Mr. Gun and the Fallen Legend

[gantzgun74]

Gantz shrugged at this. “Curious…”

“Welcome.”

At that, everyone turned to their right to find Mistress Yin, the Guardian Diety of the Light side of Balance standing there. For those who hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Yin before, she was a tall, willowy woman with long, pure white hair, and peach colored skin. She wore deep orange robes with yellow trims, and a Yin symbol sewn on to the right shoulder of the robe itself, and triangular trims at the foot and end of the sleeves that looked a mixture between green and blue. With a motherly smile as warm as a summer day, and eyes as blue as the skies above, she was truly a vision of beauty. Otto and Wally reacted first, bowing respectfully. “Mistress Yin… It’s… It’s good to see you again.” Came Wally, with a humble tone.

Yin chuckled a little at this. “Humility does not suit you Wally.” She waved off any further bows, before looking amongst the group. “It is not often we have people in our humble temple… What can I do for you all? Surely there is a reason why you are here.”

Gantz stepped up having heard this. “Your grace…” He bowed slightly. “I was hoping you could help me…”

Yin appraised Gantz a moment, almost looking curious, before she responded. “Ah… Codependence is it? I can sense another soul deep inside your being. Curious… I had thought Codependence had long since been rendered… Obsolete would be the proper term.” She raised an eyebrow at the boy. “Not only that… But that is not a normal soul inside you… Ah!” She almost looked pleasantly surprised, “Soul Calibur! It has been far too long! How have you been?”

Soul groaned at the tone. “Can we put aside the pleasantries Yin, we have a situation on our hands.”

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Kyle nodded at Double D's question. Well... he couldn't remember this time. But other times... it was usually as punishment when he got hurt like this.

He looked up as he heard a new voice and blinked. His jaw pretty literally dropped as he saw Yin. De'Marcus had pretty much the same reaction, and Mr. Orange and Waddle Dee were both blinking pretty rapidly at Yin, Waddle Dee due to his lack of mouth thanks to game designer decisions on cuteness. De'Marcus looked over at Otto and Wally as they dropped to one knee, and pointed at himself. "Should I do that too or somethin'?"

Waddle Dee wasn't bothering to ask and had dropped down into a bow himself.

Kyle just kind of blinked at the conversation Gantz and Yin were having. Codependance? Souls? What? In fact, he might have remained confused if Yin hadn't revealed that Soul Calibur was inhabiting Gantz's body as well. Soul Calibur's response cemented things.

A lot of things happened at once. Kyle's eyes widened, and his mind began to fill with a lot of rather dark laughter. That darkness most of the group had felt before flared up, and this time it definitely felt evil. Kyle's shadow began to writhe and move again as he took a step back.

"S-Soul Calibur?! That means... oh god. Oh god. That means you're Gantz. And that means all of you are those people he's been following around, and..." Kyle seemed to be going into a rather large panic.

"Hey, kid, are you okay?" De'Marcus asked. Kyle grasped his head in his hands for a few agonizingly quiet seconds before looking back up at the group. He looked like he was about to cry.

"I'm sorry." It came out quietly and full of pain. And then at that moment, the shadow burst to life and burst up behind Kyle, taking a form of a large shadowy devil faced version of Kyle himself, towering far over the teenager. The shadow was still laughing.

"Heheheheheheheheheheh... Oh, today's a special day, yes," the shadow said. "Gantz van Drake, keeper of Soul Calibur... I don't know who's going to love me more for this, that Flamel or Him..."

Kyle looked up at the shadow with a pleading look. "Please... don't..."

"Quiet, you. Now, let's see," The shadow looked over the group and pointed them all out as he mentioned them. "An angel, two vassals, a goddess, a holy sword and her host, a spikey guinea pig, an orange, a puffball, and an emo... Oh, this is my lucky day."

De'Marcus powered up, his entire body glowing yellow. "Dammit! Why does this kind of stuff always happen?! I just want to kick back and relax for once, you little asshole!" He stomped his foot down.

[nintendonut1]

Double D bowed respectfully as Yin appeared. In a way, he now served her too. He was about to elaborate and help move the conversation forward, but when a great disturbance in Kyle's aura beside him buzzed at his senses, he quickly pulled away, backing up with the rest of the group. As he watched the shadow come to life in shock, he took a quick moment to close off his aura-sensing, lest it hinder him again.

"...you're...!" Things started making sense. He was working for Him. His goals, probably to wipe out Gantz and anyone who worked with him. Perhaps this shadow was the source of his dread and confusion. Motives? Unclear. But that didn't matter at the moment as he warily whipped a force-field-sword into his hand.

"Story of my life," he remarked to De'Marcus.

[gantzgun74]

Otto, Wally, Gantz, and the rest of the cast under this author’s thumb was just as surprised as everyone else when the the mysterious Shadow being came to life, though Gantz was the first to regain his composure.

“Gah… I swear, not a moment of peace on this doggone island!” He held up his hands, ready to use magic at a moments notice. “Okay, you ‘Ragnarock’ (copyrighted by Soul Eater) wannabe, I already know what you want from me, but frankly, I’m in no mood to be compliant. Your better off crawling back under whatever deep and smelly non-original ROCK you crawled out of!”

Apparently this surprised Otto somewhat; Usually HE was the one who dropped threatening banter. Shrugging, he pulled out his claws. “I don’t have half a clue what he just meant, but I agree with him.”

ZEEEEEEO!!!!!!!!! BOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!

Likely surprising the shadow slightly, a blast of Spiritual energy shot out from nowhere, and the shadow dodged aside.

When the gang turned, they saw Tarosuke standing there, index finger pointed out, and smoke coming from said finger. “Hmmm… Some kind of shadow monster, should be an interesting fight. Come get some!!!”

As for Yin and Helga, the balance deity quickly showed the girl to another room to hide. "Be still little one. We can handle this." Helga nodded to the comment as Yin re-entered the room, her hands glowing with light energy. "You have made an unwise choice, showing yourself before me, foul one." The seraph frowned deeply as she said this.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

De'Marcus grinned at Double D's comment. "Seriously? Dude, some time we should sit down and drink coconut milk together and shoot the breeze. After we take down this freak, of course."

"There's no 'C' in Ragnarok, dumbass," Oni said. He barely turned as he felt the spiritual energy coming toward him, and he didn't dodge. He grabbed Kyle roughly with his claws and threw him into the way of the shot, causing it to hit the teen in the shoulder. Kyle screamed and fell to the ground. He struggled to get to his feet for a moment before collapsing again. He seemed to be mumbling the same thing over and over again. Oni continued to chuckle.

"Tsk, tsk, you hit the innocent bystander! Oh, Tarosuke, you really need to watch where you're firing!" Oni chided, still laughing maniacly. He looked toward Yin. "You made an unwise choice to think you can defeat me. I am the great Oni, the demon who controlled Karakuri Pass for years. It took the effort of all of the region's gods to defeat me, what does that tell about you, Miss High and Mighty?"

He reached down and picked the injured Kyle up by his shirt collar. "Besides, how can you attack me when all you'll do is hurt another innocent?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault..."

Waddle Dee glared at Oni. He was using Kyle to protect himself. The bastard, he knew at least some of the group (including himself) wouldn't be able to attack an innocent like that. "Put him down! You're the one who hurt him before, right? Put him down!"

Oni smirked. "I'll pass on that. Now... give me your best shots, everyone. Lets see if poor little Kyle survives."

To be honest, Oni didn't care if Kyle lived or died. If Kyle lived, he had a free shot to kill these guys. If Kyle died... well, he got a new body.

[nintendonut1]

Double blanched when the attack struck the boy. "N-no! You coward!!"

This wasn't going to work. Not at all. Despite all the dark energy swirling around him, he could tell Kyle was a good-hearted soul caught up in a terrible situation. There had to be a way to spare him and deal with this threat just the same.

Getting an idea, he waited until no one was looking at him. When the next person looked his way, they would see nothing in the spot he had occupied seconds before.

If I could get in behind him... the invisible angel mused, shifting slowly and silently behind the group.

[gantzgun74]

…………. “Oh you GODDAMN, SHADOW FETISH GHOST!!!!!!” Tarosuke was raging at this point, fuming greatly. “‘The guardian of the Karakuri Pass’… HAH!!! You’re nothing more then a spineless coward!!!!” He pointed his index finger at the spirit (Not shooting another Rei Gun for fear of hitting Kyle), frowning hatefully. “No fair hiding behind some meat shield!!!!!”

Gantz’s mind was in overdrive when he saw Tarosuke’s attack connect with Kyle. His mind raced for any idea that could come, hoping for a good angle or idea to hit him. As he did this, Yin glared hatefully at the spirit. “Oni… Yes… I’ve heard of you. You’re a traitorous spirit that thought he could do what he wanted with the lives of mortals.” She wasn’t powering down as she said this, far from it, she was steadily growing stronger. “Eventually you were put to a stop. Apparently, however, it wasn’t enough to destroy you completely.” She examined the poor, cringing Kyle as she continued. “A blood pact… I see… Such a cowardly act for any demon to try.” In truth, she was wisely trying to think out another tactic; showing surrender, especially to this beast, was not an option. She had her brother Yang to thank for that.

Of all people, Misty was the one who reacted to that. “WHAT?!?!?” Apparently she knew something about stuff like that, having read Japanese Myth. “But why would anyone be stupid enough to do something like that?! Especially with THAT PIECE OF SHIT?!?!?!?” She pointed at Oni to emphasize her point.

“Likely Kyle was tricked into it.” Otto responded calmly, but eyes narrowed all the same. “He has something of an advantage in this case. Oni knows our kind, and he knows that we won’t attack an innocent if we can afford it.”

As Gantz continued to think out some form of strategy, he looked to Oni, giving him a hard look. “Okay, just for the sake of argument, what do you want from us, you monster? By the looks of things, your not too concerned with losing Kyle. And you must be here, risking your own neck for a reason.” Gantz wasn’t thinking Oni could be reasoned with; no chance in Hell. The conversation was all for the sake of distraction, until he could come up with an idea.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Oni only continued to chuckle as the others figured out how he'd managed to sucker Kyle into this predicament. Oh, yes, he was a coward, but he was a smart coward. Why rush in to a situation, guns blazing, when he could use a strategy like this? That was what it amounted to: strategy.

He only continued to chuckle as he looked away from Double D. He could still sense the angel; he knew he was there, he just couldn't see him.

"You're very good at figuring these things out, aren't you, Yin!" Oni chided again. He looked toward Gantz and the others. 'Yes, it was a blood pact. He agreed to harbor my spirit within his shadow until I recovered. He wanted to help a poor little defenseless demon like me, and I agreed that I would protect him. And I have. I've protected him from the angels, spirits, nuns, etc. that have tried to break our bond. I protected him from bullies and his parents. Protected him with these." He held up his claws.

"It's all my fault... it's all my fault..." Kyle was starting to look more exhausted as he continued to mumble. De'Marcus glared. He couldn't smack this guy in the face so long as he had Kyle there.

"Technically, the only one whose neck I'm risking is Kyle's. I'll be fine," Oni said in response to Gantz. "What do I want? I want the angel dead. The Sword of Evil's Bane destroyed, released to the Void. The sweet little goddess to go back to where she belongs, with her brother. And maybe, I want Kyle's spirit finally released from this hell he's been living in."

After all, he couldn't take the body until it was dead.

[nintendonut1]

Well. There were the motives. Clear as day. Double D had to hand it to him, at least he was honest in his evildoings.

Still... playing off the natural weaknesses of man... and not being ashamed in the least... that made him a dangerous foe. A powerful foe indeed...

...if Kyle had not exposed his weakness through emotion...

Double D straightened up at this thought, shaking his head. No, no, no! He couldn't think like that! That was the mindset of the cold, heartless dictator he was trying to avoid becoming in the first place!

Quietly fuming, angry at this demon for making him even THINK these types of things, he moved further until he was behind Oni, waiting for his chance...!

[gantzgun74]

Gantz only calmly took this in, looking collected for someone who was in a rather hopeless situation...

Suddenly, his mind raced back to a few minutes prior.

An insidious grin appeared on his face. "The only reason his life is Hell is because you continue to make it that way." He entered a battle position. "Maybe I don't have the power to seperate you two once and for all, but I have an idea on how to beat you." He grinned as what appeared to be fireballs appeared, one in each hand. "But hey, I'm feeling merciful today. Maybe if you give Kyle back control over his own body, and leave him, the hell, alone, I won't wipe the floor with your satanic butt."

The others meanwhile stared at the boy confused... What was he getting at? From every visible vantage point, there didn't seem to be any kind of way to get at Oni...

[I'll reveal what the idea is on my next turn. XD]

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Oni blinked as Gantz allowed the flames to form in his hands. He chuckled as Gantz said he might be merciful if he left Kyle alone.

"That's not possible anymore. The blood pact goes both ways. Until Kyle has fufilled his end of the bargain, we can't be separated," Oni stated. He'd purposefully picked a bargain that would only end when Kyle died. He didn't move at all for a few moments before suddenly glancing behind him and reaching out with his claws and grabbing Double D.

"I didn't control an entire mountain pass for over four centuries by dumb luck, angel," Oni growled. "Here's a tip: learn to disguise your energy better. You may have been invisible, but us demons use senses other than sight. And an Angel of Light like yourself... radiates a lot of powerful energy." He squeezed a little tighter.

"Double D!" Waddle Dee yelled. He pointed the parasol at Oni. "Put. Him. Down!"

De'Marcus wasn't worried. Sockhead was an angel, and while his experiences with angels (*cough*Ark*cough*) had been less than pleasant, he knew they could handle themselves.

[nintendonut1]

"GGNH!!" Surprised, Double D was snatched right off the ground, suspended in the air by shadowy, translucent claws. They looked like an apparition, but certainly didn't FEEL like it; he cringed deeper as Oni's grip tightened, threatening to crush his petite form.

While he was gripping the massive claws at his waist to futilely try and pry them off him, he took the demon's words to heart anyway.

"Ngghh... th-thank you..." he tightly got out, smirking at Oni. "...for the tip. I'll-huuurgggghh!-make note of that. Ffffffffffffor now..." He grunted a little. "...nnnn-you're right!"

He laxed his grip, taking a quick breather, his smirk growing most coy. "...I DO happen to host much power."

And he demonstrated this power with another grab at Oni's claws, his hands glowing a hot white.

[gantzgun74]

Gantz grinned at the likely response Oni gave out at Double D's movement. Well that solved one theory, being a demon, he was weak against the holy element just as the other beings that belonged to his race were. While Oni was distracted with Double D's holy energy, Gantz rushed forward at fast speeds. Jumping into the air, the fire-ball magic ever apparent...

However, what really concerned the gang was the fact that he wasn't aiming for Oni... He was aiming for Kyle.

Before anyone could question what was going on, the fireballs suddenly turned into balls of light.

"CURA!!!"

The healing spell entered into Kyle and immediately healed the gash Tarosuke's beam had accidentally caused. Though it looked like the energy was far from done. Since Cura affected an area around the person it was casted on, Oni had instantly become the next target since he was literally joined to Kyle.

Gantz quickly landed on the ground, and jumped backward a couple steps to watch the result of his little experiment.

'I hope my theory was on the money...'

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Oni realized what Double D was doing a tad bit too late. He realized that this had been what the angel was doing just as Double D grabbed his claws with that holy energy. Oni released Double D, but he still got badly burned by the energy. He examined his injured hands for a second and winced when he suddenly realized that Gantz still hadn't attacked. He turned around and gave the worst glare he could as he attempted to pull Kyle out of the way of the spell. He didn't manage to do it quickly enough, and the healing spell still hit Kyle. Kyle grimaced as he felt his wounds heal. Oni on the other hand...

Oni screamed. He screamed like his entire body was on fire. The combination of the lingering effects of the angel's attack and the healing spell had meant that he was being hurt pretty damn badly by both of them. He wasn't a zombie. He was far from one. But in this base state that was only a spirit possessing a shadow (a fairly weak vessel to be entirely honest), holy spells were extremely strong against him.

Waddle Dee took this as his chance. He jumped forward and smacked Oni in the face with his parasol before swinging around in a kick and jumping back.

"You!" He smacked Oni in the face again. "Can!" He brought the parasol down again, this time spinning it around like a drill as he did. "Go!" He kicked up again, and what looked like a shadowy tooth broke out of Oni's mouth. "To!" Waddle Dee prepared to do the final hit, jumping up in the air and bringing his Parasol down much like Kirby's Final Cutter. "He--!"

Oni reached up and grabbed Waddle Dee's parasol in midair. He smirked. "You're all a bunch of assholes, you know that?" He swirled back up again, but his shadowy form was noticeably less solid. "I'm not dead yet... Heh... this might be fun..."

Kyle, on the other hand, had stopped talking altogether. He looked like he was having to fight to stay awake.

[nintendonut1]

Double D was quickly dropped, flipping back, bringing out his wings, and easing onto the ground. He felt a sense of victory already; they had gotten through a crack in his defenses! And though Waddle Dee's impressive series of attacks was halted, Oni's power was beginning to deterierate. He didn't need to read his aura to see THAT.

If given a chance, they could end this quickly. Remembering what was holding them back from doing so, Double D's gaze rested on Kyle, who suddenly looked extremely weak. Naturally, he ran over to the hurt child, though he leaped at Kyle, getting him out of the way and enveloping them both inside a force field.

"Go! Now! Quickly!" he hollared to the others to execute their attacks while they had the chance. His firm gaze softened a little as he briefly returned to the boy. "Hang in there, okay, Kyle?"