Forever Without You

"Huh? You know my name...who are you? Who is this?! Do you know Sky too?!" Red asked me through the radio.

My eyes rapidly filled with tears as the childish tone of her voice filled my ears once more. I thought she died. I couldn't help but cry in front of everybody.

"It's Carl...you're okay...you're alive..." I said, I held the radio tightly to my chest and sobbed in front of Shike, Belle, Alexia, Boo, and Fudo.

"CARL?!" She screamed. I could tell the enthusiasm in her voice would soon turn to tears as well. "How do I get to you?! Tell me! I need to see you!"

"We're in Antarctica! Sky, Dani, Rin, Ren, Ellios, Griff, Jeff, Mandi, Lia, Charlie, Alex, and I all built a city! We're prospering. We're okay, are you?!" I told her. Everybody around me was smiling at the reunion, waiting to open their mouths for an opening.

"Yes...I have a few injuries...but I am alive and well. I heard about your location from a girl on a boat... Faith. Do you know her too? She vanished out of thin air, I'm not sure how she did it, but she did." Red told us. I watched Shike's face turn confused, looking at Boo next to see if her speed played a part in her movement.

Boo thought for a moment, and perked up while remembering something I didn't know. 

"Wait a minute, Faith?! We haven't heard from her in nine months... she was with this girl named Red? Was she looking for her?"

"No, she wasn't with me that entire time. I was wandering the Earth searching for a place to stay. Who knew that Domin's hunting skills and traps would come to such use...right? Anyway, she told me some surprising information...she told me that Sky was sealed, whatever that means." Red said.

"Sky is...sealed? Where? Do you know what happened to him?" Shike asked Red. 

"No, not really. Faith left before she could explain. Anyway, I'm heading over to--" Red's voice was cut off as a familiar hand snatched the radio out of my hand.

"Red... huh? Looks like I found another child." Twilight said above me.

My eyes flickered in rage as she continued to move past me. As she moved past my body, the Rubeki who were running in Sky's direction immediately turned around.

Heading straight for Red.

"I'll help you get there!" Boo screamed out. She caught onto the plan and her body lit up in flames and she moved as fast as possible forward. She closed the distance on Twilight instantly, slashing at her chest to push her back and stop her progression.

I blasted my gun into the ground, using Essence Strands as a source of infinite ammo to propel myself forward. Twilight was far too dangerous to keep around.

I landed next to Boo after a few shots, sliding on the ground as we made eye contact with each other. The insurmountable amount of Rubeki was nearing our position.

"You better make this fight quick, son. If I win, you realize that I'll have the one thing you care about?" Twilight told me. She held Boo in a strange position with her arm wrapped around her neck. I wasn't sure how she even got there, but I knew that she was starting to chip away at my brain.

"That's it... that look... that's what I've wanted to see all along, Carl Eternia. Show me that you're capable of something once put under stress. Show me you are my son!" Twilight screamed. She pushed Boo out of the way with a quick toss, and placed her fingers into the slots between the others.

[Twilight Domain]

A orb of pure black shadows enveloped just Twilight and me, leaving us in the same arena to fight our problems out. The Rubeki were still running closer and closer to Red's position, but if I beat Twilight here, there wouldn't be a problem anymore with them. 

I swung the gun over my shoulder and it warped back into the ax I used to use on the beach. Running at Twilight, I swung it upward and used the momentum to change my position and swing it from variable angles.

She pulled out the black needle from her back and struck me three times in the face. Once under my bottom lip, and two right under my eyes. They were shallow pokes, but they burned with something odd.

"You're going to have to move much faster than that if you want to throw me for a loop. You're disappointing me already." Twilight teased. She pulled the needle back once more and I narrowed my eyes.

I flipped the ax around my back so it shifted into its other form. I shot the gun at the ground and dodged another attack, then shot into the ceiling with a soft bullet that bounced off of the walls.

It hit the Domain several times before entering Twilight's shin and dropping her to the ground in surprise. I flipped the gun once more and used the ax to slam down straight onto her needle.

Purple Sparks emerged from her weapon as I slid the ax down the length, straight toward her fingers. She readjusted her position and attempted to punch me in the face, but the bouncing bullet hit the center of her hand and unclasped it forcefully.

I shot the gun underneath her feet and disrupted her footing, coming down with the ax once more to strike the center of her body. Twilight blocked it with a movement that shouldn't have been possible, fading out of existence to move her needle through her body. She was launched into the edge of the Domain and lost the air in her lungs.

"That's it son...something like that...this is the man worthy of my powers. Show me what you're made of! Carl!" Twilight screamed out.

We all had been training this past month...let's see if I had progressed at all.