Ancient Forces (2018 Reboot)

Chapter 54 - The Guardian

As explosions and battles raged on around them the four bitter enemies clashed together for their final struggle. Death Blade swung quickly at Zayne, who was closest to him, but missed as a strong wind kicked up from his wings allowing him to evade yet again, his goal becoming apparent in faking Death Blade out to provide openings in his defence. Suddenly a pillar of ice slammed into Death Blade's side, sending him several feet away before he stuck his sword in the ground and stopped himself. When he'd refocused his attention on his foes he saw a flash of green and then flew back several more feet, Eli's padded shoes landing safely back on the ground with his sword in his firm, sweaty hand. Damien rushed forward, ice and snow falling and rising around him as he approached. A huge hammer of ice formed in his hands which he raised up and brought down on Death Blade, who was just getting back up when he noticed the incoming attack. He held his arms up high and aimed them, then split them apart straight down the middle to reveal two strange nozzles hidden beneath the armor. Damien hesitated in that instant, which gave Death Blade just enough time to charge them and fire. Two huge splitting beams of plasma erupted from the nozzles and incinerated the ice hammer instantly, then came down and aimed at Damien.
"It's just like Zayne! Keep out of his sight and stay on the move!" Eli exclaimed as he came from out of nowhere, feet knocking the arms away just as they shot, launching Death Blade sideways into a building from the downward force.
"Grah! How do you do that!?" Death Blade exclaimed, erupting from the rubble of the building to charge back in at Damien.
"He's just good at that sort of stuff!" Zayne shouted, copying Eli's strategy as he came from the side, fist slamming into Death Blade's chest to knock him away.
In the instant that Death Blade hovered in the air Eli dropped down from above, how he'd gotten there so quickly Death Blade didn't know. Eli threw both arms up with the sword in hand and brought them down, not trying to slice Death Blade in half, but instead using the sword as a blunt weapon of electrical energy to slam him into the ground. Once he was down once again another pillar of ice rose from the crater, sending him flying back into the sky. A huge arm wrapped around his leg, flinging him across their body and into the concrete once more. Their team synergy was strong, and their ability to use each other's abilities to their own advantage was something Death Blade had seen even with Dragon Hunter when he rewatched the fight from the camera he'd placed nearby the school. But he'd anticipated this, and their moves were only allowed because he wanted to learn more about them. He wanted to give them a false sense of hope. Then he would shatter it. But then again, they wouldn't just come in to this fight knowing how powerful he was and expect that their teamwork would defeat him. No, there was something else going on. Were they perhaps playing with him just as much as he was them?
Death Blade reversed his arms and flipped himself off the ground, over Zayne, and right in front of a quickly approaching Eli. The red blade swung forward but missed as Death Blade moved just out of its range, then grabbed it and moved his knee up to break it. A fist grabbed the knee before it hit the blade and pulled him away, Zayne's fire getting more intense with each passing second on Death Blade's body. He threw him at Damien, his entire metal body intensely hot. A pillar of ice rose up and trapped Death Blade, instantly changing the temperature which fluctuated the composition of the Mythanium. Had they really figured out one of the weaknesses? Their next move told him no, as Eli quickly came in and smashed the pillar of ice, hoping that the armor would shatter with it. Of course it didn't, and now Death Blade was free once again. He turned and swiped at Eli, a piece of fabric from his scarf shredding off with the blade. Zayne appeared once again, just like Eli had done before, and socked his fist across Death Blade's face snapping the visual to the side. In the opportunity a thunderbolt of continuous overloading power slammed into his chest piece, the energy bouncing around crackling and brightening with each second. Enough was enough. Death Blade was done playing with his food.
Death Blade moved his head back into place, then grabbed a fist coming from Zayne with his own. He threw Zayne in front of him to block an attack from Eli, who sent another powerful blast of lightning to try and stun Death Blade but failed. Then without a second thought Death Blade flung Zayne to his back like a ragdoll and disgarded him, hitting Damien square in the chest with Zayne's head. The two collapsed onto the floor in a heaping pile of fire and ice, leaving Eli and Death Blade staring each other down. The red eye met with the piercing green pupils that glowed from the darkness beneath Eli's cloak. He seemed so much more sinister with the new outfit. It looked oddly familiar to Death Blade, although he couldn't place where. Despite the memory Death Blade knew he'd never seen the cloak, and he was now staring down his final foe before the time would come for Zayne to die. They both griped their swords firmly and suspended their actions for only a moment before launching forward and clashing sword to sword.
A flurry of red and red clashed back and forth, lightning sparking from one while specks of red dashed away from the other. Back and forth the strikes went, occasionally Eli would get a clean cut in on the armor while Death Blade would here and there get a swipe in on Eli's clothing, which had armor underneath it that blocked the sword from penetrating the skin. The eyes of red and green seemingly merged in the sky and demanded a shred of attention from Ver and Keith, who had been floating around the outside of the battle to pick off any stray Mythic or help those who needed assistance. They looked on at the flurry of swords and the electrical dance that occured between them, the sight slowly casting a blinding light of energy around them which grew as the flurry continued. Eventually they'd gone back and forth so many times that electricity bounced off of Death Blade's body like he himself was a lightning rod, and Eli's new cloth suit was almost shredded in the knees, chest, and arms. Thankfully the cloth wrappings kept the sleeves and the leggings from falling off to reveal the basic armor beneath.
"You're pretty skilled with a sword that you've never used before!" Death Blade exclaimed as he finally jabbed his sword into the hook, stopping the flurry.
"I guess so huh? Never knew I was much of a swordsman!" Eli replied as he quickly twisted his wrist, the hook turning with it, then thrusted it out to the side and sent Death Blade's sword flying across the air only to jab itself into a crevice of rubble a few feet away.
Just as Eli was bringing his sword back a fist slammed into his chest, sending him flying backwards and into an upturned chunk of concrete from the street. Death Blade turned to face Zayne and Damien, who were now up and focused in on the battle once more. However now they had a new expression. They were both smiling, and their fists were reeling back slowly.
"Alright Eli! I think we've softened him up enough! It's time!" Zayne commanded.
From behind Death Blade the sound of lightning charged up, and Eli was now back on his feet with his fist pulled back, lightning bouncing between his fist and his chest, the Dino's Heart glowing bright in him. Death Blade turned back to the duo in front of him and saw a similar sight, Zayne and Damien's chests glowing with their Super Hearts charging, fire and ice forming and bouncing between them. Could it really be? Had they really figured it out?
"EVERYONE!" Ver shouted out.
The Mystic, Dragon, and Dino Forces all stopped in the middle of their fighting and turned to face the center of the battlefield, the three lights expanding as their target looked around confused. The Mythic stopped as well, just as confused as to what was going on until they recognized what the lights were, and where they were coming from. The war around the four ended just as quickly as it had started to look at the display below. Death Blade soon realized what was happening and took off running at his sword. Instantly all three lights leapt from their spots and aimed their fists at the single target who quickly spun around and faced them with his sword in hand ready to counter their attacks.
"ANCIENT FORCES..." they shouted in unison.
Death Blade threw out his sword to impale Zayne.
"SUPER HEART TRIO..." they threw their fists out, Zayne's wings extending just in time to evade the blade.
Death Blade missed, his balance off and his single red eye now reflecting the orange fist that approached him.
"MMMEEETTTEEEOOORRR!"
All three fists, lightning, fire, and ice, slammed into the chestpiece of their foe at once. The melding elements merged and reformed into a single power ball of energy that pressed against Death Blade's chest, the pressure slowly bending the metal to their will as their fists shot through the energy, connecting together to form one single punch that finally bent the metal inwards, Death Blade's eye seemingly widening as the damage was dealt, his inner workings becoming jumbled and confused in the attack. Finally after what seemed like an eternity Death Blade was sent hurling through the blank, open space like a bullet through several dozens of buildings, punching holes straight through them over and over again before finally stopping from the impact force around twenty blocks away. The returning impact force sent a powerful gust of wind back at the trio which pushed Eli and Damien away and slammed them into piles of rubble or buildings. A nearly twenty foot crater sank beneath Zayne as he slid back a few feet then came to a stop, his Dragon form fading away as he returned to his human form, his armor gone and the gauntlet from which he'd attacked with corroded with fire. His right arm, the one without the gauntlet, was fine, which gave Zayne hope.
Outside the crater the wind sent a powerful dispersion of energy into every single Mystic, Dragon, Dino, and Mythic Force member, sending them all flying in seperate directions dismantling their battles. The city seemed to lean out as the wind finally dissipated, the land becoming quiet yet again as the sun beamed down upon the remaining individuals. Ver and Keith were the first two to get back to the crater's edge, looking down at the single individual who stood firm, the glowing orange from his body apparent in the daylight. Aries and Austin, who had been taking it easy the entire fight, stood next to Ver and Keith at the edge looking to their friend. Zayne had used a considerable amount of energy to ensure that the trio punch was as powerful as possible. The Dragon's Heart glowed for only moments more before dying out, the energy dispersing to try and regenerate his injured arm and whatever other injuries he'd sustained in the battle. They'd done it. Ver and Keith began cheering, clapping in victory. Other Mystic members joined in, and soon the Dragon and Dino force members were celebrating too. The Mythic, who had been told their leader was indestructible, all stood in disbelief at the path of destruction left in his wake. The battle was over.
A flicker of light erupted from the rubble a certain distance away, a gleaming reflection of light on metal that shot a beam of blinding sunlight right at Zayne's back. He turned to face the light, which everyone now looked at, and stared in horror as a hand of Mythanium erupted from the dirt and debris. The body soon followed, and the eye came emerging at the end, the Mythanium machine devoid of any emotion, no thought other than killing, no feeling returning to the land of the living to fulfill its mission. Zayne turned and faced Death Blade fully, taking a step forward to advance but failing as his knee gave out, his normal human energy spent towards healing as well. Zayne fell to his knee and propped himself up on his body, heaving heavily to try and catch a breath as Death Blade began approaching, sword in hand, with a huge dent in his armor that could be easily seen even from this distance. The Mythic became rejuvenated in their attacks and the war began once again, Mystic, Dragon, and Dino Force members once again having to fight for survival as the single robot walked past them all and stood above Zayne. He observed his weakened opponent and, after all this time, smiled for a reason outside of a fantasy. This was really it. The time had finally come. Zayne had offered himself up after all this time. Death Blade held the sword up to the sky.
"I didn't come to this fight unprepared Zayne," Death Blade said as his left arm reached up and gripped the plate of armor, shredding it off to reveal another plate below, untouched by the damage.
"H-how...?" Zayne whispered with what little energy he had left.
"I figured something like this would happen, so I reinforced my armor for the occasion. I've been storing refined Mythanium since I got here on this rotten planet, and I figured I might as well use it all up. I've got two more layers beneath this, but the reason I don't look bigger or bulkier is because of how thinly sliced I made them. They're still just as strong, just as lightweight, just as effective, but they're more hidden than most armor is. I'm sorry Zayne, but no matter what you did it wouldn't have worked," Death Blade began laughing, the uncontrollable surge taking over as he brought the sword right up to Zayne's neck.
"You're... not going to win this..." Zayne rasped.
"This is what happens, Zayne, when an unstoppable force, you, meets an immovable object, me. Eventually they cancel out, and one of them must give up. In this case, the unstoppable force finally gave out. You put all of your power into that one move thinking it was the end, and this was the result."
Zayne gripped his chest, weakly beating it to try and get a reaction out of the Dragon's Heart. There was nothing. No more power, no more energy left to even move. He was at Death Blade's mercy, and the time had finally come. Death Blade moved his sword back and imitated Zayne's punching action.
"What was it? Dragon's Heart Meteor? Hm, it doesn't have as much of a ring to this particular occasion," Death Blade laughed, "How's about Mythanium Execution? Sounds good doesn't it!?"
The blade swung down, slow motion taking effect over life as Zayne listened to the sound of explosions and battles going on around him. The war had been won at this point. All of these people who Zayne requested for help were going to die because of his weakness. Because of his failure. Perhaps, in the end, happy endings weren't always achievable, were they? But maybe, Zayne thought, maybe after his defeat Eli and Damien would join together and stop Death Blade on their own? They had the power, they had the knowledge. Without him it was possible. But now, in this moment, the end had arrived. Zayne's eyes closed tight as the sound of the blade cutting the wind got closer and closer, his ear twitching as the sound of his demise drew close. Screaming and shouts for help came from around him, but he did not listen. He accepted his fate. Finally, after all the struggle, this was the outcome. All for nothing had his training, his fighting been. Maybe, maybe if the Dragon's Heart could survive, the next person could finish the job. Who knew? Zayne certainly wouldn't.
"ZAYNE!"
In the darkness he'd brought upon himself Zayne heard the cry. It was familiar to him. It was the same as the visions. Ver's voice. Ver's call to him.
"ZAYNE!"
The next calling by Keith, who struggled to keep an inflection of control in his voice.
"ZAYNE!"
"NO ZAYNE!"
Two voices in unison, Zayne heard them from rubble behind him, Eli and Damien calling for him to fight back. They desperately wanted him to move, to survive. But he couldn't. He didn't have anything left. It was over.
"GUARDIAN!"
"GUARDIAN GO!"
"GUARDIAN!"
"ZAYNE!"
"DON'T LET HIM WIN GUARDIAN!"
Several voices, screams above the fighting in the war surrounding the field. Mystic, Dragon, and Dino force members called out to him. They demanded that he fight back. They cried out for him to keep going. A tingling feeling rose in his chest.
"ZAYNE!" Ver's cry.
"ZAYNE!" Keith's.
"ZAYNE GO!" Eli.
"ZAYNE!" Damien.
They chanted, they called out for him. They cried out in terror, in fear. In pain and hope. In struggle and in confidence. They demanded that he stand up once more, not for his own sake, but for theirs. Zayne's eyes opened and images burnt into his mind. Memories flooded in from the past in that instant.
Being a hero means putting aside your own fears and doing what you know is right.
Being a hero means setting aside your own life so that others may live.
Being a hero means never giving up.
Being a Guardian means never quitting, even when quitting is the only option left.
"Go."
Another voice from within him. The Dragon's Heart? Another person? Images flashed by. The man that he saved from the Midnight Horror. Aleah when she was kidnapped by Arachnid. The people in the theatre when he fought Thunder Fang. Ver when he battled Damien. Ver and Keith when he saved them from the Mythic Trio in the warehouse just before Death Blade appeared. All of the people around him now, fighting for their lives while he stood there numb and weak, the blade mere inches from his neck now. A final image came in, the memory of the little girl screaming for help in the first training room with the forest all those months ago when he knew little to nothing about his power. The surge, the rush of energy he'd gotten when lives were at stake. It all came back to him now. It wasn't just his life at stake anymore. Everyone was in danger. The fate of the planet rested in his hands. He couldn't quit.
"Go."
The voice commanded it, and Zayne listened for anything else. He knew there was something else coming. He could feel it.
"Zayne."
Zayne's eyes widened.
"Zayne. My son. My Guardian. GO!"
Zayne's gauntlet shot up to his neck and clashed with the blade, stopping it from cleanly chopping off the connecting limb. Death Blade paused for a moment, his laughter trailing off as Zayne's eyes refocused on the single red eye above him. His chest began glowing brightly, almost instantly gathering up the stored energy hidden within the backwaters of the Dragon's heart. Zayne slammed a fist into Death Blade's chest, sending him skidding across the ground several feet away while he stood back up, everyone around him staring in awe as his entire body, like it had done so long ago, began glowing orange all around. Death Blade began laughing yet again.
"So the Dragon's Heart had a storehouse of energy saved up. How adorable. But you've never even so much as scratched the power of the Dragon's Heart or refined Mythanium alone. I guess, what, twenty five at most for the Dragon's Heart? I bet you haven't even touched twenty six yet. That stored energy won't get you anywhere, and now you've only prolonged the inevitable. Let's get this over with," Death Blade sharpened his blade on his chest as he got into a battle ready stance.
Zayne's hands rested at his sides, both fists clenched together firmly as he faced down his enemy. His mortal rival, matching him step for step as he became more powerful. Something clicked within him. He had clarity now. He wasn't angry at Death Blade for trying to kill him. He wasn't even angry at Death Blade for killing his parents. But now he was angry at Death Blade for trying to think he could kill everybody he cared about. Now that made him even more enraged than he'd ever felt before.
"Perhaps I haven't scratched twenty six percent yet. Perhaps I have only extended the inevitable. But Death Blade there's one truth that I do know that you can never change. You say you're indestructible. You say I'm an unstoppable force. I think that's pretty accurate. Because no matter what I've been through I've always come out on top. This situation is no different," Zayne slammed a foot into the ground, creating a small sinkhole in the floor while fire and lava began spewing from the hole, "BECAUSE I AM THE GUARDIAN OF THIS WORLD AND ALL WHO LIVE IN IT, AND YOU ARE A THREAT TO ALL THAT I SWEAR TO DEFEND!"
The entire war halted in an instant as orange lights flashed across the field, instantly taking out the entire Mythic army in a single swipe. Zayne was gone and back faster than anyone could register the move, and that left everyone staring at the crater where Zayne and Death Blade stood toe to toe. They charged at each other, sword and fists clashing back and forth as their resolve to win this battle merged and clashed together. Zayne's eyes ignited with fire, lava suddenly spewing from random cracks and holes in the surrounding area with no warning as fire began setting abroad across the field. Miles around the temperature rose by several degrees. His fists were brighter and faster than ever, blocking and hitting and dodging and countering every single move that Death Blade made, which seemed to be a slow crawl compared to him. Eli's eyes widened as orange slime began spewing from Zayne's mouth, the energy stored within his body even more than what he was using now, which told Eli the one thing he needed to know. Zayne was going all out. This fight he wasn't holding back. This was him on a straight climb to one hundred percent of his power. Each and every single punch rose his power by another percent, until finally he would max out.
Death Blade was doing a quick job of defending until he felt a fist slam into his chest. At first it felt weak, but when another one hit him in the same spot he realized that Zayne was getting faster and more powerful with each swing, his energy building up. All Death Blade could see was an orange blur and the two piercing red eyes in the movements, swiping and swinging every second he got. Another fist slammed into him, the sound of bending metal catching Death Blade's attention. He glanced down and noticed that with every hit Zayne got in the metal chest piece would not only bend, but superheat to an incredibly high level and begin to melt. He quickly looked back up only to feel three more hits all at once drive into his chest, all of them from Zayne as he slammed a fist forward, driving Death Blade back. The flurry was too much. Death Blade jumped away and ripped off the now melted chestpiece, then charged back in trying to get a distracting blow on his target. In an instant the orange was gone, and from behind Death Blade felt a hand grab his head and reel him back, driving a fist deep into the back end of the next plate which almost destroyed it instantly. Death Blade swung his blade back around in a frenzy and cut Zayne's chest open, orange slime and red releasing on Death Blade's metal as he took a step back.
Almost as if nothing had happened the orange blur began flurry attacking again, each time aiming for Death Blade's face. Death Blade quickly dove under Zayne and swiped from behind, but failed as the gauntlet arm came back around and blocked the sword. Then, rising from above was Zayne's right arm which dropped down faster than even Death Blade could see and snapped the sword in half, the red tipped end dropping to the ground while the rest of it went flying backwards with Death Blade as he took another huge fist to the chest. As he was trying to recover and get back on his feet the blur appeared before him, fist reeled back and orange flash starting to vanish. Death Blade's red eye reflected fear as Zayne's overconfident smile and pulled back fist took up his view.
"So tell me Death Blade, did you want to destroy me because you were scared of the Dragon's Heart? Because I assure you, once I'm done here, that'll be your reason for never coming back!"
Zayne extended his right arm, a straight muscle back behind him as all of the orange power and energy rushed down the body, through the chest, and up through the arm. Everything in his body looked normal, until appearing right in his extended palm was the Dragon's Heart, orange slime dripping from the tip. Zayne coughed out a huge splatter of it and crushed the heart in his hand, then reeled back the now ever growing bright fist and threw it forward at Death Blade's chest.
"GO ZAYNE!" Eli screamed.
"DRAGON'S HEART..."
Zayne's now brighter than ever fist pierced the air faster and harder than it ever had before.
"ZAYNE ZAYNE ZAYNE!" Damien and Keith cheered in unison.
"EXTINCTION LEVEL..."
The fist slammed into Death Blade's chest.
"ZAYNE! NO! NO ZAYNE!" Ver's voice, making Zayne tear up as he pushed forward.
Whatever happened now was out of his control.
Silence gripped the field as a fiery vortex formed around Zayne and Death Blade, all outside eyes unable to see inside the bubble of lava and fire that surrounded them. Zayne's eyes flashed for one last time as Death Blade felt the fist not only hit his chest, but sink through it, then burst out on the other side. Zayne's fist had not only destroyed the Mythanium, it had punched a hole straight through it with ease. The lashback of force was coming next, but not before Zayne smiled to Death Blade once last time.
"MMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRR!!"
Instantly the vortex flowed down into one spot inside of Death Blade's chest and incinerated everything in his body. The red eye dropped out and the lashback of power and wind sent Death Blade flying into space just like the ball from the ball throw a year and a half earlier. The power sent a crater nearly eighty feet deep sinking below, and Zayne was dropped straight into the middle of the crater at the speed of a falling meteor, deepening the impact by another fifty feet or so at the bottom. The Mythic, Mystic, Dragon, and Dino Force members all went flying backwards in all directions, the wind dispersing them by several hundreds of feet away while the remaining pieces of the city in the close area were vaporized in an instant. Dust and debris kicked up everywhere, and some of the people who were close enough even caught on fire as they got kicked away. Hidden behind piles of rubble were Eli, Damien, Aries, Austin, Ver, and Keith. They had blocked up as soon as the fiery vortex appeared, preparing for the worst. When the kick back from the punch ended they threw the rubble aside and split up. Ver, Keith, Aries, and Austin all ran up the crater to try and see if anyone else was seriously hurt, which there would no doubt be.
Eli and Damien both ran towards the crater, both of them putting every last drop of energy they could into running and evading the ruins around them that crumbled or fell. Small holes of fire and little puddles of lava remained here and there, bubbles sending small embers to catch anything else in the quickly growing flames. Damien tried to take out as many of these remains as he could, which put him behind Eli who reached the crater's center several seconds later. The crater at the center went even deeper where Zayne had landed. Down below Zayne crawled weakly, his body incinerated, his clothes gone other than his gauntlet and some shredded fire resistant pants. His gauntlet arm was bloody, the ground drowning in red from his chest, orange slime dotting the landscape. Zayne's right arm, however, was not there. In its place at the shoulder where the limb should have been was an instantly cauterized wound that bubbled and tried to heal, but had no strength left in it. Zayne's bloody, battered, and broken body crawled with whatever morsel of strength he had left towards the Dragon's Heart, which beat weakly and pulsed faintly above him, the last drizzles of energy leaving quickly. Zayne reached up for it, but couldn't quite reach it from the floor.
A hand wrapped around the Dragon Heart, pulling it from out of Zayne's view. Just as the vision had told him. His arm was gone, in screaming pain at the connecting point. He'd totally vaporized it from the punch. Some Mythic above most likely had the Dragon's Heart now. Zayne let go of his body and finally fell away, the last embers of energy in him flickering out. Then he felt a warmth press against his back, and instantly it was inside of him, the Dragon's Heart remerging with his body. They fed off of each other, the weak and powerless glow returning to Zayne's body as he felt just a slight, weak drizzle of adrenaline pick him up. He looked up to the edge of the crater and saw Eli, orange slime on his hands, as he reached down and grabbed Zayne by the shoulders, pulling him from the crater and up closer towards Damien, who had finally caught up from the top of the crater after cleaning up Zayne's mess he left behind.