middleofsomewhere | Final: Red

Again time seems to blur, the waves of monsters seem endless, the light out of reach until suddenly they are there. At the light that until then had been on the horizon.

Four columns of white marble stretch upwards into the sky, connected by a marble floor. Inside, floating in the air there are birdcages. Each one is filled with light, a light that sometimes shifts, looking almost like a person. A flick of hair, a scaled tail. But for the most part the light is formless. There is music, a mournful tune that ebbs and wanes. Wordless, a melody that isn't quite there.

But it may be the voidtreckers are more distracted by the form in the centre of the marble. A huge creature, somewhat resembling a jellyfish floats. Tendrils reach out to brush over the birdcages, making the song go sharp and jagged, dimming the lights for a moment.

Inside the mass they will see another light, faint but pulsing, struggling. Behind the creature there is an empty plinth. The creature shifts, blue energy rippling across the tendrils as it seems to sense the voidtreckers.

A skittering behind them will let the void warriors know they have more company. Crabs behind them, this beast in front, it is time to fight.

Even if part way through they might get a little distracted

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Become Uru's Master," he repeats with a smile, gently coming down to the ground.

"Uru is Ultimo. Uru saw you help these people, and it makes Uru happy."

With surprising grace, Ultimo takes off his shirt. He knows this time is short-but-precious. He has little time to explain everything.

"If Uru has a Master, Uru can be stronger, and Mr. Duo can, too. Together, Uru and Duo can fight for Good and help save everyone. All Mr. Duo has to do is take Uru's Pledge of Devotion, and we can fight as one."

It's a lot to take in at once, for sure. And it's almost minimal information. But he can fill in the blanks later. Right now, the Bond comes first.

Yep, there he goes again saying that same thing. And hearing it a second time was just as confusing as the first.

Duo let go of the cage. He wasn't nearly as graceful or gentle in landing as Ultimo was, he was exhausted and it was all he could do to lessen the impact of his landing so he didn't break his legs. He still went down to one knee though. And just in time to catch the guy damn well stripping in front of him! ... Well, mostly.

Was this really the time and place for this? Duo moved, getting in the way of the kid and a wayward tendril that would have slapped at him, but instead wrapped around Duo's arm. He winced and slashed at it with the dagger in his other hand. "Dammit..."

"Look... I don't get this... but, wait, what? Stronger?" He was all set to tell the guy as gently and kindly as he could to take a hike. But he was flagging. The anger and pain that had been driving him was starting to be overcome by sheer exhaustion and he had no idea how long he could hold on. There were still so many cages to be opened...

He looked back at the kid, shaking off the remains of the tendril from his arm.

"... What do I have to do?"

Ultimo's eyes widen as Duo blocks the tendril from hitting him, staring in awe only a moment, and then giving a smile.

"Uru knew he had made the right choice."

Duo certainly didn't have to protect Ultimo, but he had without so much as a second thought.

With a nod, thin, spindle-like metallic legs pull from behind Ultimo, wrapping around to his chest and opening the cavity to expose a SpiritSphere where a heart should be.

"Grab Uru's SpiritSphere. It may hurt a little as we are connecting, but then the bond will form."

"Wha...?" He didn't get to finish his question because some Weird Shit™ was going down. The guy who had decided to strip now had some weird spider legs crawling out from behind him. And if that hadn't been bad enough, it pulled open his damn chest!

If it hadn't been for the giant jellyfish behind him and the fact he was pretty sure they were already IN a horror movie, this would be some pure body shock horror right here. And the kid was telling him to just reach on in as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

And Duo... had to honestly think about that. What was normal these days? What he knew as normal was far removed from the things he had seen these last few weeks. Each day there was something new to help redefine just what 'normal' was. And while he didn't always agree with it, he couldn't deny it. So maybe this was just what normal was for him now? Maybe in the grand scheme of things a kid pulling their chest open just like making a cup of coffee. Nothing surprising here. Just airing out my chest cavity, would you like cream and sugar in your coffee?

Duo shook his head and shot a look behind him, seeking out Nerdanel and the others, knowing they were fighting and here he was hesitating over a cup of coffee.

"Dammit... What the hell." And then he reached in and grabbed the sphere.

When Duo grabs the Sphere, he'll feel a surge of memories that aren't his own - A bandit from 12th century Japan riding with Ultimo in front of him on a horse; Ultimo's murder of a girl because she was a Noble out to corrupt Yamato; A vicious-looking green and black robotic boy named Vice; a blond boy with glasses saying that he is the reincarnation of Lady Gekko, the girl Ultimo had murdered; a modern Yamato summons a full-scale Mecha version of Ultimo in order to protect his school; all of these and a blur of more seep into Duo's mind.

And then, there's a slight sting on Duo's arm as the Crane tattoo begins to form there. With that, the bond is complete and Duo is permitted to let go again. When Duo removes his hand, Ultimo's chest will close back up like nothing had happened. Again, all with a smile on Ultimo's face.

"Uru is happy to serve you, Master. Uru will protect you."

Duo hadn't known what to expect when he'd taken hold of the Sphere. Maybe some kind of electric shock? Maybe for the chest cavity to slam closed and bite off his hand? His bets were on that one. What he hadn't expected was the memories. Memories that weren't hits, that were clearly this kids. Some horrible, some confusing, all rushing through his mind and he grabbed at his head with his free hand, wincing in pain.

How much could the human mind hold, exactly? It hadn't been something Duo had considered before now, but he was starting to wonder if his mind could actually be filled up. It sure as hell felt full.

And then pain in his arm. Duo grunted and let go of his head in favour of slapping his hand upon the spot that stung... And then just like that his hand was able to let go of the Sphere and Duo stumbled back, staring at the kid with wide eyes.

"W-what the hell was all that?" His head was aching and he didn't have time to sort through everything he'd seen. He shook his head, trying to push everything to the side. He could deal with it later. "Duo. My name's Duo, buddy. Just call me that, yeah?" Master sounded so weird...

Ultimo's face lowers a little.

"Sorry. Those are some of Uru's memories."

Though he doesn't seem to elabourate further than that.

Ultimo nods and smiles.

"Yes, Duo-sama!"

With that, he threw one of his gauntletted hands in the air, having it transform into a very large, long, metallic blade.

"Crane Sword!"

He jumps forward to protect Duo, slicing away at any tentacle appendages and crab monster with ease.

"Duo-sama, you're a pilot, right?"

Well he supposed the honorific was better than being called 'master', but the japanese term was not the reminder he needed right at that moment so he pushed it down hard into the recesses of his mind. He had more important things to deal with.

Like this guy trying to be his meat shield.

"Uh, yeah... I'm a pilot." He replied and moved to tap the kid on the shoulder and pointed toward the cages. "If you're good for that, just keep these nasties off me while I free the lights. That work for you?"

Final: Red

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