080

 

80.  The Violet Violence

 

Rainwater splashed over Azuka's bloodied body as she skidded to a stop on the ground. She could feel numbness spreading into her muscles as she taxed them to their limits, but pain and wounds no longer mattered to the soon to be ex-captain. She had come this far, and she would not back down.

 

Zeigfried remained unscathed as he floated hazily in the night sky. "Well, I can't say I'm disappointed. This will save me the trouble of wasting many good acolytes on a civil war between heathens."

 

Azuka's legs felt like rusted metal stilts as she jumped up to clash with her enemy yet again.

 

"I suppose this will be the third time you've committed a betrayal," Zeigfried called out. "Rest easy, for it shall be your last."

 

Azuka slashed out as she always had, but this time, no psynergy was produced. Her blade simply cut through the air uselessly, completely missing its target. Zeigfried shot his fist outward, punched the Knight square in the face, and sent her twirling downward to the ground yet again.

 

"This is going nowhere," Rose commented as she watched the doomed battle from the ground. "That woman has determination, but she's completely exhausted."

 

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Bruce growled. "I hate to admit it, but she's defending us right now...we can't just leave her here."

 

"If we don't have the strength to beat him," Rose said calmly, "then we need to go get someone who does. Roufas, Grayson, and Van Kaen are at the tournament complex. I can go get one of them."

 

Bruce looked at his lover with concerned eyes. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

 

"I'll be able to move easily through this rain," Rose explained. "But...I'm afraid to leave you here."

 

"Yeah." Bruce watched as Azuka was struck down yet again by one of Zeigfried's floating arms. "I'm going to come with you. Whatever happens, we should be together."

 

Rose nodded with a weak smile, then turned to the Knights. "Kamo! We're going to get help."

 

Still on the ground, Kamo snorted weakly. "I've heard that one before."

 

"We'll be back," Rose said. "I promise."

 

And so, the Dark Zodiacs slipped out into the night. Bruce took a deep breath, then Rose submerged him in water and dissipated herself into the black rain.

 

Blood seeped through Azuka's gums as she grit her teeth and prepared to leap up once more. This pain is nothing. I've got too much at stake. I can't

 

*************

 

lose here!

 

Vance frantically pulled out every last ounce of psynergy from his body as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern came crashing down on both of his shoulders. His paltry barrier shattered in no time, and the combined force of both bastard swords threw his body across the arena like a rubber ball.

 

"What art thou doing?!" Saffron shouted. "Rise up, Vance Darcouver! Up, up, up!"

 

Fearing for his life, Vance obliged. The bloody gash along his right side still bled, as did his shoulder and ankle. Time was running out, and while Vance became more and more exhausted, Saffron only grew stronger. With every blow he took, the Dog's masochistic ability kept enhancing his might.

 

The insane swordsman came bounding down the arena and aimed his emerald blade toward the Albavitrean's head. Vance ducked back at the last minute, and the tip of the blade just barely sliced into his forehead.

 

"Fie!" Saffron dropped Rosencrantz and pulled Vance back to his feet. "Attack, man! Attack!"

 

Blood clouded Vance's eyes as he looked up to Saffron, wondering whether these were his final moments of mortality.

 

I..." Vance gasped, trying hard to support himself on trembling legs. "I...can't..."

 

"What?!" Saffron grabbed Vance's head and pulled it closer. "I know more essence doth burn within thee, wee Albavitrean...thy uncle assured me of’t...hence, I can feel it!"

 

Saffron palmed Vance's head like a softball and launched him across the arena yet again. Vance bounced three times, then landed with a sickening crunch on the northern edge. His eyes peered down to the green blades of grass below. If he touched them, his life would be saved.

 

"Perchance 'twas a hopeful mistake, after all." Saffron sighed, picked Rosencrantz back up and closed in on his prey. "If this doth truly be the limit of thy mettle...then thou art no different than the fools I fought hitherto. Hence, t'would be best to put thee out of thy misery!"

 

Vance continued to eye the grass as he shakily picked himself up.

 

No! What am I thinking?! Cliff wouldn’t give up here...and neither would Eden...

 

But...am I really like them? Do I really have their resolve? I'm not that strong...am I?

 

"He's doubting himself," Frank whispered from the stands. "I know that face. Ed. Even with Victoria's strength, deep down, he's your son. He's doubting himself, just like you always do."

 

Edward was speechless, frozen as he stared down at his bloodied son.

 

"I remember a man with self-esteem lower than any other person I've ever met," Frank continued. "Deep down, he was always a nice guy, but his intense paranoia, angst, and self-denial would always keep him from showing his best qualities. Then, one day, he met an amazing woman, and he was freed."

 

Slowly, Edward turned to face Frank with wide eyes.

 

"That girl from the last round..." Frank said slowly. "Maybe she's Vance's Victoria, Ed. Maybe she awakened him, and she's the reason he's pushing himself so far. Now, he's just waiting for the shove he needs to push him across the finish."

 

Saffron was only a few more steps away from the young man. "Do not fear't, Vance! Thou canst still die an honorable–"

 

"Vance!" Edward's voice thundered out across the arena. "You can do it! I know you can, because you're better than me! Think of your mother...remember how strong she was! She’s inside you Vance...you can do this!"

 

Struggling to keep his eyes open, Vance turned his head toward the crowd. "D...Dad?"

 

"Win this for her!" Edward screamed at last, as tears streamed down his worn-out face. "Fight for her, like I never could!"

 

Saffron smirked, then raised both blades above Vance's head. "Pathetic cries from an even more pathetic wretch."

 

Vance spun around, eyes ablaze with a deep purple glow. "Shut up."

 

"Pray tell..." Saffron looked down to see Vance's hands fastened around his arms, glowing with a darker shade of violet. "That old sack's words inspired thee?"

 

Vance wasted no time in bringing his knee up to Saffron's stomach like a torpedo. The swordsman's armor cracked to pieces, and he went flying into the air like a punted football.

 

"Woah!" Trunculo shouted. "Looks like Saffron’s finally struck a nerve! He may be in trouble here, folks!"

 

Saffron coughed up blood as his head smashed against the stone platform. Vance approached him, and the Dog simply couldn't resist smiling, bloodstained teeth gleaming crazily along his injured face.

 

"Bravo!" he giggled happily.

 

Glowing with a deep violet, Vance cracked his knuckles. "You may like pain, but I'll make you learn to hate it, Saffron. And no matter how many times you stab me, I'll come back to punch you even harder!"

 

"I prithee!" Saffron shouted and ran back toward his foe. "More! More of that sweet, majestic pain!"

 

Guildenstern whooshed down and stopped right between the knuckles of Vance's ring and middle finger. No blood was drawn – the weapon could not break through Vance's new psynergy aura, despite how it seemed far thinner than the last.

 

"Heavy..." Saffron stared at Vance's new aura. "What beguilement doth this be?"

 

The truth of the matter was, Vance didn't know what was going on with his psynergy. He’d found a second wind somehow, and the psynergy coming out of his body now was much different than the kind he usually produced. Whether it had been affected by his emotions or not, it definitely felt like something alien had been injected into his body.

 

The next time Saffron swung down, Vance caught both of the blades with his hands. Saffron laughed, then brought up his knee and slammed it into Vance's chest. Now, it was Vance's turn to cough up blood as he stumbled backwards and gasped for air. Saffron wasted no time in winding up another slash, then brought it down.

 

"Comeuppance." Saffron grinned and pushed Guildenstern into the left side of Vance's stomach. "Thou must do more than catch trinkets to prove thy strength to me."

 

As Vance sputtered up more blood, Saffron pushed harder on his blade, adding yet another wound to the young man's body. Vance tried to move backwards, but the blade was in too deep. More blood than he ever knew he had gushed out from the cavern.

 

"Vance is really getting ripped up in there!" Trunculo shouted. "But how much longer can he last against that beast?!"

 

Due to his sudden elevation in power, Vance remained on his feet. Clenching his teeth, Vance called out to the mysterious force and formed a glowing ball of psynergy in his hands. Saffron stood and watched with wonder as the sphere grew to half the size of Vance's body within the blink of an eye.

 

"A gift..." Saffron’s eyes widened. "For me?"

 

Vance answered by lurching forward and firing the blast. Saffron caught the ball as it exploded, which propelled him all the way back to the edge of the arena.

 

"Brilliant!" Saffron smiled, reveling in the pain.

 

Vance staggered toward Saffron, experimenting with the light, neon purple psynergy that seeped out from his body. It felt like he had hardly any psynergy left, yet the nature of his aura had changed entirely. Instead of the heavy overflow of purple that always seeped out from his body, his power felt condensed and controlled, a thin layer of sharp, honed might that sheathed his body.

 

"Absolutely brilliant!" Saffron exclaimed, as he teetered on the edge of the platform. "And now, the riposte!"

 

In a flash, Saffron raised Rosencrantz and aimed it toward Vance's arm. Listening to instinct, Vance closed his eyes and lifted his arm up. As his hand met with the sword, he extended his fingers and pushed forward. It didn't feel like Vance was cutting anything at all, but rather, like his hand had shifted into a completely different place. Instead of metal, his fingers slipped through space itself.

 

Averyl's eyes lit up as he watched Vance's hand slice through Rosencrantz's blade. "He's done it..."

 

The top half of Rosencrantz fell to the ground, and Vance's hand followed through. The tips of his fingers sliced through the air, and the threads of time and space fell apart in their wake. He brought his hand down, opened his eyes, and gazed into the tiny dimensional rift that he had created.

 

Saffron brought the hilt of Rosencrantz up to his eyes, speechless as he stared at the stubby remains of his sword.

 

"What was that?!" Trunculo shouted. "It looked as if...Vance cut a hole within space itself!"

 

"Not cut," Averyl explained excitedly to Madeleine. "Vance nullified all the matter along the spot that his fingers touched."

 

"So then where does that hole open to?" Madeleine asked.

 

"Wherever he wants. Another dimension, or to a different spot in this one." Averyl nodded enthusiastically. "All Albavitreans can manipulate space and matter somehow. That's the main reason why so few remain today – everyone fears us, and the chaos in our blood..."

 

Sweat poured down Vance's brow, mixing in with the blood that continued to flow from his wounds. What was that? It didn't feel like I was using psynergy...it felt completely natural...

 

" If thou aimeth to destroy my precious weapons, Vance..." Saffron dropped his blades and cracked his knuckles. "Then I shan't use them!"

 

With that, Saffron's strong right fist flew forward and smashed into Vance's nose, shattering it on impact. Vance screamed in pain as more blood joined the horrendous smattering that already covered his face. The only psynergy he had left was a thin aura that currently covered his body — his defenses had been greatly weakened.

 

But Vance stood strong. "I told you...no matter how many times you hit me, Saffron...I'm not giving up!"

 

He curled his aching hands into a fist and punched out at the swordsman's stomach, but it was to no avail. He felt some of the bones in his fist snap as his hand made contact with Saffron's gut and bounced back weakly. Vance's body was breaking down.

 

"Why?!" Saffron cried. "Say this shan’t be the end, Vance!"

 

Saffron's elbow slammed down into Vance's shoulder, cracking it on the spot. The Dog's psynergy blazed, and despite his wounds, he continued to brim with vitality.

 

Blinding pain electrified Vance while he struggled to stay up. His body felt like it was on the verge of crumbling, and he knew that if he fell, it would be all over. On the other hand, it seemed like it would be impossible for him to damage Saffron any further with what little remained of his power.

 

Saffron grinned and focused his psynergy on his fist. "'Tis truly a killjoy...but I thank thee for bringing me this far. I haven't felt so high in ages. In return, I shall present to thee the culmination of all my pleasure. A single blow that will no doubt splatter thy entrails, a solitary kiss to bid thee an eternal goodnight!"

 

Vance looked down to his hands, which still pulsated softly with his Albavitrean might. His eyelids began to slip down, despite his insistence to keep them up. As Saffron pulled his fist back for another punch, Vance stumbled forward, and his head fell downwards.

 

Trunculo's voice swooped in. "Vance has come far, but it looks like this is the end of the line! And now, it's too late for him to even run for cover! I hope you're all sitting down, folks, because Vance Darcouver is about to be pulverized!"

Next: Lullaby for a Nightmare