Legends of the Halcyon Era

Episode 81 - Kage Match

While Celeste was being analyzed in a capsule, the group made their way through the enemy's mountain base. There, they fought a pair of massive guardians, discovered that Steel was actually a clone of the original Black Steel Nytetrayn and Fenix had first met, killed the original, and destroyed the liquid machine-monster, Noh.

Nytetrayn set Celeste down near the elevator, turned back towards the undying evil of the past, and stepped up to join his friends.

Kage no Kami stood towering before them, blotting out the sea of false stars. The red jewel on his chest pierced the darkness with the light of Hell's own inferno. "Come," he said. "Face me now."

Nyte silently nodded as he dashed in at Kage and let loose a flurry of blasts from his Nyte Buster.

As Kage walked towards the group, the shots deflected from his armor like small pellets of hail off a concrete walkway.

Once he was in close enough, Nytetrayn switched to Nyte-Saber mode and leaped high into the air, intent on bringing the blade down right on Kage's head. The blade never made contact with its target, however, as Kage no Kami easily caught the energy blade in his clawed hands, and effortlessly flung its wielder across the room.

Nyte was able to reorient himself to land on the wall and bounce off harmlessly to the floor. A point had been made: It was not going to be that easy.

While Kage was focused on Nyte, Janine tried to entangle his legs in her whip as Katrina charged in overhead and released bursts of flame down at his head. Kage made no motion to deter the flames as they washed over his helmet harmlessly, and he pulled his leg free of the whip with ease.

Steel slid in and drove his shoulder into the dark one's stomach, but was casually slapped aside for his efforts. Adam lunged to one side, sending an arc of blue energy from his sword at Kage. While that occupied his focus, a small, round device bounced over near Kage's foot before it exploded into a fiery ball of plasma energy that engulfed their foe, but the plasmic flames burned out harmlessly.

Nyte decided to take a cue from Steel and try his own version of the same, hoping to at least knock the villain off-balance. He slammed into the towering figure, but it was like running straight into solid rock – perhaps harder – and he bounced away. "Sonofa–!"

Kage no Kami addressed his assailants. "It is, how do you say... 'my turn'."

Katrina landed behind Kage and was about to unleash a Fire Beam from her hands, but before she could get the blast off, the towering figure spun around and snapped her up by the neck, his fingers tightening around her throat as he lifted her from her feet and choke-slammed her headfirst into the cold, unforgiving floor.

Before anyone else could react, Kage moved about the group with such speed that it almost seemed like he was warping, leaving a trail of afterimages and destruction in his wake. A hard claw struck Nytetrayn across the chest, a big boot caught Fenix right in his helmeted face, MegaMan Magnus caught a back-elbow to the neck, and Steel was blasted by a knee to the stomach.

As Katrina slowly picked herself up off the ground, with black circulatory fluid spilling out of her nose and a cracked lip, Kage no Kami beckoned to one of the untouched. "Bring him forth."

Adam stared back at him, not moving. "Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, I will kill you last."

Janine tried firing her BFG at Kage's groin, but without turning his attention from Adam, he simply caught the bullets and dropped them at his feet.

Adam smirked. "Nice try. It doesn't work like that; he doesn't want to come out, and I can't make him."

"Then perhaps some... incentive... is in order," Kage said as he silently moved back to where Katrina was getting back to her feet. He engulfed her hand, and much of her arm, in his. Then he lifted her into the air and began to squeeze, forcing the Reploid woman to yell out in pain as she fruitlessly tried to attack the arm holding her.

Adam grimaced.

"Bring him," Kage told Adam, "or she will feel pain well beyond what you have already experienced."

"No, Adam! Don–EAUGH!!!" Katrina tried to yell before being cut off by an even tighter squeeze.

As the others began to regroup, Magnus formed a pair of energy swords in his hands, and Fenix told Janine to try the thing she did to Noh's genitals.

"Stay your hand" Kage's voice echoed. "If you value the seconds of life you have left, I advise you all to stand down and await your own deaths. I will kill the next one who interferes."

"What, now you can't take us all on?" Nytetrayn shouted, before muttering under his breath. "Lousyhighandmightybigtalkingfullofhimselfnogoodpieceofslag..."

"Not while I still draw breath!" Magnus yelled. His energy swords dissipated and twin energy blasts leapt from his hands. "Die!"

With a wave of his hand, Kage returned the energy blasts to their point of origin in a flash, staggering Magnus back down to a knee as they collided with his chest.

"You were warned," Kage said as he approached the Annihilator Unit, carrying Katrina and continuing to apply pressure all the while. Katrina kept using her free arm to punch at Kage's, but her efforts seemed to be weakening.

"How long can you resist, Blade? How long can you hold out while your friends suffer? Of course, you are a Mega Man model. So much like X. Always in fear. Always leaving the suffering to others while you hide away in righteous solitude. Too fearful to confront the power that's rightfully yours to control. A coward to the last."

As Kage drew near, Magnus deployed his shoulder-mounted fusion cannons and began to charge energy in the left barrel. "Just give me an excuse."

"Please do, Magnus. It would be a simple matter to let this pitiful girl take the brunt of the blast. Then it would be you, not I, stained in her blood."

Magnus hesitated, then powered down the cannon. "If I thought it would be enough to finish you, then I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Kage no Kami chuckled, and turned his attention back to Adam. "So be it, then. Perhaps her death will be enough to bring you out."

"Don't do it, Adam!" Katrina shouted. "D-don't give i–AAAH!!!"

Adam's eyes began to glow, crimson light burning through the darkened shades, while the blue glow of the runes and edge of his sword began to flare up. He gritted his teeth and tried to resist, but it was all for naught.

"Kage!" shouted MegaMan Blade.

Kage dropped Katrina to the floor upon witnessing the transformation and stepped towards the one he desired. She landed on her knees, and tried to catch her breath.

While Fenix and Magnus gathered to start whispering between themselves, Nytetrayn moved in to try to help get Katrina out of the way, but she tried to wave him off. "No," she said. "I'll be fine, Nyte. This is my duty."

"Nn," Nyte responded. "Duty or not, whether we like it or not, we're all in this together."

"Come, Blade! Show me your power!" Kage bellowed.

MegaMan Blade obliged with a roar as he used his massive sword to hurl an enormous blue wave of energy at their foe. Kage no Kami walked straight into it, despite the power of the hatred behind the attack melting through the front of his armor in a perfect vertical line.

Blade kept up the attack, spinning in place to send more waves at Kage, one after another. Only the few who were present for the battle against Sherman East so long ago had seen the fury Blade was now bringing to bear.

As Blade kept Kage busy, Steel and Janine rallied with Nytetrayn and Katrina.

"He's too powerful to take one-on-one," Steel said.

"Hell, he was too powerful for us all at once," Nytetrayn countered. "You tried your glowstick of destiny there?"

"Not yet," Steel told him, as he ignited the Soul Sabre's blade. "But no time like the present, eh?"

Nytetrayn nodded, while also noting that Fenix had removed the cover from Magnus's shoulder cannons and seemed to be fiddling with the inner workings, then back to Kage no Kami, whose armor was beginning to give way piece by piece under Blade's assault. Despite this, the villain continued his approach towards Blade as though the attacks weren't phasing him.

"I can't tell if Blade's attacks are working or not," said Nyte. "But maybe they'll at least give us an opening, create a weak point to strike."

"Jan, stay back," Steel said. "He's too strong for you, so I want you to be clear."

Janine nodded unhappily. "I'll be okay, lover. I think I'm beneath his notice, anyway."

Steel channeled his spirit into the Soul Sabre, which caused the blade to flare up.

Katrina stood next to him. "Ready?"

Steel nodded.

"Then let's do this!"

Katrina crossed her hands and let loose with a beam of fire at Kage no Kami's back, and Steel whipped the blade of his weapon forward, which sent forth a wave of energy not unlike Blade's.

While Katrina's efforts scorched the back of Kage's armor and charred his cape, the combination of MegaMan Blade and Steel's attacks began to chip away at the armor. It continued to crack and fragment, until it finally shattered into sharp pieces that exploded outwards, with the larger chunks collapsing to the ground.

Where Kage no Kami's torso had been was a body, a much smaller and considerably more human-looking body, engulfed in a cocoon of purple energy. The body, curled into an almost fetal position, unfolded as it neared the ground, lightly gently upon the ebony floor.

Clad only in simple black pants and boots, the male figure who emerged was heavily muscled, and sported a long mane of silver which reflected a man in his later years.

"What the–" Katrina stammered. "Galiant?!"

Not wasting the opportunity, Nytetrayn let loose a Buster shot at the newly-exposed body. However, Galiant spun and kicked the blast aside.

"...crap," Nyte muttered.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Blade," said Galiant, before leaping up and landing on the flat of Blade's sword and delivering a swift kick to his jaw. The former Purifier Unit that currently inhabited Adam Powers was sent flying back into the wall, hitting it with a force he'd not felt since he'd had his own body.

Elsewhere in the room, Fenix finished incorporating his plasma caster into Magnus's fusion cannons, and the entire assembly was now crackling with bolts of energy. "So, you said we've only got one shot with this?" the masked Digger asked.

"Disengaging the safety overrides in my generators and combining that with the plasma caster shell? I'm not even sure if they're going to survive this." In a much lower voice, Magnus added "Or me."

"You're nuts. You know that, right?" Fenix asked. "Peanuts, pecans, cashews, the entire lot."

"A peanut isn't a nut," Magnus noted.

"...never mind. I hope you die."

"What are you guys doing?" Nyte asked.

"Hoping we get a clear shot before these things overload," Magnus told him.

Nytetrayn looked back over at Galiant. "Maybe I can give you that clear shot. Wait until I get a hold of him and give you the word. Hopefully I can hold him, or at least distract him, long enough for you guys to get your shot off."

Wasting no time waiting for an answer, Nytetrayn moved out, sticking to the outer edge of the room until he had maneuvered himself around to a position behind Galiant.

After hitting the wall, Blade fell to the floor and slumped over as the glow faded from his eyes.

"NO!!!" Steel yelled, as he dashed in to slash at Galiant furiously.

Gallant reached out and caught Steel's weapon with his bare hand. "What's this? Ah, yes. The Soul Sabre. My boy wielded one as well. I truly must meet these remarkable Xar who forge these wondrous things. Jubei eluded our grasp for so long back then. Had I known he was but one among such a prominent race... ah, but no matter now."

Galiant kicked Steel in the chest, sending him crashing into the far wall. Then he paused to send LENEIS the new data he'd just acquired from Blade, standing casually with his arms at his sides, with nothing to fear now.

And Nytetrayn knew he had his chance. With a deep breath, he quietly said "Now or never."

MegaMan Magnus grunted as the crackling energy began to form a sphere directly in front of the cannon barrel. The orb of energy swirled and arced with red and black energy.

Nyte began to glow gold, then practically disappeared. Using his Attribute Amplification System, he moved in behind Galiant before he knew what was happening, then immediately switched his systems to boost his strength as high as it would go. During the switch, he grabbed Galiant from behind in a full-nelson hold and locked his hands as tightly as he could.

"Fenix! Magnus! Now!!!"

"What?!" Galiant yelled, his eyes widened in shock at being caught off-guard in such a way.

"This will take just about everything I've got," Nyte said, "but if it ends you... then it's worth it!!!"

"You insignificant toy!"

MegaMan Magnus let out a scream as the cannon exploded with a wave of raw energy pouring outward at Galiant.

"Nyte! Run!" Fenix yelled out.

After straining for several moments, Galiant screamed and managed to whirl and break the hold before spin-kicking Nyte across the room. However, he didn't do so with time enough to get clear of the wave of energy that was rushing at him.

"Eat shit and die," Magnus said.

Galiant didn't even have time to turn to face the wave of energy, which overtook him and picked him up off his feet. The force carried him across the chamber before finally coming to a sudden halt against the wall, where the impact exploded and swallowed him up within white hot flames.

Katrina, who had gone to check on Blade and make sure he was still breathing, turned just in time to see the fiery explosion of power.

Nytetrayn slowly got to his feet, panting heavily as he made his way back over to the others and dropped to one knee.

Steel stood in awe of Magnus. "So that's it, then," the silver-haired Digger said. "It's over... finished."

"Not yet," Katrina said. "If he got that data to LENEIS, we might have another problem."

Magnus still stood where he was when the plasma wave went off. "We... got him... right?"

"Yeah, Big Man," Fenix said. "We got 'im."

"Good..." Magnus said, as the light faded from his eyes and he collapsed to the ground.

"I'm... thrilled..." came a familiar voice from across the room.

"Oh, scrap," said Nytetrayn.

Out of the fires stepped Galiant, his eyes a cold white against their crimson flickering.

"...to have the data... of such worthy... foes..."

"We're all gonna die," Fenix said.

As the Diggers huddled together protectively over their fallen, Galiant staggered to his throne, almost dismissive of them as he settled heavily upon it. Hanging his head, he smiled and said "Allow me to offer you all an insight into what awaits this world. This... 'Terra'."

He tilted his head back, and the room began to shift. The wall behind him emitted a loud, churning sound as it rose from the floor, allowing the harsh natural light from the world beyond to pierce the veil of darkness. The Diggers could now see that they were on the highest peak of this mountain, with a similar range further out. A storm was brewing, dark and chaotic, as the sky flickered blue with lightning.

Even more shifting began around them, as panels shifted and slid open. Beyond the dark, crystalline walls laid the truth: The myriad of multicolored lights they were seeing weren't simply emblematic of stars – they were refractors, numbering in the hundreds, or possibly even thousands, each encased in tubes which ran along the walls, and well beyond their depth.

"Perhaps you are wondering about the refractors," Galiant said, standing as the throne he'd sat upon sank into the floor, and was soon replaced by a control console..

"Not really," Janine said. "We knew you had to be compensating for something."

"How amusing," Galiant chuckled before his laughter turned into a low rumble that was soon lost to the deep thunder that was going on outside.

"I try," Janine said with a wry smile.

"Acquiring all of these took a long time... and a lot of dead Diggers... but with a power like Celeste's at my beck and call, getting more would be child's play."

"Though that may be unnecessary. For you see, I require this amount of power to initiate the transformation..." The refractors began to light up in unison, their brilliance almost blinding.

"That can't be good," Nytetrayn said.

Intricate, almost arcane patterns began to light up along the floor, the glow surging along their predetermined paths towards the dais in the middle of the room. As it reached its destination, the power erupted upwards like a wall of light, consuming Galiant in a white, glowing pillar.

"Alright," Fenix said. "So Nyte gets my adult magazine collection, Jan and Cel can split what's in my toy box, Steel can have my cache of weapons, Magnus can have my room..."

"What makes you think he'd only kill you?" Nyte asked as Fenix announced his last will and testament. "Our inheritance would be rather short-lived."

"Because that's just my luck."

Galiant's shape was barely visible in the light, but it could be seen shifting, changing, growing. As the light dimmed, he now stood at 15 feet tall upon the dais as a massive, hulking, muscular monster. His arms were like tree trunks, and his chest stood like a fortress. Numerous glistening metal spines emerged from his back, and his shoulders were swollen like they had internal engines. His face was now stronger, his jaw firmer. His eyes shone a pure azure color, and his hair was now shortened, spiked and silver.

"I think I need new pants," Fenix said.

"Thanks for the info," Nyte replied, as he began to rummage through his backpack for his energy canteen. He was going to need it, especially after the last round left him feeling depleted.

"This..." came the low, growling voice of Galiant, now even more monstrous than ever. "This is the perfection I have sought. My goal, my purpose for life has been achieved... Now, I am truly the final, perfect weapon!"

As Nyte felt for the canteen, he felt something else in his backpack. Something he'd forgotten was there.

"Now... now I shall bring about the true rebirth of this pitiful planet!" Galiant announced, the others seemingly beyond or even beneath his notice.

Nytetrayn drank deeply from the energy canteen, and then upon replacing it, paused to consider whether he should draw forth the other item he had found.

"Now might be a good time," a voice echoed in his head.

"What the...?"

"No need to act so surprised," Commander Black Draco's voice said.

"I'm not sure I can handle it, though," Nytetrayn said, seemingly to himself.

Katrina stood, holding her injured arm, and addressed Galiant. "This world has already been reborn, Galiant! It doesn't need... this! Why can't you just leave them alone?!"

Galiant smiled, revealing his multiple, deadly rows of teeth. "You know, Katrina... Many ages ago, humans believed their sins were purified by the blood of a messiah named 'Jesus'. He was crucified and suffered a slow, painful death so that he may carry the wrongdoings of all who came after him; to offer salvation in the eyes of God."

"And it was prophesied that another would arise many years after to lead man astray. That man's destiny was to bring the world into unity under him and pave the way for a new order. The prophesied one was known as the 'Anti-Christ'. He would bring about the end of mankind, and initiate an era ruled by darkness, an era that would give way unto the might of God, and create a new paradise..."

Keeping his back turned to Galiant while he listened and prepared for his next move, Nytetrayn drew the large, heavy weapon from his pack. It seemed even bigger now, and heavier than before, too. Heavy and awkward. His hands felt as though they were pulsating as he gripped them around the handle of the currently-bladeless weapon, with room to spare. It felt like some kind of foreign power Nyte wasn't sure he could control.

"Trust me," Black Draco told him, "you can do it. Find the strength. Think of what you're fighting for."

Nyte looked around him. Katrina stood dutifully before them. Steel was hurt and being held by a worried Janine. Adam was unconscious. Magnus might have been even worse. Fenix was muttering "There's no way... we put everything we had into that weaker form... and now..." He looked to Celeste, who lay sitting against the wall where he'd left her, unharmed and still unconscious. And he looked back at the dormant saber grip in his hands.

"You can wield the Nyte Saber," Black Draco told him.

Nytetrayn looked at the weapon in shock. It... bore his name? Nytetrayn remembered back to the origins of that name, why he had it, and what the Commander had told him before, what now felt like so long ago. "I had hoped you might be able to redeem it. Bring honor to it," he'd said.

"I knew the Anti-Christ personally," Galiant continued. "His name was Mega Man X."

"What?!" Katrina gasped in a mix of shock and anger.

Hearing the name snapped Nytetrayn out of his trance.

"And I... I am God. Come to restore the purity of this world," Galiant declared.

"He's out of his mind..." Nyte said under his breath.

"My reign begins this glorious day!"

Nytetrayn turned and readied himself.

"Killing you all... such a simple thing now," Galiant said as he stepped off the dais, shattering it beneath his massive form. "So beneath me."

As Nytetrayn held the large, golden metal handle before him, the top began to glow as though it had a life of its own. Suddenly, a long, bright blue blade of energy burst forth from the handle. At its full length, the entire weapon looked like it could be as long as Nytetrayn was tall.

This was enough to warrant Galiant's attention. "Ah, and there stands the noble Knight, ever valiant. Ever ready to put his life forth in self-sacrifice."

A long, metallic blade not unlike the spines on Galiant's back slithered forth from the underside of his arm, and took its place comfortably in his hand like a long sword. "I will allow you the honor of being the first to fall as I pave the way for my new world!"

Nytetrayn silently took a step towards Galiant, and then another.

"What's this? No insipid heroic banter? No annoying smart remarks? No childish sarcasm?"

Nytetrayn took another step.

"Very well, then. Either way, I'll crush you."

Nytetrayn activated his Emergency Acceleration System and leapt high into the air with the Nyte Saber held over his head, and brought it down right for Galiant's head.

Galiant raised his own sword to block the attack, and crackling bolts of energy rolled off the colliding weapons. The force behind the two movements was enough to keep Nytetrayn elevated overhead for a moment before he finally dropped down to the ground.

Galiant brought his massive blade down towards Nytetrayn, who rolled clear as it impacted the floor, crumbling the smoothly-polished surface. Nyte dashed in at one of Galiant's legs and swung his blade, though not fast enough that the giant wasn't able to sidestep the attempt.

Nytetrayn was only just able to bring his weapon up to block the next attack as Galiant swung his sword towards him, as though he was trying to swat a pest. After holding the strike back for a moment, Nytetrayn was able to force the blade back long enough to jump up and run along the length of metal like an experienced gymnast might move along a balance beam.

Before he could make his way to the top of the titan, Galiant swung the back of his hand and sent Nytetrayn flying back to the ground, but the Digger quickly rebounded and made his way back for another attack.

Nytetrayn swung his blade again. Galiant met it again in kind, and the two locked blades. With a grimace on his face, Nytetrayn's eyes began to give off a green glow before a gold aura began to surround him. He managed to force Galiant back a step, then took another swing, faster this time.

Galiant dodged, and held an open palm out before him at Nytetrayn, unleashing a large bolt of energy. Nytetrayn raised his sword to block the blast, and used it to keep it at bay before deflecting it towards one of the walls, where it destroyed a small portion of the collected refractors. Galiant growled at the damage wrought by his foe.

Back and forth the two went, neither gaining an edge as Nytetrayn quickly and strategically turned his Attribute Amplification on and off. Even with it off, he seemed to be swinging the sword that bore his name faster and harder than when he'd started.

As Galiant tried to swing his sword in an overhead arch at Nytetrayn, the young Digger rose into the air, the Nyte Saber held horizontally over his head.

The two blades met, and the one made of metal shattered upon impact. The blade of energy, however, did not stop, as the force with which Nytetrayn propelled it and himself continued further upward, slashing Galiant up the length of his chest and even to his face.

The giant let out a low-pitched, growling yelp of pain before placing his hand to the wound he'd received. He looked at Nytetrayn with an expression of anger, which soon gave way to an unsettling smile.

Nytetrayn did not reciprocate.

"You fight well," Galiant finally said. "But tell me, Nytetrayn," he continued as he turned towards the outward-facing window. "How will you react to this?"

The mountaintop visible in the distance suddenly began to shift as its peak trembled and shook before ultimately giving way, collapsing down as something huge and metalling emerged.

As the others looked on in quiet shock and awe, Nytetrayn managed to ask "What... what is that?"

The mountain continued to crumble as a warship the likes of which the world had never beheld rose. Its size was too massive to describe, as it would dwarf any ship Terra had ever known before it, and possibly since.

When the ship fully emerged, it left the mountain beneath as nothing more than a pile of rubble. Despite the chaos of the storm brewing outside, one could nonetheless see it for what it was: A sleek, jet-black craft that looked like it had been forged by the hands of gods.

"I'm sure you all wondered why I had such an active factory below," Galiant said, breaking the silence as he turned back towards Nytetrayn. "Your father," he continued, breaking Nyte's attention from the ship. "He left this world to forge his own. To create his own Eden. Thrown from Heaven... Satan, in a sense."

Both Katrina and Nytetrayn narrowed their eyes at that.

"My first act in this world shall be to purify his plague. My beloved ship, The Conclusion, shall purge his blight from Terra."

As he spoke, the ship in the distance had already begun to slowly move away.

"I ask you this: Do you think it within your grasp to bring him salvation? The Conclusion is the pinnacle of technology; your father's scanners, sonar, and whatever else you may throw at it will never penetrate its many stealth mechanisms. His shields will fall before the might of the single most powerful weapon devised by living hands," he said with an outstretched arm, hand dripping with blood in a grasping pose.

"I will allow you to pass, so that you may challenge the master of The Conclusion."

"...Master?" Nyte asked.

"Yes. The 'captain' of the ship, as it were."

With a gesture towards the window, it slid up enough to allow passage.

"You will need a vessel, I might imagine," Galiant said, his eyes falling upon Katrina. "An angel, with wings to carry the Knight to his father's aid..

The Conclusion began to pick up speed as it started to move away.

Nytetrayn hesitated, and looked to his friends, still beaten, battered, and in some cases, unconscious. Adam was only now starting to come around, grumbling something about the hovertruck that hit him. He looked at the sword he held, and wondered to himself what the Commander would do. Then he looked at Celeste, still slumped by the elevator, and his thoughts drifted to what she would want. Eventually, he began to wonder what he thought he should do.

"Come on, Nyte," said Katrina. "We don't have much time."

Fenix looked at Nyte, and said "Go. We've got this."

Whatever the tipping point was in that train of thought remained known only to Nytetrayn himself, as his eyes narrowed and his teeth gritted before cursing Galiant's name under his breath. There was once a time when Nytetrayn might have let the ship go, and instead focused on the matter at hand, on eliminating Galiant.

However, that time has long since passed. He didn't want to abandon the others, but...

"...right," he finally said, putting the sword away as he started for the window. "Let's go."

Katrina moved up behind Nytetrayn, and grasped him under his arms. He looked back at the others one final time, and said "Don't die. And... take care of Celeste."

They took off, out into the heavy, slashing rain and winds, with Katrina gritting her teeth as she pushed her flight systems to their limits to catch up with the ship.