"We will handle her, Blemishine, Eyjafjalla. Prepare to do everything for this. Monch, go to position." Gnosis looked at Talulah coldly and his mind ran a mile a second.
"Are you sure? No, there's no other option... Mon3tr." Kal'tsit called for her familiar and the metallic creature spooked the other operators who haven't seen it.
"Giving me ole Mon3tr already Kal'tsit? I'm honored! Now let's kill each other to our hearts content!" W laughed and she started throwing grenades.
Mont3r sliced the thrown grenades and they exploded. Ace and Doberman's squad fought against W's mercenary squad.
"Three point formation." Gnosis whispered and they quickly surrounded Talulah in a triangle. Monch went to a vantage point.
Adele raised her staff and yelled as she slammed it on the ground. Lava erupted and a swamp of it tried to restrict Talulah's legs.
Maria tossed her shield aside, her helmet that was bent following. Gripping her sword tightly, the grip giving off a creaking sound.
"Leave the front to me!" Maria cried out and she tried to copy Talulah by releasing her arts on the soles of her feet.
Roaring her determination, she smashed her great sword right at Talulah's longsword. A shockwave escaped from their clash and the lava under them cratered.
"Light defeats all evil!" Maria's arts encased Talulah. Condensed balls of flame flew right at them, whistling.
An explosion rocked the battlefield and Rhodes island's operators wobbled from the quake.
Reunion's soldiers flew away from the air pressure of the attack. Kal'tsit protected her teams with Mont3r so they wouldn't get affected by it.
"Zero-point burst!" Gnosis ran towards the light and Maria jumped backwards and he released a burst of ice pellets. He also added sharp icicles and arrows laced with poison rained on Talulah's position.
"Pressure damage!" Adele sent another duetto of fireballs, manipulating their chemistry to increase the strength of their shockwaves.
It trapped the silhouette inside of the cloud of dust between them and it exploded. The air got bent and a massive wave of pressure made every window that is still intact near them explode.
"Impressive, it's my turn now." Talulah scoffed and she spun in place like a top with her technique. Giving a kick to Maria, the Nearl blocked it with the flat of her blade and she was suddenly bathed in fire.
Talulah jumped into the skies and hovered. She pointed her palms to everyone. "Take cover!" Adele cried out to Rhodes island and they got the hell out of dodge.
Maria quickly picked up her shield back and crouched down while the other two were behind her.
A concentrated barrier formed and Talulah's flames were brought down to them like divine punishment.
The dark skies with looming clouds turned bright from the amazing display of pyrokinetic arts. Nooks and crannies of that sector in Chernobog was ablaze.
Reunion's soldiers could barely give a cry as they burned into ashes.
"Crazy bitch, Talulah will be the death of us." W clicked her tongue as she hid behind thick walls of concrete.
But it was slowly melting down still. Signifying the heat and power of her tyrannical arts. After her rain of mighty fire. Maria could be seen huffing and puffing.
Talulah's attack took a lot out of her and Gnosis forbade Adele from using too much of her energy. She would be their ticket out of there.
"Mon3tr! Attack her!" Kal'tsit quickly went into action after Talulah's attack ended.
The metallic beast roared and it grew larger, its claws were coated with a red glow of energy and its eyes turned brighter.
While in the air, Talulah and Mon3tr clashed. The beast looked to be a match with her.
"Hmph, a party trick like this won't work on me Kal'tsit." Talulah outmaneuvered Mon3tr with her technique and she propelled herself to its back almost instantly.
The back of her leg was sped up by a burst of white flames and a sickening crunch resounded.
Kal'tsit gritted her teeth in frustration. Her hope in them making out quickly depleting after Talulah sent Mon3tr through multiple buildings, plowing through a whole city block.
"I told you so." Talulah looked at Kal'tsit with an unimpressed face and she turned towards Deliverance squad who were just suspiciously standing there.
Talulah landed right in front of them. "Are you giving up already? I thought you would have more fight in you." She snorted.
"Eruption!" Adele shouted and Maria quickly took Gnosis with her, running right towards Kal'tsit. With Monch circling around the battlefield immediately.
"Go! Go! Run or you'll be caught up in it!" The Dokutah warned everyone on their side.
"Heat source underground detected." PRTS' voice was heard and everything except shuffling steps were left.
Then a violent shockwave disturbed the air coming from the ground. Lava, fire, and brimstone erupted like a geyser.
Globs of molten rock and steel was falling everywhere and Adele swung her staff left and right. Sending fireballs towards Talulah.
Ace and Kal'tsit looked back as they ran and it was hell on earth.
The battle field was carpet bombed to hell and pillars of fire were shooting everything down.
"What the hell, is this really that girl's first mission?" Ace couldn't help but frown at the display of awesome might between the two.
"Watch out!" The Dokutah warned and a fat glob of lava dropped down on them. It was stopped by Amiya, but the Cautus looked at the ensuing arts battle like a statue.
"Amiya! Run! We have to go! Gnosis and Maria won't abandon her, they're just waiting for a chance!" Kal'tsit tried to grab her arm.
But the bunny girl ran towards Adele and Talulah after gritting her teeth.
"Hah, hah, hah." Adele panted as lava dripped down from her form. She was quickly gassing out at the small scale catastrophe she caused.
"Truly, you are powerful. It is such a shame that heat does not work on me. If it was anyone except me, that would be fatal." Talulah's flames started to turn blue and as she walked, the molten earth started boiling.
Adele frowned heavily and she thought of what Ash would do in her situation.
"Alas, you tried to fight for an idealist. One that just spouts pretty lies to bring fools to their cause." Talulah raised her sword and was about to swipe it at her.
"Nooo!" Amiya started to form an attack and Gnosis' ice started creeping from behind Talulah.
But Talulah suddenly froze and she looked to her left. With a thick red shield, the Draco frowned and prepared herself for impact.
And as she did so, something impacted it at the speed of sound.
She looked towards the ground, seeing something metallic melt and bubble after it dropped to the ground.
"Tch, this target is quite annoying." Platinum clicked her tongue. Talulah glared at her direction and was wary.
She knew that solid objects travelling like that would pierce her shield.
And with a solid clack, Platinum reloaded a new bullet that was armor piercing. Talulah fortified her barrier and another bullet hit it.
She thought it was enough, but the tungsten rod in the round went through and Talulah got a cut on her cheek after she tilted her head to the side.
"Attack!" Gnosis capitulated on the chance and started throwing a barrage of ice arts right at Talulah.
The Draco clicked her tongue and she began zipping around the battlefield to dodge.
Growing angrier, she glared daggers at them. "Impudent ants! I'll kill all of you!"
Talulah made a screen of fire to cut off the sniper's view of them and began throwing pillars of flames towards the enemies in her immediate vicinity.
And while she was doing so, it had begun to rain. But it was no ordinary rain, no. It was much, much worse.
"The... The catastrophe is beginning!" Adele shouted desperately.
Fiery meteorites of originium began falling at Chernobog and the heavens were alight.
From far away, it would look like a meteor shower. But for the denizens of Chernobog, it was hell.
"Brace for impact!" Kal'tsit huddled their team together to Amiya and Mon3tr was willed to cut meteorites that were going to be near them.
Talulah just looked at them running like headless chickens. Amiya, Gnosis, and Maria began to shield themselves from the catastrophe.
While the tyrant of Reunion had a smile on her face. "It seems that fate agrees with me? You will all be experiencing your deaths today."
She lifted a finger and a ball of flame was formed. It grew larger and larger until it was the size of a house.
With a soft toss towards them, the teams were terrified as meteorites and Talulah's attacks began to wear down their barriers.
Platinum was busy making evasive maneuvers and they were left with no cover fire. Especially because the assassin is so far away from all the action.
"Hold the line! We wait for the catastrophe to finish and make a run for it!" Maria gritted her teeth as she stood up and blocked most of the force from Talulah.
"Dokutah, this is where you shine. Please, help us get through." Amiya looked towards him.
He looked at PRTS and his brain was processing everything they could do.
"Maria, encase Doberman's whip with your light right after we have the chance. Amiya, Gnosis, distract her so Doberman can attack later." The Dokutah let his plan sink in before he continued.
"Ace, lead all the operators away from this place as soon as it happens. Kal'tsit, use Mon3tr for extra distraction while Doberman gets a sudden advantage on Talulah." The Dokutah quickly made plans and betted their escape on that.
The teams held on from the brutal batterings. "Eyjafjalla, please use a concussive blast on that statue when I give the signal." He pointed at a leaning building.
His plans were set and they held on against the brutal batterings.
"Commence with the plan!" The Dokutah shouted right after the catastrophe lightened up.
Mon3tr attacked Talulah ferociously, the Draco even cutting one of its arms. The ground beneath them that was starting to cool showed deep gashes.
Maria embued Doberman's whip with light. Amiya and Gnosis began to pepper Talulah with their arts.
Talulah's film of red energy kept their attacks at bay, she then cut up Mon3tr into pieces as the separated parts burned up.
Maria bashed her shield right at the Draco and her huge shield covered up their next move.
Doberman cracked her whip right at Talulah's leg. The victim tried to burn it off with her arts, but it was quite sturdy. Gnosis, Amiya, Maria, and Doberman then pulled on it. Taking her off guard for her arrogance.
They threw her to a designated position and Adele fired off her arts at the base of the leaning building. Cutting off its last vestiges of support. Making it crash right at Talulah.
Gnosis then roared and with all his might, freezing it solid until the surroundings turned white due to frost, replacing fire and molten ground from earlier into ice.
Gnosis and Maria quickly collapsed due to the strains they had to go through and the rest started to get a run for it.
The Dokutah's intricate plan worked, but that would only buy them a minute or so.
Kal'tsit looked around for W, but it seems that the insane Sarkaz was missing. So they quickly made their way for the nearest exit.
"Go! Go! Go!" Ace's team already cleared a path for them and everybody ran for it. Monch carrying Gnosis, while Kal'tsit and Amiya passed Maria to Ace.
"What was that?" A vanguard Lupo's ears twitched as she heard dull thuds in the sky.
They looked up and there it was, a red comet flying right at em.
But Talulah was stopping from time to time in order to deflect something. Sparks appearing right after she stopped every time.
Everybody quickly ignored it and they ran with all their might. Desperate to escape Chernobog.
Luck was running out though, when a fireball hit their formation right at the center.
Adele's soft brown eyes widened in shock as she watched her comrades fly from the force.
Everything seemed to slow down. Her vision trembled, witnessing them receive burns and get concussions.
Ace quickly picked three more people, abandoning his shield and mace. Two in a fire man carry while the others were picked up like groceries.
And while they were panicking, Adele's breath slowed down. Her run slowed to a crawl until she stopped in place.
"Eyjafjalla! Run! We can't beat her, we need to hide now!" Amiya screamed at her, but the caprinae didn't seem to hear the Cautus.
"Go! Now! I'll hold her back!" She glared at Talulah's form that was quickly nearing towards them.
'That's what Ash would've did.' Adele closed her eyes and smiled.
"Margaret, this would be my gift to you. Cherish your sister like I do my brother. I leave them to your care." Adele breathed in deeply and prepared for battle.
"No! This isn't right! You need to come with us!" Amiya was about to run towards Adele.
"Mon3tr! Go and help! Amiya, shut up and let's go!" Kal'tsit gritted her teeth as she pulled the Cautus after stabbing the girl with a needle.
Amiya went limp after a few seconds and her consciousness began to fade.
Kal'tsit carried her and she gave Adele's back a look before screaming in frustration. "ACE! DON'T YOU DARE STOP AND LOOK BACK!" They quickly retreated from the area.
"Hmph, you think you can stop me? You'll be the first, then I'll take care of the rest." Talulah snorted at the caprinae.
"Enough talk, my brother would've done what I'm doing now. And he would stop you dead in your tracks." Adele's eyes were determined.
There was no fear or hesitation in her eyes. Talulah just raised a brow, so she brandished her sword and stared right at her enemy that seemed to gain limitless courage.
"I admire your bravery, but there's a fine line between it and stupidity. I believe you're at the latter." Talulah's eyes went wide open as she charged right at Adele, intent on cutting her down.
Adele threw away her arts unit and began to use herself as a conduit. She stomped on the ground and a pillar of molten earth stopped Talulah on her tracks.
It hit her and sent her flying up high. Talulah growled at the caprinae for her insolence and pointed her palm at Adele.
Her flames turned blue, signifying that she was also upping the ante.
Concentrated heat fired at Adele as she surfed through lava in order to dodge Talulah's violent attacks.
A thin stream of almost invisible flames dragged through the city block and a split second later, everywhere it hit erupted with fire. Immolating anything caught on the terrible flames.
"Pressure damage!" Talulah expected concussive flame bombs, but two hands made of lava smacked her like a mosquito instead.
Hands made of molten metal and concrete began to pile on the draco.
Adele tried to wade through it in order to reach the trapped Talulah. Only to be met with her tail while it was covered.
And the caprinae isn't exactly the picture of durability. She was hit hard, crashing right at a wall at tremendous speed. Adele spittled and the air in her lungs escaped from her body in one fell swoop.
Her brain, deprived with oxygen. Adele tried to look forwards, her vision beginning to blur. Talulah's heels tapping on the ground while walking to her.
"N-no, he won't give up with one hit like that." Adele glared at the Draco, her vision becoming crystal clear as she breathed in deeply.
Originium was beginning to extensively grow on her body, showing the extreme amounts of energy she was using with her adaptability and all.
"You won't get what you want! I'll stop you here!" Adele roared and the surroundings began to melt
She clapped and two massive tsunamis of lava and molten metal appeared from their sides.
Talulah's eyes widened and she tried to take to the skies. But tendrils of lava were already holding her ankles.
"Tch, what a stubborn fool!" Talulah concentrated on her blade and it received a white hot coating of her flame.
"Conflagration edge." In a split second Adele was sure that she was about to bury the Draco in thousands of tons of material, then it suddenly split and a small crescent of energy travelled.
Almost inconspicuous even, the fire was basically invisible. Then she saw her arm fly, along with multiple city blocks that her attack flew to. They began to melt from extreme heat.
Adele dropped down to the ground with a soft thud, her body light. Unceremoniously, the caprinae couldn't move.
"Fool." Her eyes were in a daze and she saw Talulah pick up her severed arm. The Draco then burned it until nothing can be seen from it.
"You were a strong opponent. Too bad you aren't as good as Yelena or him." She shook her head and would want Adele to be a cadre in Neo-Reunion.
If they fought together, they could've defeated Yelena who was a monster that can freeze mobile cities on her own. And she could alter the very weather into a tundra.
"Hehehe." Adele laughed and Talulah raised a brow at her. "Is your imminent death that funny? Should I give it to you slower?"
"Do you know who I am?" Adele looked at her right in the eye.
Talulah just furrowed her brows and was confused. "I'm a catastrophe researcher. I specialize in originium hehe~ And originite prime has a really amazing property."
Adele took a chunk of originite prime from her pocket. It was a bunch of Ash's business cards.
"Hmph, are you getting delusional?" Talulah scoffed.
"It's refined originium. Just like uranium 235, have you ever seen... Power out of this world?" Adele grinned and the originium on her body covered more than fifty percent in an instant.
Talulah suddenly lost her footing as a hole appeared below her. Adele threw the cards right at the hole. Encasing it in a time detonated fireball.
She plugged up the hole with hundreds and thousands of tons of material. Then she snapped her fingers that were covered in black crystals. "Bang."
Chernobog experienced an earthquake right after and a muffled explosion was seen inside the dense prison of lava.
A small flash was first and it expanded quickly, almost destroying multiple city blocks of Chernobog.
"Heh, Gnosis, Maria, Monch... Mission complete guys." She dropped down on the ground and she saw the now clear, but dark skies above.
Her one arm was stiff, almost turning fully crystal. "Mom, dad... Ash. You were so stiff and unsociable back then." She looked at their family photo when he got adopted.
"Sorry, big brother. I'd have to leave my dreams... To you." Adele's arm dropped to the ground.
At one of the underground sectors. The walls turned red hot and it opened up a hole that was enough for a human.
Huffing, Talulah was all banged up. Not because of the fireball, but due to the massive shockwave.
Her clothes were in tatters and a lot of her bones shattered due to the insane pressure wave.
"H-how does she know that? Ash was the only one that knows that accursed power..." Talulah was in disbelief.
She only managed to survive due to Ash telling her stories about despicable weapons of war. Where enriched metal called uranium was wrapped in explosives and is forced to go supercritical.
And originite prime was just that, enriched material for a bomb.
She was wrecked with terrible burns and the tyrant hissed at the amazing firepower of it. The material was only a couple business cards, but it packed that much punch.
Talulah slowly reached for two stims in an extremely durable container Ash called similar to a black box.
They were a suppressant and a healing one. So she stabbed it right to her thighs immediately. "That bomb was made with originite prime. I should be careful in my oripathy's progression."
She sighed and was thankful for his gifts. "What a very kind and useful man, isn't he? Talulah..." She grinned.
__Paradiso, a few hours when the op started__
"Hmm? It's already been a couple of hours. Did they forget to contact me?" Ash was stuck to his electron microscope, checking out the changes in his work with Joyce.
"They're probably celebrating on getting that guy, the Dokutah. I gotta admit, he's amazing. He was pumping out papers and research while in Kazdel." Ash nodded at his academic skills.
"Subject Ash, you are fidgety. Joyce analyzed and cannot understand." Joyce tilted her head cutely like an owl and he sighed.
"I don't know Joyce... I just have this gut feeling, it's irrational. But I feel like something is amiss." Ash let up from his microscope and analyzed.
"Kal'tsit would definitely contact me once they've finished the mission. So either there's a problem with our radio towers or a complication arose." Ash squinted his eyes and began to check the status of their portable towers.
"Rhodes island can contact us." He frowned and he was having a sinking feeling.
He immediately dialed the private number for Kal'tsit, but she of course didn't answer. Next was Closure.
"Ash? Ash!? This is terrible! Chernobog has been hit by a catastrophe and they aren't back yet!" Closure machine gun fired at him.
"What!? Any contact? How about the evac?" Ash's blood was beginning to pump faster.
"We lost contact and visual right after it flew to Chernobog. There's also sightings of huge explosions and fires again and again. Like there's fighting." Closure informed him and Ash's pupils dilated like a cat's.
He scrambled towards the window of his lab immediately and crashed right into it.
Going at breakneck speeds, he started accelerating more and more.
"Faster... More! More!" He glared right in front of him and he was glowing a bright red, transforming.
"Move faster!" The air around him ignited and just after a minute, he saw Chernobog which has seen better days.
'Where?' He looked around and tried to get a feel of Adele's energy signature.
He sighed in relief when he felt it was strong and steady. So he went right to her, but he was wrong.
Seeing a couple of people surrounding something, he raised a brow upon seeing their logo of Reunion.
"Eno? Where's Sasha? You guys are inseparable. Are you a capable singer now? I think I adjusted your throat properly." Ash looked at a Liberi boy with white hair.
"Ash?" He dodged his eyes and looked on the ground in shame. Like a child that was caught red handed.
"Who is he?" A Lupo that was in a hood squinted her eyes.
"He's... Ash. He healed me and gave Sasha and I lots of candy." Eno said softly, surprising the Lupo that he wasn't cackling like a maniac.
"Where's Talulah by the way? That girl's a handful, I need to know why she detached from Reunion. I should introduce you to my sister, she's right here." He turned and saw a bundle of originium crystals.
It didn't register for a split second, and then it all came crashing down. His breath stopped and his eyes widened.
His dynamic vision immediately scanned it and he saw a familiar tuft of soft brown hair that was always styled into a braid.
Ash slowly walked towards the bunch of originium crystals and it was slowly turning into black dust.
He saw a picture being held in a black hand that were crystalized due to the level of oripathy.
Crouching, he picked it up and it was a picture of Hans hugging Adele, Emma tried to make him smile, but was failing at it. Adele had a huge grin on her face, hugging her sheep plushie.
Ash looked towards her face and half of it was covered in crystals. She had a smile on her face, as if she was satisfied.
Her right arm gone, he quickly looked around and there were tons of obsidian. She fought here, fought hard too. With the amount of black rock and pieces of hardened metal that seemed to have melted.
"A-Adele... Wake up, it's me Ash. Your brother, Adele, this isn't a game." He tapped on her still normal cheek softly.
Her body was slowly turning black and as a person that died due to oripathy, became dust.
It started with her limbs, and he tried to plug it with his hands. Like trying to make water into a ball using your bare hands, the harder he tried, the faster the water leaked until nothing was left.
"Adele! ADELE! This isn't real, this can't be happening!" He was desperate. Clawing at her form that quickly disintegrated into black originium dust.
"Don't leave me! We have a world to save! It's supposed to be your birthday soon! You'll gloat to me you're my older sister! We already have it all prepared!" He hugged her torso that was the only thing remaining.
"I promised Hans and Emma! I promised that you'll grow up really well under my care! I PROMISED!" Ash cradled her softly like already shattered glass.
Eno's eyes widened in shock and he trembled. Back when he was just a little boy with Sasha that was against the world, Ash showed up for them in their camp.
He healed the sick and gave them supplies. He is a Liberi that loved to sing, but a fat woman shoved originium in his throat.
But he put him under surgery to reconstruct his throat in order for him to sing again.
And seeing him in so much pain and agony made his heart ache.
So he started to sing. And when nothing more was left in Ash's arms but originium dust. He froze in place, staring at the remains on his hands.
And as Eno sang, they heard a howl filled with melancholy. Like a wave, the emotions hit them like a train.
Bottomless sorrow and pain that made their chest tighten. A pulse of energy travelled all around the world.
And Terra weeped as the skies darkened. Black rain beginning to fall everywhere. As if the world despaired.
Laurentina and Skadi looked towards the direction of Chernobog. They too began to sing.
A tall woman with white hair reached her hand out as the black rain pitter pattered. And she offered a song.
Kjera and Nian froze instantly and they ran outside to look towards Chernobog. "That was Ash... And whatever happened there, it isn't good at all." The two of them transformed to their dragon forms and they flew towards Chernobog.
Yan's Feranmuts and the seaborned looked towards west. Every single one of them stopping at the extreme burst of emotions.
And at the center of it all, the black rain was accumulating.
__
Thank you for reading everyone, ciao.