Ash put a portal in Medikus's path, teleporting him right under Aux's feet. Medikus lept out of the portal, landing a vicious uppercut on Aux. Aux stumbled back, stunned. Medikus rushed him, preparing to end the fight in one blow.

"Ahem!"

Medikus flew right through Aux's afterimage, and turned around to see Aux smiling. Slowly Aux sheathed his sword, and put his hand up, taunting them for their next attack. Medikus followed suit, hoping he'd be faster with his hands than his sword. Ash landed behind him, and on que, the two brothers charged in, throwing punches from every angle they could. Aux toyed with them, dodging all of their attacks and retaliating with twice the speed, all while standing in the same spot. The two pressed on, trying desperately to land even one blow on him. Medikus swung at Aux, who grabbed his arm and threw him at his brother. The two stood slowly.

"Hey, Ash, I got an idea."

The two muttered back and forth for a second.

"Alright, let's give it a shot I guess."

Ash took off towards Aux, while Medikus stood back, shooting lightning at Aux. Ash leapt high into the air, and Aux followed, jumping after him. Ash put a portal right above his head, teleporting him in front of Medikus. Medikus landed a wild haymaker, knocking Aux down. Aux rolled backward, jumping back to his feet. Ash and Medikus charged forward, hoping to sandwich him before he could recover. In an instant the two found themselves on third backs with Aux's sword at their throat.

"Well well, it would seem like I won!"

—

They all sat at Igneous's dinner table, quiet. Ash and Medikus hung their heads in defeat. Aux smiled and stood up, clearing his throat.

"First, let me say that you all fought the hardest I've ever seen kids your age fight. Everyone of you left everything you had on that training field. As you all know, ultimately Medikus couldn't answer the bell and beat me in battle, even with his older brother's help."

Medikus stood. With a single tear rolling from his eye, he began to speak.

"I apologize, I have no excuse for losing any fight, and I'll make sure after this I never lose again!"

Aux walked up to Medikus and wrapped his arm around him.

"Don't be so hard on yourself kid!"

Igneous nodded.

"You couldn't have beat him anyway. What sets him apart from the rest of us, is his ridiculous speed and stamina. Not to mention his skill is second to none with a sword. And he didn't hold back like the rest of us. This was a test of your will, Medikus, to face an opponent of that level more or less. As the ace of your generation, they'll be enemies too strong for even you. But the fact that you are willing to fight even when you have no chance, that's what makes you an ace! It was a job well done, by both you and Ash."

Medikus sat back down. Trista, who sat next to him, grabbed his hand gently and encouragingly. Aux walked towards the doorway and turned around.

"I'll be assigning you your first mission now. Dormia, you'll be fighting Great Eight Crono. He's smart, so be careful not to fall into any traps. Trista, you'll be fighting Titan, and I believe you already know what to expect there. Kruise, you'll be assigned to take out Great Eight Diego. If I heard correctly, I believe you owe him a good beating. Ash, it's time for you to end your rivalry with Midas. And Medikus, you'll be fighting the strongest of the current Great Eight, Titus. He's nothing like me so I expect a win out of you kid, don't disappoint me! I wish you all luck, I know you'll all succeed."

Igneous chimed in.

"The rest of us will be faking the death of The Wanderer. Aux are you helping us?"

Aux's expression deepened.

"I'm afraid I have business in Oasis, so I can't."

The room fell silent, and tension filled the air. Aux gave us a little smile, tipped his hat, and turned around.

"I'll see you all again soon."