The battle between Cynthia and the Machines had begun. Swords were swung, explosions were created and blood was scattered.
“i SeE tHaT waSn’T enOuGh tO DeFeaT yOu.”
“Don’t you think using the same machines is a little… repetitive..?”
“oh.. Oh dEar. yOu rEAllY aRe AN idIot.”
“What?”
“TURN AROUND.”
Cynthia turned around. A strange pink aura started to radiate from below her, and suddenly..
CRASH!
She was thrusted high in the air, shockwaves erupting from the ground, destroying everything in its path. She latched onto a nearby pole, slowing her fall which would have ended in certain death. A Conjurer was standing menacingly at the other side of the arena, and a small Machine seemed to be getting prepared to battle as well. The Machine was unlike what Cynthia has seen before, but its teeth were like spikes, its hands were like vises and its structure was similar to that of an Attacker…
“The heck is that..?”
“yOu saId iT’s RepETitive, righT? I WoUld lIke to inTroDuCe YoU tO tHe bRAnd NEW SpeEdsTeR MODel.”
The Conjurer started to blast more shockwaves at Cynthia, but she had to keep guard as some other TERRORS, such as those with other Linked Swords had quickly begun to approach Cynthia. She held out her Sword and engaged in battle with the Swordsmen.
The Speedster Model had finally gained some sort of sentience of its objective, and suddenly more Speedsters began to emerge from the walls of the arena. One of which had latched onto Cynthia at rapid speeds, biting deeply into Cynthia’s leg. She screamed in pain.
“AGGH!!”
She swung the Sword into the Speedster’s body and dragged it off her leg, finishing it off with a stab to the head. The corpse had fried itself before disintegrating into ashes.
“Is… Is that the best you got? Heh..”
Her leg injury left blood splattered across the floor, and an Undead Terror managed to slip across it. Cynthia immediately noticed this, took advantage, and swished the sword across its body.
A swarm of Speedsters attempted to charge at Cynthia before she began to twirl her Sword around, like some kind of dancer. Stupidly, the Machines charged straight into the Sword.
This battle went on for quite some time, but a final blow was dealt to the last of the Speedsters.
“Hey.” Cynthia looked at Dominance.
“Dominic.”
“Hey.”
…
No response.
“DOMINANCE. HEY.”
He stood in the air, expressionless, grabbing the Illumina from his side, almost as if he was preparing himself for something. Until…
“yOu sOn oF a bi-“
Cynthia threw an arm of an attacker straight into Dominance’s face.
“AGH..!”
Cynthia then added:
“You. You betrayed me. You made ME think that you weren’t into this sort of stuff anymore. YOU made ME think that someone else of your hierarchy in this system had taken your place. I DON’T UNDERSTAND, DOMINIC. WHY..?”
No response, but Dominance proceeded to lower themselves to the ground, walking slowly towards Cynthia.
She backed away slightly, swapping her Sword from her left hand to her right, forming a base with her shaking legs.
“Stop walking towards me. Or until my legs stop shaking, my Sword will cleave you into two, GOT IT?”
He continued walking until he reached the very centre of the Arena. He finally spoke. But not in the strange “terrible” way he used to.
“So you managed to breach my defences, huh? I see even the Speedster model I have spent 5 years of working on was still not enough to take you down.”
Cynthia tightened her grip. His voice didn’t sound so fluctuated anymore. Just like when he pretended to Cynthia and Hope for 9 years that he was no longer part of the TERROR faction.
“Your.. voice.”
“Telamon only hears the voices affected by the Swords power. When the power of the Illumina becomes stronger than its owner, it becomes harder for the possessor to control themselves. But watching you fight has somehow made me stronger.”
Dominance puts up his “Dominus” hood, similar to that of a Conjurer’s hood.
“I’m tired of running away. I’m tired of using Machines to fight for me. I’m tired of losing.”
He launches himself with the Illumina to the dead Conjurer, picks up the Metal Fist, and charges himself back to the centre.
“I will fulfil Telamon’s goal. And even if I lose, the other Lead Terrors are watching me, and they’re much stronger than I am. They will destroy you if I am unable to do so myself.”
Dominance holds out the Illumina. He then uses the Metal Fist from the dead Conjurer and smashes the Illumina with it. The Illumina splits into two, and the hilt and blade grows on each half, restoring the two back to how they previously looked when they were one. They were now two Illumina.
“The Illumina sword is able to split. That is what makes it so special. Each time it splits, the halves become weaker. Let’s make this a fair fight.”
Dominance kicks the one half of the Illumina to Cynthia, and then picks up the other from the ground.
“Pick it up. If you really think you can handle its power and take it back from us, pick it up, and show me that you aren’t the rookie Guardian that everyone thinks you are. Hope isn’t here to help you now. Buck definitely isn’t here to help you anymore.”
Cynthia looks slightly confused. Why did he mention that Buck “definitely isn’t here”?
“What do you mean by that?”
“What?”
“Buck.”
“Oh… it’s nothing.”
That’s when she realized.
“THAT BASTARD!”
“Heh. Someone’s angry.”
Cynthia thought that maybe Buck would try to kill Hope, and she can’t let this happen.
“But.. why..? Buck was… he’s been friends with me since… ever since I became a Guardian. I don’t understand.”
Dominance pummels Cynthia with the fist, flinging her back before sending shockwaves from the Illumina. Caught off guard, she attempts to block the waves with her Illumina, but to no avail.
She falls to the floor, her head smacks against the ground, nearly knocking her out.150Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNBcacDodm
“Ugh..”
“Didn’t expect that, did ya?”
He slams the Illumina into the ground, making eruptions of energy emerge from the arena. Cynthia swiftly ran before jumping, grabbing her half of the Illumina and thrusting it below her. She was sent upwards, making her fly.
“Now THAT'S what I like to see. An airborne fight. I hope you’re ready Guardian.”
Dominance steps into an eruption of his own, thrusting himself into an airborne state. The battle between the two had truly begun. Their swords collided, sending pink sparks across the arena. Cynthia clashes again but successfully overcomes his strength, spinning Dominance around before slashing his back and eventually his leg, almost replicating her own injury. Slashes and swings were performed for quite a while, and the battle eventually turned into a test of endurance, to see who would get tired enough to go off guard. Dominance eventually charges enough power to perform an upward slash, slashing her right hand and forcing her to drop the Illumina. She stops flying and drops to the floor. Dominance crashes back into the arena, leaving a small crater into the floor.
“Wow. You really are terrible at this. Looks like you can’t even use your swords now, so this battle seems to be over. Hand over the other half of the Illumina, and we can end this battle with you still alive. What do you value more? Your life, or stopping what is correct?”
Cynthia stands up, using the Linked Sword in her left hand to stand herself up. She surrenders unwillingly.
“Good choice.”
The D.F.E (Device For Everything) in her pocket was addressed and told to teleport Cynthia back to the “Nightfall Base”.
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Some time later…
Hope was able to heal Cynthia’s injuries, and Cynthia had warned her of Buck potentially being a Lead Terror.
“So you’re taking his word for it..? He could be lying. Buck couldn’t lie to us. He wouldn’t!”
Cynthia sighed.
“Maybe you’re right. I just wish that I didn’t surrender so easily.”
Hope held her head in her hands.
“I’ll help you. Next time you go there, I'll help you take him down.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, but only just once. I’m not good at fighting, obviously. But I want to do what I can to help. I can’t let THEM win.”
Cynthia smiled. Hope isn’t usually this generous, but she’s glad that she’s being considerate, for once.
“Thank you. Should I ask The Hooded Man and Buck if they want to help us?” Cynthia added.
“Good idea.”
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Ring.. ring..
For god sake.
Ring… Boop!
“Cynthia, you.. uh.. ok?”
Cynthia looks at the time. She was meant to meet up with Axel almost 4 hours ago.
“Oh god.”
“Yeah. You forgot. Again.”
“I didn’t forget, I just..”
“Look, I get that you’re the Guardian of basically this entire world, but why didn’t you tell me to just wait another day so we can spend some time together?”
“I lost, Axe. I lost the Illumina sword, and I lost the battle. I almost DIED, Axe. That's why I couldn’t meet up-”
“YOU LIAR!”
“Wh.. What?”
“Buck told me that the Swords weren’t stolen. That there was no problem. You left the Nightfall Base and told them you were going to meet somebody! You just lie about everything, don’t you! If you’re gonna be this way then what’s the point of.. Us?”
“Buck told you.. what??? He’s lying! He’s a liar! I think.. I think he’s working with the TERRORS..”
Hope interrupts.
“Axel.”
“Hi, Hope.”
“She isn’t lying. She teleported back here after trying to fight Dominance, with injuries all over her. She was nearly dead, and you’re lucky you haven’t lost her yet, you moron. You really expect her to hang out with an idiot like you when she's bleeding out?”
“I… Dominance? The pizza guy?”
“Yeah,” Cynthia added. “He's a traitor, just like Buck.”
“Look, I.. I gotta go. Zephyr is ringing me.”
“What? What could possibly be more important that Zephyr has to say than.. our situation?”
“Goodbye, Cyn.”
“Wait!”
Beep.
“CRAP!”
and then Add to home screen.