~*~*~*~Nick~*~*~*~
"How're they holding up?" The General asked looking over Nick's shoulder at the dozens of tiny screens that he was monitoring, while simultaneously having his nanites construct more and more of the upgraded mech-suits.
"Not quite as well as I'd hoped." Nick admitted, stealing occasional glaces at his live feed monitors. Each new suit he'd made to help the humans also had a camera on it so that he could see what killed the soldier wearing it so that he could make another version to counter it. "The Chain is still pushing inward, but their progress dropped significantly ever since your DDF troops started using my new tech."
"That doesn't matter one bit if they're still making progress." The general said leaning over the monitors, his old eyes looking over them as if he could figure something out. "It's that damned Skorge, up to this point all we've been able to do is slow them down...and lost hundreds of lives to be able to just do that."
Nick gave the general a sideways glance at that. He knew that was a jab at him and how his plan to try and stop them was a reactionary one. Using his nanites to speed the process up, Nick had built three of his own Adapt androids using the military's full resources and the data that the previous ones had. These ones though he synced up with his headband much the same as he did with the nanites, only these androids were built for the sole purpose of transport, not combat. Using the data that he had on the old one's that Vega had made he'd given them the ability to use Roy's ability, and it was with that ability that he was having these three androids travel back and forth between the front lines and their base of operations. They were carrying standard gear at first, with cameras attached, and it was thanks to those cameras, and the sacrifices of the men on the front lines that Nick was able to do as much as he could.
Every time a soldier was killed he'd quickly make an adjustment to the next wave of gear to help better counter what'd killed them. The upgraded Cyberware suits was doing the job for the ground forces, but it was the high-class demons that he had to contend with. That's what these mech-suits were for. The military's original design was fine as it was, but when it came to the upper class demons they needed a significant upgrade. He'd managed to strengthen their defenses by giving them plasma shields, and the plasma canons on their shoulders were now nearly four times as powerful as the ones that they originally had. Unfortunately, due to the mass production and lack of time Nick wasn't able to do anything with their standard armor which any high class demon could rip apart with their bare hands, making the plasma shield absolutely essential. He'd also managed to turn their arms into electric conductors which would give them a temporary boost in physical strength and speed.
Unfortunately he kept running into the same problem over and over again with these things. "A machine's fine and all, but at the end of the day a machine has limits that it can't overcome without destroying itself. A demon on the other hand- well a demon can overcome any limit set before them." Those were Leon's words to Nick when he'd told him that he wanted to try ad help Leon out in the field by giving himself cybernetic augmentations. They'd gone back and forth between it until finally Leon told him to make a suit that augmented his physical abilities and they'd see who could do more. Nick set to work right away making what was essentially the very first set of Cyberware components.
He was soundly beaten by Leon in every category that they competed in, so Nick scrapped the plan. Not more than seven months later did Vega Industries reveal their first set of Cyberware. Like that first set that Nick had made, these machines just couldn't compete with everything that the demons of the Chain could do. Some were faster, others were stronger, all and all they were just preforming better and Nick couldn't think of a quick fix for this. He needed time to make a more advanced version, and time was something he didn't have.
His heart skipped a beat though when he looked up at one of his live feeds and saw a red eyed demon fighting with three, no four soldiers on a rooftop. The nanites that Nick was controlling all fell to the ground, knocking over the mech-suit that they were working on as he scrambled for the PET he was given. The general asked what he was doing but Nick didn't bother answering him as he quickly began to hack into Los Angeles's security mainframe. The general saw what he was doing and got the wrong idea of what he was doing and pulled his gun on Nick. He was quickly restrained though, but the nanites that he still had control of. The general began to shout for someone to come in and help, that Nick had betrayed them and was going to do something to their security system.
The door flew open, but Nick made his nanites attack the door slamming it shut before the guard could get in. He was rapidly searching for the PA system while the general was calling him every foul name under the sun. He managed to break into the PA system, but before he did anything with that Nick wheeled over to another monitor to get Skorge's current location. Wheeling back to his PET, Nick finished hacking into the PA system of Los Angeles and spoke into his PET.
"Leon, Skorge is at the New Dodger Stadium!" As soon as Nick finished saying that, did the General finally realize what it was that Nick was trying to do and he quit yelling as he went on with his instructions. "Head north-west of where you are right now and you'll be right there. Hurry, the military is having a hard time-"
Nick let out a gasp as a thunderously loud boom went off in the room that made Nick go absolutely rigid. The general was screaming 'no' but it was far, far too late for that to make any difference. Nick looked down as he began to feel a warm liquid begin to run down his chest, soaking through his t-shirt and dripping down to the floor. It felt as if the floor was giving out on him just then as the panel that he was working on began to get closer and closer to him. He put his hand out but all that did was make the whole world spin around until he was looking up at the lights in the ceiling. They were getting further away from him for a long time, when he felt something hit him in the back and just like that...there was nothing, just black.
~*~*~*~Lauren~*~*~*~
Lauren's hand was in front of her mouth in utter shock as Roy finally came to a halt at the exact same moment that loud boom went off. They both knew exactly what that sound was, there was no denying what it was, or who it was that had been on the PA system. There was nothing but static coming over the system now as she and Roy stood in the middle of a seemingly abandoned street. She was on his back with one arm around his neck as he ran through the streets in an effort to find the others. But now the both of them sat there, frozen in place as the storm continued to rage all around them.
The rain had made their clothes and hair stick to their skin, but now it was running down Lauren's face making it impossible to tell whether or not she was crying...she was. How could she not, for all she knew she'd just heard one of her best friends' last words before hearing the unmistakable sound of a gunshot. What else could she think? There was only one thing that could've meant but she just didn't want to think about it, she couldn't. She's only known Nick for a few months but in that short amount of time they've each been through hell and back. He might have been a foul mouthed jerk at times just like Leon but... he was still her friend. And he was Leon's brother!
Oh god what was he feeling now, Lauren wanted to know. According to both of them, it was just Leon and Nick, sometimes Natalia would be there when she was able to sneak away but other than that it was just those two. They were deported together, they started their new lives here together, hell they even lived together and now...
"Hold on Lauren." Roy said firmly, snapping her out of her thoughts, his grip on her legs tightening quite a bit.
He didn't even give her a chance to grab onto him again before he was sprinting down the road, going a hell of a lot faster than he had been going before. Not more than two heartbeats later did Lauren feel something moving against her chest before Roy's dark blue feathered wings ripped their way free of his shirt. Lauren managed to bring her hands together just as Roy took a big jump and just like that they were airborne. Roy's powerful wings were beating against the howling wind that nearly threw them against the side of a building but Roy twisted his body ever so slightly so that he hit it feet first. Lauren noticed a faint yellow glow beginning to shine from his body before his hand came over his shoulder and held Lauren's head tightly to the base of his neck.
Sensing what was coming Lauren closer her eyes and felt a sudden jerk nearly throwing her off of his back as Roy flapped his wings once more. When she opened her eyes she found herself looking at a complete mess of color and light going by her as Roy flew. The sight before her came slightly more into focus when Roy's wings went up, but the moment they went down the world was thrown into chaos once again. Feeling terribly disorientated Lauren closed her eye and just trusted that Roy knew what he was doing.
~*~*~*~Skorge~*~*~*~
"Are you sure you don't want to move from here?" Zant asked Skorge as he stood on the very edge of this building with his arms crossed over his chest. He was looking out at the ruins of this once great human city, now being laid waste to by his forces who had all but won the city and were just dealing with the last bit of resistance. "If Kayos' son is coming then-"
"Then what?" Skorge asked turning his head ever so slightly to look at his lover. "What could the son of a disgraced demon do to me now that I have all this power at my control." Skorge let out a chuckle as he looked up at the clouds which were bright with the constant dancing of lightning. "Besides...I have a feeling he might not be so willing to play nice with these humans after hearing that."
"It's just that- Skorge he's beaten you before. I don't want to think about you having to fight him again knowing that he has the capability of doing it again." Zant was looking down at his feet now after he spoke. "Don't ask me to watch that again."
"Than I won't." Skorge said matter-of-factly making Zant look up at him. "You're right. Even with my new power, there is still a chance that Leon might still defeat me. And me asking you to watch me fight him alone would be unfair..." Uncurling his arms from his chest Skorge snaked his fingers into Zant's, his eyes giving off a faint white glow as the sparks of electricity jumped between their hands. "So we'll deal with him the way we should have from the beginning. Together."
~*~*~*~
Legion had the head of a giant demon in between his arms, squeezing and squeezing it until he heard its skull crack. The giant demon's body went limp just then as Legion pulled his hand from the completely caved in skull of the creature as it let out a loud moan before it fell to the earth below. The impact shook the very earth itself as the massive flying demon crashed into the earth. He let out a roar as he bit into a chunk of meat that he'd torn from the demon's body, his tongue getting hit with warm fluid as he continued to feast. He was chasing the black roaring bird when he'd seen this giant flying demon and attacked it. He didn't know how far they'd flown nor did he care. All that mattered to Legion was that it was dead and he had more meat to soothe his hunger.
Of course that was all forgotten the instant that he caught eyes on the mass of demons and animals that he'd been chasing all day up ahead. He didn't actually see them, but the massive dust cloud that had been kicked up by them was unmistakable. But what was strange was that this cloud was dark, growling, and he could feel a horrible cold wind coming from it. He let out a tremendously loud roar as he began to run, taking several steps before he began to jump getting higher every time until Legion was practically flying. Flying toward the massive dark cloud of dust that growled, and toward the rest of his food.
~*~*~*~
Leon and the others were flying through the streets of what was once a very lively city, full of life both human and demon alike. Now it was the site of a battle between the Skorge who was once again trying to take over, and the humans who were trying desperately just to stay alive. Despite the downpour of rain, their were fires everywhere they looked, along with humans in their Cyberware and robotic-suits trying to fight off the demons in vein. They didn't bother with those fights, Leon knew that if they wanted this to stop they needed to cut the head off of the snake, and this time he wasn't going to stop until he was sure that he'd blown that damn snake's head right off.
He looked up at the approaching stadium and he remembered Nick's voice calling out from the PA system. How he knew where they were was beyond Leon, but he'd told them exactly where to find Skorge and he'd be damned if he'd let that go to waste. Whether or not Nick was alive Leon would see this through until it was done, he owed Nick that much. His eyes flashed a bright red as he pulled away from the others without much problem at all as he raced toward the stadium. He could hear the others calling for him to slow down but Leon had no interest in listening to that, this was going to stop if it was the last thing he ever did!
Leon was now a mere three blocks from the stadium now, and from here he could see a figure standing atop, their silhouette highlighted by the lighting strikes that were flashing across the sky. Without even knowing it Leon's body had already begun to radiate a deep red glow as he ran, and soon enough his human flesh was beginning to fall from him like dead leaves from a tree. As his demon hide began to appear from beneath his human flesh however he saw a bright flash to his left and jumped just in time to avoid what he could only guess was a missile of some sort because an explosion had gone off right where he'd been standing.
Leon spun around as soon as he hit the ground just in time to catch sight of several more flashes as three swords buried themselves around him. He looked at them for a moment, realizing just a fraction of a second too late what this was. He let out a startled sound as he covered his face with his arms just as all three swords exploded. The force of it threw Leon through the wall of the building he was standing in, which was no small feat at by any means. For when he looked back up at the hole he'd just made he saw that the concrete was at least four feet thick.
There was a harsh whistling sound and before he knew it Leon felt an absolutely awful stinging pain as several more swords fly at him through the hole, passed him, and sliced him as the went before they vanished into white flashes. He let out an animal-like growl as he jumped through the hole in the wall just in time to have a sword come down from directly above and literally nail him to the ground below. Leon let out a cry of pain as he tried and failed to pick himself up before several more swords came down impaling him through the shoulders, further restraining him.
Still he struggled, even when two more swords came down nailing his legs in place again making Leon cry out in pain. He was still trying to get up when he looked up to see a knightly looking figure approach him. His thick white hide offering him more than enough protection from anything that might come their way, and his long white hair being whipped around by the wind. He stopped walking several feet in front of Leon however who was glaring up at Typhon from where he lie, his teeth clenched together so hard that it was a wonder they didn't crack.
"I thought you were stronger than that?" Typhon asked through the bone mask that covered his mouth, steam firing out of the tiny vents in it every time he breathed or spoke. He turned his head up at the stadium where the figure continued to look on from where they stood before Typhon turned his black gaze back to Leon. "It's well enough that you aren't as strong as I'd thought. This could've have gotten much worse if you were..." Typhon raised his hand up ready to snap his fingers and make the swords explode. "Give me reason not to do this, I'd rather not have to kill another demon."
"You won't." Leon said before he shot up to his feet shattering Typhon's swords in the process, though the handles of the blades were still jutting out from his back. The white crystal-like patch on his chest gave a bright red flash as Leon got up to his feet and grabbed Typhon by the face. The other demon's eyes had gone as wide as serving trays as he looked at Leon though the gaps between his fingers. "You don't know how long I've waited to do this to you!"
Leon's body lit up like a star before the light traveled down his arm with a loud humming sound. The light was about to vanish into Leon's hand when a sword came flying from the side stabbing him in the forearm and tearing his hand from his face. A loud and very low thum noise sounded as a red light flew from Leon's hand, creating a rain free space from Leon's palm all the way up to a brand new hole in the side of a building. Leon had never seen what happened when his hand was touching something when he used his explosive touch, now that he saw that he wondered just what would happen if...
Leon spun around, with the sword still stuck in his arm, grabbing Typhon by the face again with his good arm before slamming him down to the ground cracking the cement in the process. Again his body lit up before a light traveled down his arm and like before a sword came flying at Leon before it could reach Typhon's head. This time though Leon saw it coming and jumped up, narrowly avoiding the swords and keeping his hand extended with the light still traveling down his arm. The moment the light reached his hand though Leon's arm and body jerked violently backwards as if he'd just fired very large gun. But despite the recoil of the concussive force exploding from his hand, Leon was still able to see what happened as another rain free space appeared and the ground below Typhon imploded sending him straight into the sewers.
Leon meanwhile hit the side of a nearby building before falling to the ground below, the sword still in his arm and blood flowing steadily out of the wound. Letting out a hiss he grabbed the sword and threw it aside before Typhon decided to blow that one up too. He raised his arms and flexed his fingers to test how much control he still had and winced with every tiny movement, clearly he wasn't going to be able to use this arm too much for now.
Leon's focus though was brought back to the hole that Typhon had made as countless sword flew up and gradually began to expand making the hole bigger and bigger until Leon had to get away from it or risk being sliced to ribbons. He looked back up at the pillar of flying swords and his eyes went wide as he saw the pillar wriggle and twist until all the swords suddenly came flying down at him. He was about to jump to the side when he heard an incredibly low humming sound, and a moment later the pillar of swords suddenly had a gaping hole in it, with any other bit of it that happened to cross the same path being blown apart as well.
Leon looked through the hole that had been made in the swords to see a now transformed Remus with his arm outstretched. His demon form was actually a lot like Skorge's, it was smooth with the only horns being on the very ends of his shoulders and elbows. But his head was completely free of them, his now white hair was covered by a blue crest that emerged from the top of his forehead making it look like he was completely bald unless you looked at him from the side. Most of his body was black except for his chest which was bright green and looked like it was surrounded by molten rock. The green bit of hide stretched from his chest up his neck all the way up to his brow giving him a very unique look even among demons.
Once the swords were blown apart Leon couldn't help but notice that the swords all vanished in a white flash. As they did Rite, now also transformed came running to the gaping hole in the ground and jumped over it. Once he was directly at the center though he let out a primal yell as he brought his arms up making them both glow bright orange as he brought them back down, a massive wave of fire being sent into the hole. Leon brought his arms up as if to shield himself from the heat and actually had to jump backwards the flames were so intense.
By the time Rite actually cleared the hole, the area surrounding it had become completely dry as if the moisture had been sucked right out of the air. When Rite landed not too far from where Leon was standing, he could feel the heat radiating off of the other demon, so much so that whenever a drop of rain fell on his body he was send up a cloud of steam. Leon watched though as the underside of Rite's arms went from bright orange to a light turquoise, as did several other parts of his body that wasn't covered by his demon hide. Before Leon could wonder what that was about did he notice that now the rain that fell on Rite's body began to freeze until a very thin layer of ice had completely encased him. Not a moment later did a figure jump up from the hole, smoke trailing after it and the instant it did Rite's arm shot up a bright blue beam firing from his arm and catching Typhon right in the back.
The demon let out a roar as he spun around and sent a barrage of swords at Rite, but before they could reach him it was like a tornado suddenly appeared right in front of him. Leon watched as Typhon's swords began to fly off to the side as Gall revealed himself and was using his speed to knock away each and every one of the swords that Typhon was sending at them. He looked like he was furious as hundreds and hundreds more swords began to materialize around him, but before he could fire them at Gall did a massive shadow pass over them all.
Leon looked up to see that an entire building was floating above them with Arianna-Gaia standing on another bit of stone beside it. Her right hand was raised while the other was on her hip, her glasses removed and her human flesh now discarded. She stood now with her brown demon hide that flecked the front of her torso like bits of rock covering her private areas but leaving her stomach as well as the middle and top of her chest exposed. That hide was a grey-ish brown color and her hair, which she normally kept wound up so tightly in a knot was set free, it was the same muddy brown color as her thickest hide and it was long enough to go past her knees. She nonchalantly let her arm fall, bringing with it the massive building which she was holding up down to the ground.
Or at least it would have if a lightning bolt had been launched from behind Leon completely obliterating the building. All of their head turned to look up at top of the stadium but all Leon could see was Skorge's lover Zant flying at him like he'd been fired from a cannon. The force of the impact made Leon and Zant roll several meters with Zant winding up on top as he rained down blow after blow on Leon's head. Leon though thrust his hand up grabbing the other demon by the face intending to end him the same way he'd done before, only this time he wouldn't stop after Zant ceased to move. Leon's body lit up but before it could begin traveling along his arm did an absolutely enormous lightning bolt come straight down from the sky, hitting them both.
Leon and Zant both were letting out pain-filled screams as the very ground around them began to crumble away. But a few more moments into the screaming did Zant's eyes give off a white glow as did the spines along his back. Now no longer paralyzed by the lighting, Zant tore into Leon until they were both out of the lightning bolt and had wound up in a sort of hollowed out chasm. Leon brought his arms up to defend his head but his body was numb thanks to that shock and he was only able to bring them half way up, nowhere near enough to properly defend himself. Leon simply had to take the punishing blows that Zant was raining down on him until finally he got the feeling back in his arms and was able to throw the other demon off.
Leon rolled to his feet only to find that whatever chamber they'd wound up in was pitch black, the only light being that of Zant's eyes as they were still glowing white. No more than a second after he thought of that did Leon see a faint red flash of his heartbeat in his chest. Damn it he can see me too, he thought clenching his fists as he made sure to keep an eye on Zant's eyes as he spoke to him. "Let's see what kind of fighter you are." Zant's voice echoed in the darkness, telling Leon that this chamber was as huge as it was dark. "Are you ready to die now?"
"Oh get over yourself!" Leon called back. "You can't see anymore than I can so quit trying to sound tougher than you are. It'll only make things worse when I beat the ever living hell out of you again."
"How naive" Zant said as his eyes suddenly grew larger and larger. Leon brought his arms up just in time to catch a solid his that sent him flying across the chasm and into the wall. "Do you really think you're only fighting me this time?"
Leon didn't bother hiding the fact that he was surprised as he pulled himself from the rocks, and strangely enough he could see a faint light begin to shine. Soon enough it was bright enough to illuminate the entire chamber that they were in showing Leon that they were inside a chamber that was easily as large as a football stadium. But more importantly, the source of this light was Skorge who had flown down into the chamber with them. The electricity that was dancing across his body was far more than was needed for there to be light in this place and Leon could see that something was definitely different about him. His eyes were constantly glowing, just like Zants were, and electricity sparking from them as he slowly floated over to his lover. There were more differences of course but those were more subtle, the only apparent one being that he was covered in a few more spike than he had been before.
"Oh my," Skorge said looking around at the chamber they were in. "I didn't think I made it this big." His eyes were back on Leon though almost immediately when he spoke again. "I used the same bolt of lightning that struck the two of you to create this cavern. We're hundreds of meters below the others so give up on the idea of getting some help. you were able to beat the both of us before, but do you think you can do the same now that we're fighting as one?"
"Hm, a strong, narcissistic, and stunningly sexy guy like me, against two flamboyant pillow-biters like you? Yeah I think I'll manage." Leon said cocking his head to the side and shooting them both a grin.
Skorge let out a chuckle just then as he closed his eyes for a moment. "You haven't changed one bit... Good, it'll make killing you that much better!"
With that Skorge and Zant both rushed at Leon who ran at the both of them with his body lighting up, he threw a punch at Skorge who along with Zant threw one of their own.
A/N: sorry this took awhile, I had some stuff come up but I'm back now. Hope y'all enjoyed yourselves for this chapter. I don't quite know how long these fights will last, probably only three chapters at most because you know who is just outside of the city. :D But I'm sad because that means this chapters almost done :( Oh well, predictions for chapters to come?
Lemme know down below!
Pic is Skorge!