Return to Ashes

Monger slashed his blades at Millie over and over. With big swings and hard hits. Millie dodged over and over until she was forced to bloek. She threw up her robotic arm. Which felt like it was going to be split in half. Monger kicked Millie in the chest. Millie was sent into the wall. Leaving an indent. She ducked under a slash and punched Monger in the stomach with her good arm and then her robotic arm. Making him move back a little. Millie threw out a side kick and nearly lost a leg. Monger slashed both his blades at Millie in an X fashion. She jumped through the X and punched Monger in the face. Terra dodged and redirected tons of Beck's punches. She did a cartwheel backward and kicked Beck in the chin. Sending him up in the air a bit. Terra kicked him into a wall and then threw out a punch. Which Beck ducked and then punched Terra in the lungs. She felt a ripple through her body. But couldn't stop. Beck grabbed Terra and kneed her in the stomach. He kicked her in the face and started charging his arm. Terra was dazed and pissed at the same time. She threw a jab and a hook at Beck. Which hit. But did virtually nothing. Beck did a leg sweep on Terra and threw down his charged hand. She rolled out of the way and was still blown away by the sheer shockwave of the attack. All of a sudden Terra felt the power of Artemis start to channel through her. She resorted straight to summoning her suit. Monger slashed his blade at Millie. Slamming it into the ground. Millie dodged. Monger slashed his other blade horizontally at Millie. She went to move backward but got slashed across the top of her chest. She felt her power come up and shoot out of the wound at Monger. He stumbled a bit. Millie punched him in the face and slapped her hands together and sent a huge shockwave at Monger. Sending him through the doorway behind him and into the stairs. Millie jumped up and threw down a punch. Which Monger blocked. He kicked Millie up in the air. And slashed his scissor blade across Millie. She brought her arm down and blocked the shot. She landed and Monger stabbed her right through the chest. Monger left the blade in her.

Monger: I'll bathe in your blood!

Millie was clinging to life. She stumbled back. She blasted out the blade and grabbed it out of the air. She realized where the hole from the blade should've been was a white gathering of energy.

Monger: You cheater!

She swung the blade at Monger. Who blocked it and threw out a kick. Millie dodged to the side and uppercut Monger into the air. She jumped in the air and slashed the blade right across Monger. Literally splitting him in two. Millie landed on the ground. She looked down at Monger. She got a sudden chill down her spine. She felt terrified. Like she was turning into Amelia. She took a deep breath and positioned the scissor blades in an X next to Monger. She felt something spiritual travel into her body. She realized her robotic arm was glowing. His soul was her's. Amala and Leon came down the stairs. Leon was surprised by Monger's corpse.

Amala: Millie, I'd move out of the way right about now.

Terra's armor flew down the stairs, out the doorway and onto her. Beck backed up and watched the armor come onto her.

Terra: Let's go.

Beck screamed and punched down at Terra. She stepped back and did an axe kick. Hitting Beck clean in the head. As Terra was coming down he grabbed her foot and flipped her over. Beck kicked her in the side a couple times and grabbed her wrist. Terra escaped his grasp and kicked him in the stomach and made it to her feet. She threw out a couple punches. Beck backed up and turned to the side and threw a punch at Terra. She blocked with her gauntlets and pushed both Beck's hands off with her gauntlets. Covering his hands and pushing him against the wall. Terra's destruction form came on naturally and she punched Beck across the face. Beck swiped up and kicked Terra. He ripped off the gauntlets and threw them right at Terra by the sharp side. Stabbing into her stomach and then shoulder. Terra fell back a little and called her gauntlets back to her wrists and lost her destruction form. Beck was already running up with a punch. Terra ducked under and Beck used his other hand and grabbed her by the neck and raised her up.

Beck: I'll kill you here and now.

He charged his hand while punching Terra lightly again and again in the stomach. With the same hand.

Beck: And then I'll kill your friends. Your plan ends here.

And again. But now in the ribs.

Beck: Because you destroyed everything I love. You're the reason I'm like this!

Amala grabbed Terra's spear and slashed down Beck's arm. Cutting his hand clean off. Beck screamed in pain. Terra fell to the ground. She took her spear from Amala and lunged at Beck with it. He parried it to the side with his arm. Terra let one of her gauntlets overtake his arm. Beck got pushed one way. Facing sideways from Terra. She let herself go. And stabbed her spear through Beck. And pulled it out. It was covered with blood. And Beck was laying on the ground. Terra was almost hyperventilating.

Beck: Doesn't matter...you're too late...Empyrean...Tomorrow.

Amala: Leon!

Leon: Oh right.

Leon cast a teleportation spell and got everyone out of the jail. Everyone landed outside of the jail. On a large mountain overlooking the slave site. Millie all of a sudden felt a terrible feeling in her gut. She was bleeding. She fell to the ground holding her wound. The light that was once there started to fade.

Millie: Someone...Terra! You can heal. Right?!

Terra: Wh-No! I-I can try!

Terra put her hands over Millie's wound. She tried to let her power flow out into Millie. But it was almost like she was blocked.

Terra: I-I can't! It's not working!

Amala: Calm down. Let it flow.

Terra: I can't just calm down! I have to defeat Integer tomorrow if I want to stop this! I'm sorry Millie.

Terra was ready to walk away. She brought herself to her feet with her staff.

Amala: You tell yourself you're the one to defeat Integer? Like your fate is waiting there. You don't need to be the one. We could literally leave and be done with it!

Terra: I think my fate is with defeating Integer. And if I don't. Millions of others will die.

Terra switched on destruction and ran away. Running surprisingly fast. Integer's house was only blocks away. Terra couldn't be late. It was almost the dead of night.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Jilaya nearly jumped up and down for joy.

Jilaya: He's almost here! This all shaped out to this moment!

Jilaya hugged Ivan. Who seemed healed now.

Ivan: Congratulations hun.

Axel: This is what we all worked up to. Right?

Jilaya: Yes it is. Haven't I already told you?

Axel: How much longer?

Ivan: Only ten minutes.

Axel: Probably time to set off the beacon.

Jilaya: This is the only way he'll know where we are. We've been separated for so long.

Axel went up and pulled a big lever. Which shot off a gigantic beam into the sky. Terra could actually see where she was going better now. And she came up on Integer's house. She realized the light was coming from their garage. Terra punched the huge metal wall once. And then again. Busting a big hole. She kept punching around the hole until she could slip in.

Jilaya stared down at Terra.

Jilaya: You again. No friends?

Axel: How did you get out of the jail?

Terra: Why does it matter now?

Axel: How about this? Can I kill her now?

Terra: I'll come through you so I can get to her.

Jilaya: Me?

Terra threw her spear across the room at Jilaya. She grabbed it out of the air with her hair. And held it there.

Jilaya: So you want to kill me?

Ivan: I thought you were against killing. Nobody would throw a projectile that hard across the room if you weren't trying to kill her.

Jilaya: You almost ripped my hair out. But what happened?

Terra: There's no other way to get rid of you for good.

Ivan: Jail time changed her. It worked.

Terra: I guess it did.

Jilaya: Well that's too bad.

Jilaya looked at a wristwatch she had on. Five minutes.

Jilaya: If you really want to kill me. Then fight me to the death.

Ivan: It'll end in a fight of grand proportions.

What was Terra going to say? No? She could end it all here.

Axel: Are you sure?

Jilaya: Of course. I'm not afraid of a naive little girl.

Jilaya threw Terra's staff back. She caught it in midair and walked up to Jilaya. Jilaya just stood up straight. Waiting for Terra's first move. She fired on destruction and made her gauntlets go around Jilaya. She kicked the gauntlet into Jilaya and threw a superman punch to her head. Jilaya blocked it with her hair. And grabbed Terra by the foot with her hair and threw her into the roof. Terra fell down and threw her spear down at the ground. Jilaya ducked out of the way. Terra landed on top of her spear and jumped off of it. She threw out her gauntlets Jilaya grabbed one of Terra's gauntlets out of the air. Terra stabbed it into Jilaya's arm. But it bounced right off of Jilaya. Jilaya put on her welding mask.

Terra ran up to her. And before she could get any hits in she was fired backward by Jilaya's eye lasers. Which kept a constant heat on Terra. It started to warp and destroy her armor. Terra brought her gauntlets back. And brought her gauntlet up. Bouncing the laser back. It hit Jilaya in the face. Or it would've if it wasn't for the shield surrounding her. Terra darted over to Jilaya and threw out punch after punch. Cracking the shield over and over. Jilaya grabbed Terra with telekinesis and threw her back towards the wall. Terra grabbed her spear out of the ground and spun herself around back at Jilaya. She stabbed the spear right into Jilaya's shield and broke it into pieces. Jilaya stumbled back a little. She clicked something on her mask and all of a sudden there were two Jilayas. Terra swung at one and swung herself off into the other Jilaya. Destroying it. Terra jumped off of Jilaya and threw a punch. Jilaya ducked under and threw a punch into Terra's stomach. She felt sick. And she felt like she was being split in two. Her chest plate was broken into pieces. Jilaya threw a back kick at Terra. She blocked it with her shin guards. Breaking those too. Terra realized Jilaya's punches and kicks were being lit up with some sort of mystical power. Jilaya grabbed Terra with telekinesis and threw her away. Terra landed in the grasp of a huge hand. The thing looked Terra in the eyes. It was wearing an all blue outfit. With a dastardly blue and black mask. He had longer black hair coming down his face. Terra struggled to get out of his grasp. She grabbed her spear and tried to stab it into him.

Empyrean: Pathetic. Pathetic older god.

Empyrean punched Terra into the air and literally through the roof of Jilaya's garage. As Terra fell through the air and landed in a parking lot. On top of a car. She broke the windshield and dented it badly. And she was aching in excruciating pain. She looked and realized her armor was almost all gone. She only had her two gauntlets left over. And they were cracked and busted. Her spear had landed in the ground far off from her. But she could see it in the dead of night. She felt the suffering settle a little suddenly. But not enough that she was able to get up. Themis of all people was standing in front of her. She started to lose consciousness.

Themis: The fuck?! My car!

- - - - - - - - - - - -