[center][img]http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/fd/23/ee/fd23eea874bfbd0bf60fa32230b0223f.jpg[/img] [b][u]Nekros[/b][/u][/center] Hector spun around in the middle of his sprint, slicing two more zombies in half. As the red flashes dissipated, he saw the clear path that Vortex had created towards Nekros. He then noticed a wave of soldiers run forward, past Nekros and towards him. Hector cursed under his breath, having realized that the odds of ever getting to Nekros with the oncoming soldiers were rapidly decreasing. Fighting the reanimated soldiers was a struggle enough; he doubted his men's chances against a fresh wave of enemies. Right before he could call for his men to fall back, however, a stray arrow pierced through a soldier's chest, causing him to fall to the ground, writhing in pain before dying before Hector's eyes. Both Hector and the charging soldiers were caught off guard by the unexpected flank, and when Hector saw the source of the arrow, his eyes widened in disbelief. About a hundred feet away from the battle, positioned on top and below the buildings, was a large group of civillians. Men and women alike, wearing no armor, bearing no rifles. No, these innocent people held makeshit swords and spears, pots and pans, bows and arrows. Hector didn't expect any of them to even think of fighting the military, and for a good second, he thought he was seeing things. As the soldier's turned to face the civillians, they, too, were struck with confusion. However, it wasn't long before a good number of soldiers were forced to change their course: the civillians began charging at the base. It was suicidal, but it was also much needed. The soldier's, thinned by their redirection, now faced an equal match to the mercenarie's quickly regrouping forces. Hector let out a war cry and charged forward, dodging bursts of bullets as he slashed his sword away at living, breathing soldiers. --- In the midst of the horrors around him, Yugeto felt a gripping nausea as he fought through the waves of undead forces, a feeling he had never experienced before. Looking to Nekros and his army, Yugeto nearly vomited. [i]'This spirit...it's revolting...it's impure.'[/i] Normally, Yugeto would be gleeful at the opportunity to absorb such a large mass of spirit from the necrotic soldiers he was mowing through, but each added reserve of spirit made Yugeto feel that much more incapacitated. "How is this possible...? This essence of spirit reeks of death and rotting life." Nevertheless, Yugeto blasted and pierced his way through monster and militia alike, pushing nearer and nearer the ocean of spirit that lay before him. Nekros' spirit was not composed of darkness, like Ishigo's; no, Yugeto would be ecstatic otherwise. This unholy aura emanated despair from all directions. Kisheto coughed and pushed off the body of the soldier that he had just stabbed with his dagger. He felt a strange sensation in his body, something completely foreign to him. It wasn't pain, though he felt enough of that to wish death upon himself as if it weren't already calling. It wasn't fear or anger anymore either; it was a mixture of numbness and euphoria. He felt as if his body was rebuilding itself at the atomic level, slowly breaking apart and regenerating its structure with every step and every breath that he took. He didn't feel alive; everything was surreal. He questioned the reality of everything that occurred around him. Would he wake up in a guard tower soon? In his bed in Valira? "AGH!" the sound of a soldier yelling as he thrust his sword at Kisheto broke him from his trance. Kisheto quickly spun around and grabed the blade that threatened to pierce his right flank. He then kicked the soldier, causing him to loose grip of the sword, with which Kisheto broke the man's nose. As the soldier keeled over and clutched his face, Kisheto brought the sword down and into the man's back, killing him instantly as the metal made short work of his spine. Kisheto gasped and stepped back when the body hit the floor. The absence of a red flash reminded him that he had just killed a living human being. As he struggled to come to terms with this realization, a nearby soldier ran towards him, sword held high. Only moments from bringing the sword down onto Kisheto's head, the soldier let out a long, spiteful warcry. Yugeto noticed the scream next to him and grabbed the soldier attacking Kisheto by the wrist, absorbing the measly spirit from his body as it went lifeless. Yugeto looked to Kisheto as the boy struck another soldier with a slight hesitancy. "I can make you strong, you know." Yugeto said temptingly to Kisheto. "Don't you want to know what it feels like to have an ability, a power?" Yugeto smirked in the sea of slaughter that occurred between the two. [i]'He's already got a hefty amount of spirit...does he know and is he playing dumb for some reason, or is he really clueless? It's time to find that out. Just one more host is enough to change the tides of this battle, and set these people free.'[/i] Kisheto shook his head and snapped back to reality. "SHIT! You? You're alive?!" he asked, eying the battlefield around them. He ignored Yugeto's strange question, partly out of confusion and partly out of plain ignorance. As he noticed a second group of soldiers approach them, he readied his combat stance and nodded to Yugeto, "Help me out here, I got no weapons!" he said. Yugeto chuckled, preparing himself for the incoming fight, and cracked his neck. "That's my point, Kisheto." Yugeto continued as the soldiers neared engaging distance. "I have no weapons either; didn't you wish you had more of yourself to rely on?" He mused. Kisheto simply furrowed his brow, thinking about what Yugeto said. The soldiers charged the two with swords and flintlocks. Kisheto strafed and spun out of the way of the metal rounds that burst from the pistols, mostly out of luck. When he came in range of the first few soldiers, he slammed his fist into the first's head and then spun around to elbow a second. Yugeto grabbed the second soldier Kisheto had spun around and blasted him with spirit, leaving a hole in his torso. He took on his ethereal form and darted towards the gathering of the soldiers that were charging the two, materializing with a shockwave of spirit, sending soldiers in all directions including Kisheto's. Kisheto felt a body crash into him, and he rolled to minimize the damage from crashing into the ground. When he got up,he felt a hand attempt to grasp his right arm, but Kisheto outpowered the attacker by pulling his right arm forward, causing the man to fly forward and crash into another soldier. After countering two sword swings from two more soldiers, Kisheto rapidly exchanged jabs with the enemies, coming out on top and managing to down the soldiers with strong hooks to the head. Three soldiers remained, making their dash towards the duo in a straight row of swords slashing at Kisheto and Yugeto's heads. Yugeto quickly realized these were no ordinary soldiers; they were three Vanguards, the cream of the crop. As he dodged the slashes, Yugeto noticed plasma waves being echoed out of the slashes as projectiles. "Shit." Yugeto kicked at one of the behemoths, and used his spirit to throw the other two aside. Yugeto dashed at the pair and began releasing various different spirit projectiles through his combat to incapacitate them. After a minute or so, a realization began to sink deep into Yugeto's mind; there was another significant spirit mass in the immediate vicinity aside from Kisheto; the Vanguard he had left behind. [i]That kid's dead...I've gotta clean this up quick and help him out![/i] [i]'Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK'[/i] Kisheto's mind was racing as he put every ounce of his effort into dodging the Vanguard captain's strikes. The soldier stood a whole foot above Kisheto, and although Kisheto had managed to land multiple kicks and punches, they had only caused his knuckles and knees to bruise up. Despite the sheer size of the captain, he moved with an agility like no other, almost managing to keep up with Kisheto's speed. Kisheto sidestepped a vertical strike, feeling the heat emit from the plasma wave that burnt through the ground below. He then attempted to get around and climb onto the back of the captain, hoping to expose some sort of weakspot. Instead, Kisheto found himself being swung around as the captain flailed, trying to shake off Kisheto, who was latched around his neck. Yugeto had dispatched the two Vanguards with relative ease, having amassed a great deal of spirit. He turned to look to Kisheto and noticed his ally in grave danger against the Vanguard captain. "Shit...Kisheto!" Yugeto dematerialized and speeded to Kisheto, hoping to make it in time. "YUGETO! GET THIS FUCK- UGH!" Kisheto gagged as a bullet pierced through his armor and into his back. The pain crippled him, causing him to loosen his grip. This allowed the captain to swing to the side and catch Kisheto by his arm. Slamming him into the ground, the captain thrust his sword towards Kisheto, but Kisheto caught it between two hands. He strained and struggled to keep the sword from plummeting into his chest, and the captain grunted in effort as well, surprised that the boy put up a fight at all. "YUGETO!" Kisheto called out through clenched teeth. [i]'Hold on... hold the fuck on....don'tdiedon'tdiedon'tdiedon'tdie'[/i] "AGH!" the sword cut through Kisheto's hands and rooted itself in between Kisheto's rib cage. Kisheto felt the breath escape from his lungs as blood spurt out from his chest. His eyes widened as he felt time slow to a stop, and as his body fell limp, the captain withdrew his sword. Yugeto looked to Kisheto's bare body in shock after materializing. "Kisheto...you never knew. This whole time you never knew about that spirit, and you charged in with as much courage and zeal as the best of us; it's a great injustice done to see you gone before you discovered your true potential." Yugeto looked to the Vanguard Captain and prepared his stance. Suddenly, a faint scream, seeming to come from thin air, caught the attention of the Vanguard Captain. Kisheto's body began to emit a golden glow from multiple spots in which his skin had been penetrated. As the scream started to crescendo, the glowing golden light matched it with an equally intense brightness. Eventually, the Vanguard Captain had to back up a step as Kisheto's body jerked upward, floating a foot off the ground while small bubbles of golden light danced around it. The orbiting orbs of light quickly picked up speed until the entirety of Kisheto was one big glowing aura. The scream came to an abrupt halt, followed by a golden explosion that sent the captain flying backward. His body became a deadly projectile, tearing through multiple soldiers before exploding in a golden mess that brought down the camp's wall. What lay in the wake of the chaotic occurance was Kisheto, coughing on one knee. He clutched his throat, as if he were being choked by some invisible force. A trail of golden light suddenly shot out of his palms and spiraled around his arms, then his torso, then his legs. It then coiled itself tightly, causing Kisheto to groan in pain. His muscles tightened and eventually, the golden light disappeared, leaving a mysterious [url=http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/010/e/8/kh__vanitas_by_sorakawa-d36uj1r.png]armor[/url] where it once was. Kisheto got up and took a deep breath, running a hand across his chest, where the absence of any blood or wounds confused him. However, it wasn't until he noticed the battlefield around him that he felt more puzzled than before. Everything seemed to move slower, and wherever he looked, he could notice finer details that would have otherwise been overlooked in his normal state. --- [b][i]'I can't keep doing this.'[/i][/b] A calm yet stern voice echoed from the recesses of Kisheto's mind. He flinched as he heard the voice, as he could not see anyone near him speaking, especially not anyone who matched the powerful, masculine voice that came from within. [i]'What.... what is this? Wh-what's happening to me?'[/i] [b][i]'Focus.[/i][/b] -- "RAAAGHH!" a charging soldier yelled as he swung his sword with all his might in an attempt to decapitate Kisheto. Instead, the sword made impact with Kisheto's wrist, as he swiftly and involuntarily flung his forearm upward to block the blade. Kisheto didn't even realize he was moving, and he was shocked to realize he felt no pain as his forearm, which was now covered in a black armor, absorbed the entire attack. Without giving the soldier a moment to recover from his failed attempt, Kisheto shot his left leg forward, kicking the man in the stomach and sending him flying backward. "Holy.... shit...." Kisheto muttered, gazing upon his hands with golden eyes. "What am I?" Yugeto was impressed and proud of his comrade. "You're a host. You were deadly before you found that little fact out; how about we find out just how strong you are now, Kisheto?" Kisheto looked at Yugeto, speechless. He simply smiled and looked over to where Hector was, fighting his way to Nekros, although the sheer numbers of the military seemed to be pushing him and his men the other direction. Kisheto took another deep breath and nodded, "Let's go," he said, holding out his fist to Yugeto. Yugeto bumped fists with Kisheto, and a gold-and-silver aura swirled around the two briefly, connecting them via a Spirit Link. The two swirled into a silvery spirit aura, and boomed forward to Nekros' direction, leaving a golden trail behind them. --- Nekros had felt the change in spirit before he saw the large mass bolting his way. It flew above the battle, skipping past the mercenaries and soldiers alike, until it was only a few yards away from him. Nekros placed both hands on his scythe and raised it above him. He channeled his spirit into the scythe, causing its tip to glow crimson, and then brought it down with tremendous force, enough to send a huge shockwave of crimson spirit towards Kisheto and Yugeto. At that moment, the two separated, letting the shockwave slip by between them. Kisheto ran up from the left at great speed and then leapt at Nekros, jumping and kicking at him sideways. Nekros lifted the bottom of his scythe upward, blocking the kick with the handle of the weapon, but barely so, as the might of Kisheto's kick was enough to cause him to stagger. Yugeto attacked Nekros from the right, sending waves of silver spirit towards Nekros, barely scathing the demon. "You're going down!" Yugeto formed a long trail of dense spirit into a halo shape, lugging it towards Nekros as it wrapped around him. Nekros pushed out a large mass of bloodstained spirit and dissipated the makeshift lasso. As he did this, Kisheto punched and kicked at him, but he simply stood there, taking the hits. Instead of flinching or faltering due to the impacts of Kisheto's attacks, the punches and kicks phased through his body, causing small flocks of crows to fly out of the impact location. It was as if Kisheto was directly attacking Nekros' spirit rather than harming his physical body. Nekros, tired of the pain at his side, spun his scythe around, hooking Kisheto at the edge of the blade. He then raised the scythe and slammed it down, pinning Kisheto the ground. However, Kisheto simply thrust his hands upward, shooting a golden blast of spirit upward and into the air. Nekros' scythe was flung backward, and he had to retreat a step to prevent it from flying out of his grip. Kisheto then rolled backward into a standing position, right as Nekros thrust his left hand forward, sending a flock of crows to swarm Kisheto. Yugeto propelled forward and upward by pushing spirit out of the bottom of his feet, kicking upward with one foot while using the other to continue the backflip motion, sending a crescent wave of spirit speeding towards Nekros as it pierced through the crows. The spirit hit Nekros spot on, nearly amputating his entire left arm. Instead, he simply tripped backwards, letting Kisheto escape from the menacing crows. As Kisheto recovered from the swarm, he dashed forward. He heard the sounds of gunfire and could sense bullets flying at him fromt he left and right, but he didn't have to look in order to dodge them. Instead, he just weaved through the paths that the bullets took, and when he was close enough to Nekros, he pulled back his right arm only to shoot it forward, blasting Nekros with a golden pillar of spirit. Nekros was thrown backwards, and the crows screeched as he felt his spirit and body burn. He hit a wall and fell to a knee, coughing at the damage he took. "Fools... only FOOLS would challenge death..." he said. As Kisheto watched him rise to a stand, he pulled out a strange tome from within his robe. The tome blew open with the winds and Nekros began chanting unknown hymns. Kisheto began running forward, but a crow shot out from the swarm that circled Nekros. It charged at Kisheto and pierced right through his torso, phasing through his body as if it were intangible. Kisheto coughed as he felt his spirit torn from him, and he fell to a knee while the crow doubled back and flew towards Nekros. A second crow shot towards Yugeto and did exactly the same; both crows returned to the tome and fused with the papers that made up its pages. The crows turned into blotches of ink, that slowly began turning into what appeared as letters of a language unknown. As this happened, Kisheto and Yugeto felt an intense pain throughout their bodies. Black and crimson chains emerged from the points at which the crows had passed through their bodies, and they slowly began growing, threatening to fetter their entire bodies. Kisheto tried to pull and tug at the chains, but his hands only passed through it. "FUCK! WHAT IS THIS?!" he yelled, feeling the pain in his body heighten as his spirit rapidly drained. Yugeto gasped in pain and agony as the chains ripped out of his body slowly. "Kisheto...hold on..." Yugeto closed his eyes and concentrated, sucking in air and focusing his spirit towards his solar plexus, and slowly the chains turned a silvery white and illuminated, receding back into Yugeto. He faced Kisheto and closed his eyes once again, and a literal link of dense, pure spirit energy formed between the two, a brilliant silver and gold color; Kisheto's chains were replaced with this link, and Yugeto gripped it with his two hands. "You ready, Kisheto. Hold on tight; here we go!" Yugeto swung the link around with relative ease, sending Kisheto at Nekros at high velocity. Kisheto let the link pull his entire body, and he gripped it tightly as he was swung like a projectile. Nekros didn't have time to react, as he was already shocked at Yugeto's ability to defy his death scripture. Kisheto's hand began glowing a golden aura, as the image of a much larger, golden fist surrounded his own. The fist was moments away from making contact when- --- [center][img]http://pinktentacle.com/images/s_nagaoka_13.jpg[/img][/center] It was louder than anyone could have imagined, almost as loud as when the void gate had opened a year go. The land shook, as if the earthquakes from the void gate's opening were repeating once more. Men and women were tossed about, and the churning sound of metal caused many to fall to their knees. The size of the explosion was frightening. It dwarfed the entire base on both sides, and it completely engulfed the section of the wall it targeted, from top to bottom. For a good moment, everything felt as if it were getting sucked into whatever was the cause of the explosion, and when it finally sputtered to a close, all that remained was... Nothing. A huge influx of light blinded every living being in the vicinity of the gaping hole for a minute; a minute that felt like a lifetime. The wall, now missing an entire section spanning four hundred yards in length, trembled as the outside world was revealed for the first time in a year. The edges of where the tremendous trap core had swallowed the wall continued to glow red, as more and more chunks of the wall gradually disappeared until the reaciton completely stopped, leaving one, big, hole in the wall. One, big, escape. On the ground, soldiers, mercenaries, civillians, and hosts rose to their feet to witness the amazing sight. Their awe was interrupted by hundreds of shouting voices. Then, the gunfire began once again, and the sound of humming shuttles filled the air. Yugeto watched the wall crack, ripple, and crumble in pride. The boy with the golden soul and himself saved the day; as the sky looked down on the opening out of Sovereign, Yugeto knew that the people who had pushed for this cause finally felt hope shimmering down as well. --- [center][youtube]zDnJp9404Xk[/youtube][/center] Soldiers and mercenaries poured into the city, swords and spears held high as they clashed on the border where the wall once stood. Golden Mercenary shuttles flew through the gaping hole and into the city, while military shuttles chased them as well. From the settling dust, Hector recognized his family's greatest heirloom. The magnificient set of [url=http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/136/4/2/knight_of_thorns_steel_armor__for_skyrim_by_zerofrust-d5025fi.jpg]armor[/url] jumped off a speeding carriage and instantly began fighting the military when it hit the ground. Victor was here. "VAMINOS HERMANOS! JUNTOS PREVALECEMOS!!!" he yelled as he kicked a soldier and turned to behead another. The battlefield had erupted into a whole new stage of chaos, and it heated Hector up. He ran forward, swinging his swords with a newfound grace, as each strike found its mark clean and precise. "THIS IS IT, HERMANOS! THIS IS FREEDOM'S CALLING!" Hector yelled as he fought, inching closer and closer to his brother's side.