Part 39: Game Over

4Yr. 10Mo. 2Wk.



Stripped of ornament, Xevion's true form was revealed, a pathetic, twisted mockery of life, hissing and drooling. For a moment, I despaired, wondering if it was even possible to defeat the dark lord...

...but then I saw a familiar orange paw. Chucky was alive! He was struggling to pull himself up from the ledge he'd been thrown over, but he was alive!

Scrambling to help him up, I almost missed iScream reassembling himself, dipping into a reserve I didn't know he had. Natsu, too, seemed invigorated, as if he could scent Xevion's imminent demise.



Pawing at the ground, he suddenly charged forward, catching the dark lord in the gut.



It flinched and roared, then lashed out too fast to see and caught Natsu on a terrible barb...



...then stabbed him three more times, clawing at him for good measure, before unleashing a blast of flame from its mouth and hurling him back.



Incredibly, he survived. I didn't know what to think. But he needed a moment to catch his breath, one Xevion was unlikely to provide.



So the final honors fell to iScream. He kicked at the dark lord with his strange, wonderful, detachable legs...



...and unable to take any more abuse...



...Xevion screamed...



...and blasted a ray of power into the roof...



...that brought it down on him.



We'd done it. We'd finally done it. Natsu's strength, iScream's spirit... they'd been equal to the task of defeating a monster of legend. My only regret was that Chucky hadn't been able to stand by his brothers, but in my relief at his still being alive, that was a small thing.



Our work wasn't done, but without Xevion to motivate them, we hoped they'd lose their motivation, scatter into the wild.



But Xevion wasn't quite dead.



And in his death tremors, he collapsed the tunnel into the cavern.



If we couldn't escape, it wouldn't matter that Xevion was destroyed. The wild monsters wouldn't know that. And when they attacked the town...

...it would be the end.














But I couldn't be posting this if that's what happened, could I?
















Rio's collection of Gaia Stones suddenly hovered out of her pockets, spinning around each other faster and faster, headed toward the center of the cavern...



And there he was. Lord Suzaku. The Phoenix Lord.



Rio's ability to understand monsters... it's because of a bond they forged, in that time long ago. It's that bond that brought him back just when he needed us most.



He didn't have to tell me twice.