Chapter 15: The Final Chapter: Resolution, Part 3- The End

“When do these orders take effect?” Omicron asked.

“Immediately, I suppose. But there is no rush.” Warlic said. “Now if you would-”

“What was that?!” Ryukai yelled.

“I felt it too.” Mika said.

“Me too.” Omicron said.

“What is it?” Warlic asked, concerned.

The three DragonGuard immediately entered their Exarch Gundam forms. Omicron began to interpret the calculations the suits were automatically making.

“I’m detecting our power source has been connected to something.” he said.

“What is it?” Ryukai asked.

“It seems like...each is connected to an object of equal power. At GEARS. Specifically within the three Houses.” Omicron reported.

“Could it be...the House Artifacts?” Mika asked.

“It seems like it. They’re absorbing our power and sending it somewhere. These co-ordinates don’t make any sense though. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Mika and Ryukai looked at the co-ordinates in their Gundams. They couldn’t understand them either.

“Valoth!” Warlic exclaimed. “You said he was connected to all the worlds and that the Darkness warned you about freeing him. The House Artifacts, from what I was told about them, they are the links to not only the dragons but to other worlds.”

“That means...” Ryukai began. “Our power is being used to fight Valoth in the other worlds too?”

“The universe is trying to repair itself. You’ve set off a chain reaction. The Shadow of the Dragons system was designed to end Valoth specifically. I never could have imagined this was the their plan.”

“How can we help the others?” Mika asked.

Warlic smiled. “All you have to do is exist.”

***

Ryukai awoke and found himself standing on the roof of GEARS. The last thing he remembered was touching the Drakylon Cube. Then there was a flash.

He looked up and saw the shadow through the barrier around the university. It howled as a great claw of shadow slammed into the barrier. Another howl. Another strike. A third howl. A third strike. A fourth howl...

And a smash. The barrier collapsed under the power of the shadow. Tendrils of shadow headed for the university.

“No!” Ryukai yelled. He felt power well up in his palms. He raised them and a blast of light rocketed towards the shadow being. It collided, and there was a howl from Valoth.

Ryukai suddenly felt a great surge of power. He closed his eyes, and the power of light surrounded him. Suddenly he could feel so much change. He felt the weight of fighting a war, of being destroyed trying with all your might to save your world. Of being reborn to fight those that would threaten all the life in your universe. Of being put through a demon’s torturous game. And then he awoke.

“So I’ve arrived...” he said. “I am Ryukai of the DragonGuard. And this? This is Exarch Gundam Sariel.”

Mika saw a giant mobile suit made of pure light from her position on the roof. It launched upwards and began to fight with the being of shadow. She wanted to stay and admire it, but claws of shadow headed for her.

Fear entered her heart for only a moment. Then power came to her. A sword of light manifested and she cut through the claws of darkness. And the power grew. The power of a lonely childhood on an overcrowded planet, of being rescued by someone who cared, of fighting the same battle as that man, being reborn like him, and being put through the same torture.

“Mika Ray. DragonGuard of the Exarch Gundam Ramiel!” she cried out as she launched into battle.

Omicron, from his rooftop position, witnessed these two beings of light arise and fight the shadow. The same claws of darkness reached out to devour him. But he didn’t know what to do.

He dodged, but one claw went straight through his chest. And then he felt the experiences rush through him. The connection to his friends, Ryukai and Mika Ray. His will to fight, his sacrifice to save the world, his rise again, his possession by the greatest evil of the world. The evil that had just pierced him. And then he felt it. He came back from that, and he arose once again to fight that evil.

A great bolt of light erupted as he transformed like the others. “Omicron. The pilot and being, Exarch Gundam Phanuel!”

The final member of the DragonGuard climbed upwards to join his comrades. The astral powers they unleashed, the light, the missiles, the beams, the swords. It was all so familiar, yet knew. They were the heroes of many worlds, but still their own person.

And that power fueled them. New friends that were old friends. Beings of incredible power that were university students. Those that were killed and revived.

“Valoth!” Ryukai screamed. “This is your punishment for everything you have done!” The rage of his attacks caused the giant being of shadow to begin to retreat.

“My life, I was finally given a chance to live...and then you stole that from me! From us!” Mika yelled.

“Our power is far greater than yours. This is the last version of you that remains isn’t it?” Omicron exclaimed.

“You fooooolsss...” the cloud of shadow screamed as it began to diminish. “I’ve conquered you all over and over again...”

“But in the end, we have always won.” Ryukai yelled.

“No matter how many times we had to sacrifice ourselves...” Mika yelled.

“No matter how thoroughly you tried to destroy us...” Omicron yelled.

“I am the ultimate being in existence! I am flawless, I will always win!”

“No....”

“You...”

“Will...”

“DIE!”

The warrior will lead the world into a new era. Mika unleashed the full power of Ramiel. The mage will learn its true purpose in this world. Ryukai unleashed the full power of Sariel. The thief will steal what is left of his enemy. Omicron unleashed the full power of Phanuel.

***

“For all of us, the new era has begun. He remains no longer in any world. Our greatest enemy, is gone. Let an age of peace and prosperity begin.”

***

THE END

Chapter 14: Resolution, Part 2: Goodbye

Mika, Ryukai, and Omicron stepped through the gates and walked into the throne room. They had returned to Loreon to report back to Kingadent Warlic.

 “What in the world did you all do...” he said. “The Shadowscythe all retreated, in the middle of battle.”

 “He’s gone.” Ryukai said calmly.

 “Do you mean....Valoth?”

 “Yes.”

 “I don’t know what to say. Congratulations. Thank you. I have a million questions to ask.” Warlic began. “If you’d like to go and take some time off, that’s-”

“I’ll stay.” Mika said. “I’ll answer any questions you have.” Omicron and Ryukai nodded signifying that they would stay as well.

***

 Ryukai ran through the halls of GEARS. He needed to find the others as quickly as possible. The vision that the Cube showed him felt like reality. He could feel himself having died only a few minutes ago.

 As he ran through the crowd of students, he looked around for a sign. The Cube told him that he would know one of them when he saw one. Ryukai hoped that a quick glance would be enough.

 He made his way down each floor. He had noticed nothing so far, and was running out of places to look. Then he noticed someone. A male student was sitting on a bench, and he was glowing. Ryukai could immediately tell that he was a Chosen.

 “Excuse me.” he said approaching the man, trying to quickly think of something to say. “What is your name?”

 “I’m Omicron.”

 “Omicron, umm, what House are you a member of?”

 “House MystRaven. Why?”

 “Well, I need you to come with me. To House MystRaven. They’re double checking the list of new recruits.”

 “Oh, okay then.” Omicron said. The two moved quickly to the House. Omicron felt a bit uneasy, but came to the conclusion he could trust this stranger. After all, he knew exactly where they were going.

 “In here.” Ryukai said once they arrived at MystRaven. He opened a door and there it was, the MystRaven Door.

 “There isn’t anyone in here.”

 “I know. I lied. I just needed to bring you here.”

 “Why?” Omicron asked, preparing to defend himself if he was attacked.

 “He doesn’t know.” said a voice. “But you do need to be here.”

Omicron and Ryukai turned to face the door. The mask placed upon it was smiling. “Hello, Omicron.”

***

 “That is amazing.” Warlic said. “It’s so difficult to believe. Even though this is what we hoped for all along.”

“It doesn’t matter how it ended.” Omicron said. “Just that it did. Everyone is finally safe again.”

 “We can’t be sure.” Mika said. “After all, once the nearby planets build up their resources they might rebel against the new Empire.”

“Mika, would you like to be placed on a project to defend against exactly that?” Warlic asked.

 “No vacation?” she said with a slight smile.

 “You are all free to take the rest of your lives off if you wish, but I have a feeling that’s not what any of you want. After all, the world needs to build up again. We need to recover from the evils of Valoth.”

 “What project?” she asked again.

 “We are going to start rebuilding the orbital stations. We’re calling them the New Loreon Orbital Stations, or NLOS. We’re starting with three for now and we could use something as powerful as the DragonGuard Gundams for that.”

 “Of course.” she said. “It would be my honor.”

 “What can I do?” Ryukai asked.

“Well...”

***

 “You...what...” Omicron stuttered.

 “You’re supposed to be a hero you know. If you can’t speak to a talking door, I haven’t the slightest idea how you’ll survive the next few hours.”

 “You’re...the House Artifact.”

 “V.E.R.Y. G.O.O.D. O.M.I.C.R.O.N.” the door said very slowly. “We don’t have much time. Just come over here and open me.”

Omicron reached out for the door handle. He hesitated for a moment before opening the door. Before Ryukai could see what was beyond it, the door slammed shut and Omicron vanished.

 “What just happened?”

 “Go find the last Chosen. Quickly, you have no idea how little time remains. It will only take four hits from Valoth’s new form to break the shield around GEARS.” the door warned.

Ryukai left the room quickly and began his search again. He ran as quickly as he could, looking for someone who was glowing. This time, he started at WolfBlade and searched from there.

 Once again he found himself in the main lobby. And there he saw a female student with the same glow that Omicron had. He ran up to her.

 “Quickly, you need to come with me!” he yelled.

 “What?” she asked as she took a step back.

 “House WolfBlade. They’re double checking the new recruits. They want to make sure everyone is here within the safety of the shield.”

 “Oh. You scared me. You know you could have approached me a little more softly...”

 “We don’t have time. I mean, they don’t. It’s urgent.”

 The two ran together towards the House. “So who are you?” Mika asked. “Are you an assistant to Xaria?”

 “Something like that.”

 The two arrived at WolfBlade in three minutes. Ryukai was out of breath, but still managed to point to the door to the WolfBlade. Mika entered the room.

 “Where is everyone else?” she asked.

 “No time. The WolfBlade, take it!”

 Ryukai flashed to his vision of the future once again. He could feel that it was coming. The gigantic shadow, Valoth, was about to arrive.

 “I’m so sorry.” he thought to himself.

 “To defend yourself with.” he said pulling out his energy saber.

 Mika immediately ran and grabbed the sword. The moment she touched it there was a flash and she was gone.

“Hurry now. Back to the Cube. You must bond with it as the other Chosen have to their artifacts.” the sword instructed.

Next Time: The Final Chapter

Chapter 13: Resolution, Part 1: Acknowledgement

Ryukai stood in the main hall of GEARS University and looked out of the window. Anger raged inside of him as he saw the Shadowscythe destroying Soluna. It was a blurry image, as the barrier distorted the light, but he could see the destroyed buildings and the flames. 

 He was stuck here, where he could do nothing. Although, he knew it was the right choice. Dean Warlic wanted to ensure the survival of the students, the survival of Lorians. Ryukai still couldn’t stand it though. He wanted to help.

 “Why don’t you help then?” a voice said.

 Ryukai turned around to see who was speaking. He couldn’t see anyone or anything. “Is someone there?” he called out. The hall was crowded and it was possible that the person had moved when he turned around.

 “Not someone, exactly.” the voice said. “And certainly not here, Ryukai.”

“Who are you?” Ryukai thought.

 “Come to the RuneHawk dormitories. I will show you who....rather, what...I am.”

 Ryukai ran quickly to the stairs. He didn’t know what to think, but he hoped it was fate calling him. If he couldn’t fight the Shadowscythe outside, maybe there was something he could do here. Whatever was calling him, he hoped it was for that very purpose. Or did he know? Had the voice given him the idea?

 After climbing a few stories, he arrived at the House Circle. The entrances to the three Houses of GEARS could be accessed from here. Ryukai ran to the door with the blue hawk symbol and opened it.

 “Just a bit further” the voice said guiding him.

Ryukai then saw where he was being led. In front of him was a door. The door that led to the room where the Drakylon Cube was stored.

***

 “How...” Ryukai said snapping out of it. He stared at where Valoth’s body was lying just a few moments ago. “How could this happen?! Our lives were ruined because of him...and he vanishes just like that?”

 “He’s gone.” Mika said with certainty.

 “That’s it...he’s gone! No suffering, or pain...he’s just gone.” Ryukai screamed. It was over too quickly. There was an emptiness. He was not satisfied.

 In the corner of his eyes, he saw something emerge from another room. Sariel quickly turned and aimed its staff downwards. It was a Shadowscythe alien.

 “So Valoth is finally gone...” it said. “All these years of control are over.”

 “You can speak our language?” Omicron asked surprised.

 “Yes. I’m sure you are surprised because of our barbaric nature. Well, that was all Valoth’s doing. He stole our intelligence and made us all into soldiers.”

 “How long have you been under his control?” Mika asked.

 “Since he came to our world.”

 “I meant you specifically.” Mika stated.

 “The answer is the same.” the Shadowscythe said. “I am one of the oldest Living Shadows in existence.”

 “Is the war over?” Ryukai asked, his staff still pointed at the alien.

 “Of course. Valoth made us fight, destroy, and assimilate. But I will return to my people and take up leadership once again. We will begin to evacuate from your worlds and retreat back to our ancestral lands.”

“This is too easy...” Ryukai said.

***

 Ryukai stood before the Drakylon Cube. “You are the voice?”

 “That is right.” the Cube replied.

 “What are you exactly?”

 “A simple House Artifact. I am the prized possession of House RuneHawk. I am what they believe to be the key to finding the lost dragons.”

 “Are you? Is that what you will do?”

 There was a slight chuckle in Ryukai’s mind. “In a way yes. I am here to re-unite what has been lost. And I need your help, Ryukai.”

 “What do you need me to do?”

 “You and the others have been lost. You are not where you need to be, and you are not what you need to be. If you care about this world than I need you to find the others.”

 “Others?” Ryukai asked. “What are you talking about?”

 “The Chosen. You are the Chosen of RuneHawk. There are two others for the Wolf Blade and the MystRaven Door. I need you to find them and bring them to their artifacts. They must be re-united.”

 “How can I find them?”

 “You must search GEARS. Trust me, you will know when you see one.”

 Ryukai wasn’t sure what to think of this. He still hoped that this could be a way of helping, but he also had a slight distrust for the voice. After all, there was no proof that it was what it said it was.

 “You don’t trust me. This is not good. We are running out of time. Quickly, take three, just three, steps forward.”

 Ryukai did so, with a bit of hesitation. On his third step there was a bright flash of light. He was somewhere else now. The world spun around him and the colors changed. He could feel cold air.

 His vision cleared and he looked up. The sky was black, and it was moving. Fast. Ryukai looked around. He was standing on the roof of GEARS. All around him, he could see Soluna was destroyed. The city was burning and there wasn’t any sign of life around him.

 Then it roared. The sky. And he looked up again. This wasn’t the sky. The darkness, was shadow. As far as he could see, it looked like it was hovering over the planet.

 It roared again and tendrils of shadow shot forth and pierced the earth. The shadows kept moving, deeper and deeper. The land began to collapse inwards as the shadow roared.

 And then, it descended. Ryukai tried to run, but he couldn’t escape. The shadow collapsed and he was crushed.

“Save them.” said a voice. “Find them, and save them. You must realize your destiny before it is too late.”

Next Time on Gundam: Shadow- The search begins. Resolution continues. 

Chapter 12: Apocalypse, Part 5 of 5: Aversion

A small laugh escaped through Valoth’s groans of pain. A large shadow tendril emerged and surrounded Ryukai and Omicron. Sharp teeth emerged from it.

 “Make another move, and I’ll devour them.” he announced barely managing a smile.

“What do you want?” Mika asked.

 “Let me leave. All I want is to escape.” he said, clearly planning something.

 Mika looked down at Ryukai and Omicron. They might be able to escape with their natural DragonGuard power, but could she take that risk? She definitely didn't want to let Valoth go, but he was gravely injured. Tracking him down and finishing him off might not be that difficult.

 “Fine.”

 Valoth tried to smile, but the pain was too great. He slowly started walking away. The shadows extended so he could continue to hold Ryukai and Omicron hostage. He moved towards a large hangar door and pressed a button.

 The gate opened and he stepped through. The shadows dissolved and he quickly pressed another button. The gate slammed shut, and all the other exits in the room closed too. They were sealed in.

 “This is all so perfect.” Valoth yelled through the hangar door. “I won’t be at the center when the machine activates to harvest your energy, but that won’t matter. I’ll simply absorb it once all three of you and your Gundams are dissolved.”

Ryukai and Omicron ran for their Gundams. Without even thinking, they burst into blue flames and entered the Exarch. Omicron’s flame hit the suit and there was a flash.

***

Omicron walked into the GEARS auditorium. He did not know what was happening, only that an assembly had been called to address something. He sat down and a few minutes later Dean Warlic began to speak.

 “Students, staff, and administration...I regret to inform you that there has been an unfortunate disaster. Loreon Orbital Station 7 was destroyed yesterday. Many were lost and I wish we could mourn them, but we simply do not have time. LOS-7 was our last defense against the Shadowscythe. With it gone, an invasion is imminent. All of you here are the future generation of protectors, so after much thinking...I have decided to lock down GEARS. No one will be able to enter or exit starting immediately.”

Omicron was shocked. He knew the war against the Shadowscythe hadn’t been going well, but he never thought that the situation would be this dire. There was a lot of chatter among the students. He himself did not care about the lockdown, but he worried for Loreon.

***

 “Everyone ready?” Ryukai asked.

 “Yes.” Omicron and Mika responded.

 “Good, because we need to act fast. This room is completely sealed off and we have two objectives. Kill Valoth and stop this chamber from destroying us. Any ideas?”

 “I’m detecting strong energy currents running through the walls of this chamber, so destroying them to get out isn’t an option.” Omicron noted.

 “What if we go under them?” Mika asked pointing to the metal grating on the floor.

 “Excellent.” Ryukai said smiling. This chamber must have been prepared quickly. Valoth was probably in a rush and didn’t have time to make sure we couldn’t escape. “Mika, you search for a way to disable the power in this station. Me and Omicron will look for a way out.”

 Everyone agreed and immediately blasted away large sections of the floor and began to move through the maintenance tunnels. Valoth had caused them all so much pain, it was time to end this. That anger fueled their Gundams and they moved with incredible speed.

 Within a few seconds, Ryukai and Omicron found what they were looking for. The ground exploded underneath Valoth as they shot upwards and launched the monster into the air. Valoth’s pain increased a hundredfold.

 And it got worse for him. Sariel unleashed its Fangs while Phanuel launched DG missiles. Valoth’s flesh began to tear apart, and his body was brutally disfigured. However his screams reached his allies. The ShadowScythe came and helped him, blindly. Even though he was so close to death, Valoth still controlled all of them.

 The shadows fought as one, exploding out of their shells and into pure shadow. Sariel unleashed Souen, combining with the Fangs to create wyvern like constructs that shot blue flame at the shadows. Each shot ate away at the shadow, but it was relentless. The shadows felt no pain and continued to come, hoping to aid their master.

 Phanuel slid back all of its panels and unleashed a storm of missiles and lasers of pure light into the shadows. The pain that the shadows could not feel, was felt by Valoth. He was missing at least 1/4 of his body, and he couldn’t stand the pain. He couldn’t move. Even though a ship was so close...even though escape was so close...he couldn’t reach it.

 “He’s suffered enough.” Omicron announced.

 “No! He can never suffer enough!” Ryukai snarled. He remembered the memories of being ripped apart like Valoth was now.

 “We can’t waste the Exarch’s power on this!”

 “This is all that is left, Omicron!” Ryukai yelled as they continued to obliterate the waves of shadow energy. “Once he is gone...it is ALL over! All our pain and suffering...will finally be gone!”

 “Then end it now!” Omicron yelled. Phanuel charged up all its astral energy, and overloaded its systems. In one large blast, the shadows for a mile around them were destroyed.

 The astral energy filled the air, and removed the Souen from Sariel’s fangs. The Souen gathered around Ryukai, and he aimed his staff at Valoth. And in one single shot...it was over.

 A spear of finality burst forth from the staff. The crimes that Valoth had committed were translated into anger, which became power. The happiness they once had that was snatched away, became power. Their entire lives were destroyed, mutilated, their minds twisted. Pure rage was focused in the astral energy and the power was incredible.

 Unconfined, it would have destroyed everything. But Ryukai’s single goal gave the energy its own mind. It had one purpose, and all its energy was poured into that. As it pierced Valoth, it gave him no time to scream. And instead of going clean through the demon, it gathered inside him, and in a moment he was vaporized.

 An outside observer would see this as a quick victory. But to Ryukai, Omicron, and now Mika who was behind them...this was all their fighting. Time slowed down as they remembered, and when the astral spear struck Valoth....it was as if the universe exploded. 

 Everyone was silent. There was now time for emotion. There was time for victory, time to cry, time to laugh, time to be angry, time to be happy. And with so much time and freedom suddenly available...they had nothing to say.

And so the Exarch Gundams stood there. In silence. Their enemy, and the enemy of the world, was gone. They had freed every world...every world but one. And there was only one final resolution before their souls could truly rest. Valoth had brought disunity to each of them.

But now...is the time for unity. The time for Resolution.

Next Time on Gundam: Shadow- The first chapter of the Resolution chapters. Their journey is over, but their is one piece missing. When they freed the Darkness of Valoth's control, they freed everyone. And Valoth is gone everywhere, in every possible world...but one. One remains, a single world must reach its resolution to save everyone. 

Chapter 11: Apocalypse, Part 4 of 5: The Final Prison

Mika awoke and found herself in darkness. She felt horrible, like she had been knocked out. She slowly rolled over, and encountered a bright light. In front of her she could see three pillars, glowing a bright blue. No...those weren’t pillars. They were the Exarch DragonGuard!

 She stood up and looked around. Right now she was in a large half-spherical chamber. In the center were the three Gundams facing each other, and in the center was Valoth.

 Mika struggled to step forward. She slowly made her way into the light. “Valoth...”

“Oh, Mika. You’ve awoken. Welcome to the Shadow Circle.”

 “Shadow Circle?”

“This is where my plan will finally be realized. It is finally time for me to ascend to the level of a God. To go farther than those two idiotic Eternal Dragons.”
“What are you doing with the Gundams?” Mika asked.

 “The only way to defeat those two is to become Shadow. I need the power of Light, extreme light...your DragonGuard at their final level. It took you three such a long time to reach it, I’m a bit disappointed. Anyway, the Light combined with my natural Darkness, will create a great force of Shadow. And do you know what that will do?”

Mika was silent. Her eyes were angry, and this made Valoth smile.
“It will call forth the Shadowscythe. And those pathetic beings...I will merge with every single one of them. Then I shall be the ultimate Shadow being and this world will be mine.”

 “Do you need all the Gundams?” Mika asked.

“Yes.”

 “Good.” Mika said before exploding into a blue flame. The fire rocketed into Exarch Ramiel. The Gundam shimmered as the fire moved towards the pilot seat. And then, the world flashed.

***

 The mobile suit’s swords clashed. In a GEARS arena, two pilots were fighting each other as part of a class assignment. The professor, Denara, sat with the rest of the class in the stadium’s seats observing the students.

 The red mobile suit quickly withdrew its sword. This caused the opposing blue suit’s sword to rocket forward, in a perfect position to slice Red’s head off. But before it could reach, Red ducked and punched upwards. The force of the blow caused Blue to tumble forward, and was now flying through the air upside down.

Red spun around and leapt forward with it’s sword. Blue’s mobile suit was pierced. Both suits shut down immediately while the stadium’s systems made the announcement.

 “Winner! Red Pilot: Mika Ray!”

 The students in the stadium cheered. Denara was impressed. Mika was one of her best students, and was the best pilot she had seen in quite a while. She had already started to consider writing a letter of recommendation for the advanced course for her.

On the field, Mika and Blue walked back towards the stadium. “You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to fight the Shadowscythe.” she commented with a smirk.

 “It’s only our second week! You’re the odd one out. Some of the students here can’t even hit a stationary target.”

 “Well they have a long way to go.”

 “Hey, did you hear about the attack earlier today?” Blue asked.

 “No, what happened?”

“They say the Shadowscythe bombed one of the orbital stations. LOS-7 I think. Apparently everyone was killed. They even lost an Admiral. I think her name was Odessa.”

***

 Mika charged forth with her Gundam. She swung her broadsword at Valoth, but he simply sidestepped and stuck back with a roundhouse kick. Ramiel was pushed against the wall.

Reacting quickly, Ramiel threw a set of beam knives into Valoth. He groaned, but did not react as Mika expected. Instead of removing them he just charged forward and pinned Ramiel to the wall.

Ramiel charged its eye beams, but they were useless. Valoth acted quickly once again. This time he pushed Ramiel’s head sideways and the beams were released into the air.

“Pathetic. I expected more from an Exarch.”

That was when Mika noticed where Ramiel’s left palm was. It was adjacent to Valoth’s right arm. She activated her Astral Sword and the flame erupted from Ramiel’s palm and went straight through Valoth’s arm.

He screamed in pain. Mika used this opportunity to condense the sword into solid form and use it to swing Valoth away. The sword returned to flame and she made several quick cuts into Valoth’s flesh.

The beast fell over, in great pain. Ramiel prepared its final strike. Without the Gundam’s full power, the Astral system couldn’t be used to vaporize Valoth. But she could still plunge the sword deep into the heart of this monstrous being.

The sword plunged downwards, but was unable to connect. A tendril of shadow emerged from Valoth and knocked the sword aside. Mika could tell this was a reflex because Valoth himself had his eyes closed and was screaming in pain.

Mika struck again and again. But the tendril kept blocking. No, it wasn’t the same tendril. There were multiple tendrils emerging from the shadow. And with each strike one was vaporized and another came to defend Valoth.

On her twelfth strike, the sword disappeared. Her Astral Energy was too low to allow it to manifest. Ramiel raised its left arm, and an assault carbine unfolded from underneath. The tendrils once again came, but the blast from this weapon went straight through the shadow and into Valoth’s body.

He screamed in pain as the divine energy began to dissolve through his body. “Stop! Please!” he begged. “I’ll let your friends go..you can take your Gundams! Please, just leave!”

“Let me see them and then we can talk.” she said. She wanted to kill this demon now, but he was in critical condition. It was more important to make sure Omicron and Ryukai were safe. And if they were? Then she would finish him off.

Valoth said something in his own language, and a gate opened to reveal Omicron and Ryukai.
“Thank you, Valoth. Now it is time for you to die.” Mika announced.

A small laugh escaped through Valoth’s groans of pain. A large shadow tendril emerged and surrounded Ryukai and Omicron. Sharp teeth emerged from it.

 “Make another move, and I’ll devour them.” he announced barely managing a smile.

Next Time: Apocalypse, Part 5 of 5: Aversion