Kagura: Jugo was killed trying to protect me. We all would've been dead if bro didn't get here when he did.
Red: Wait what!? Did you know? Is that why you ran off?
Raioten shrugged his shoulders.
Red: How-
Raioten put a finger over her mouth and pointed to Toshiro. He made a fist and shook it at him.
Red: You're right Shrimp, sorry. Let's just kick his ass. But... Tor sweetie, please stay here.
Red sat Tor down in the corner of the room next to the downed Jugo.
Ragnar: You three... just run.
Toshiro plunged a knife into Ragnar's back.
Toshiro: You hush now. You three aren't going anywhere.
Standing opposite Toshiro the trio rushed him together. Their injuries weighed them down heavily as they fought Toshiro. Being completely exhausted after waves of vicious battles, the young ones were defeated.
Toshiro: I've been watching you all from day one and I almost started to like you.
Raioten slowly rose to his feet.
Toshiro: Oh please, you're the bottom of the barrel. Stand aside.
Raioten ran forward and threw wild kicks at full speed. He was fast enough to catch Toshiro off guard, but not powerful enough to do any real damage. The gap in skill was immediately evident as well. Toshiro had no trouble striking Raioten down.
Toshiro: This is what my Vice Warden was so giddy for? Pathetic.
Raioten slowly rose to his feet once again.
Toshiro: Now I see, you're just a glorified punching bag. To bad for you, I'm done punching.
Toshiro unsheathed a short blade and aimed for Raioten's heart. The boy was able to move to the side just enough to avoid a fatal wound. The blade pierced right through his abdomen, gliding between his rib bones. Instead of flinching and screaming out loud, Raioten clenched his teeth and dug his nails into Toshiro's arm. He put every ounce of strength he could muster into his grip and it began to annoy Toshiro. The true Warden began to strike Raioten with his free hand, hoping to break his hold.
Toshiro: Let go of me this instant!
Toshiro continued his relentless striking until Raioten swung him around. His eyes adjusting to the speed, Toshiro only had a split second to perceive Kagura barreling towards him at full speed. Toshiro only had time to raise his free hand in defense before being struck full force by Kagura's hammer. His herculean might sent Toshiro crashing through the walls of the rooms behind him.
Kagura: That was perfect Bro, think we got him?
Raioten shook his head before falling back on his butt. When he tried to stand, Red stopped him.
Red: We got this, thanks for buying us some time.
Ignoring her words, Raioten forced himself back to his feet as Toshiro returned with a broken arm.
Toshiro: The hammer?! That's not possible, none but Ragnar may-
Red: Kick his ass!
Due to his increasing injuries, Toshiro was put on his back foot by the young trio. Red's raw skill allowed her to stand directly in front of Toshiro and trade blows. Raioten used his speed to disorient his enemy as a distraction so that Kagura could land earth shaking strikes.
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Kagura: Its OVER!
Kagura jumped high in the air and wound up a powerful hammer slam. Before the hammer coukd crash down on Toshiro, it vanished.
Ragnar: That's enough.
Kagura: Ragnar!
Ragnar approached Toshiro and extended his hand to help him up.
Ragnar: Brother, get up.
Red: No! Get away from him!
Ragnar: This is all a big misunderstanding, tell them. You're a good person, I know it.
Toshiro: You always could see the good in me.
Toshiro took Ragnar's hand and was lifted to his feet. He instantly wedged his blade into Ragnar's heart.
Toshiro: But I'm really not sure why.
Kagura: Nooo!
Toshiro: I'm going to cut you all to shreds!
Toshiro went to run at Kagura, but he didn't move at all. His legs pushed on the ground but his body wouldn't go forward. He felt like the weight of the planet was wrapped around his wrist. As Toshiro turned, he saw the Ragnar was holding his wrist in his monstrous hand.
Toshiro: What are you doing? You're half dead already, just give up.
Ragnar: You always did say that we were in this Together til the End. Let's make good on that shall we?
Ragnar began running towards the observation room.
Toshiro: Let me go you brute!
Kagura: Ragnar wait!
Ragnar: You kids get out of here, run for the exit now!
Red and Raioten grabbed Kagura and stopped him from giving chase.
Ragnar slammed through the observation room and jumped out over the third floor's corridor. He summoned his hammer and obliterated the floor, allowing he and Toshiro to fall through.
Toshiro: You idiot! You'll kill us all!
Ragnar: How about you sit back and enjoy the ride!
As they fell to the second floor, Ragnar smashed through it as well.
Ragnar: These past years, you may have been playing me for a fool but I don't care. I truly did enjoy it.
Toshiro: No!
Ragnar smashed through the first floor and the two fell over a large reactor. Toshiro removed a device from his pocket and hit a button.
Ragnar: See you on the other side Toshi!
Toshiro clawed at Ragnar's massive arm with tears in his eyes and fear in his frantic screams. Ragnar slammed into the reactor with a massive grin on his face. The building began to tremble as the reactor began to destabilize. On the top floor, Raioten pointed to the door to let everyone know to leave immediately. Red scooped up Tor and ran. Kagura and Red took off for the exit and the building began to fall apart due to the violent quakes. They ran out and looked to see Raioten carrying Jugo out of the building.
Kagura: Bro drop him, Toshiro killed him already!
Raioten looked back inside and began to spin Jugo around. He used the extra momentum to throw Jugo outside into Kagura's arms. Even running full speed, Raioten was unable to outrun the massive explosive set of by the reactor. Due to the cliff the Tower was built into, the explosion was mostly directly upward, resulting in a large tower of energy piercing the sky. Raioten, who was caught by the edge of the blast, was sent flying at breakneck speeds. He crashed a ways past the others. Red went to go check on Jugo. She pressed her fingers on his neck.
Red: Holy shit, he's alive!
Kagura: Really? Do you think you could regurgitate him?
Red: *sigh* Resuscitate, and I'm not sure. Get his shirt off.
After Kagura removed Jugo's shirt, they saw that he had been poisoned by Toshiro's blade. The veins around Jugo's wound were a deep purple color. The blood just behind the wound had begun to coagulate, limiting the bleeding. Red took a sharp rock and dug it into Jugo's side to flush out the poison.
Kagura: You're gonna kill him!
Red: Shut up! This is our only hope.
She made a few more small cuts around the affected area, allowing the poison to flow out. After a few moments, Jugo regained consciousness.
Jugo: What? What happened?
Kagura: We made it out!
Red: We can catch up later, we need to find Blue!
Red took off while Kagura aided Jugo's walking. The went off towards the opposite edge of the cliff where Raioten had flown off to. When they arrived at the scene, they saw that Raioten had crashed into a rock just at the edge. He was barely conscious and struggling to stand. Red ran to his side and helped him to his feet.
Red: We did it small fry, we really did it!
The two walked towards the edge of the cliff and Raioten took in his first true sight of the free world. His eyes were wide as he saw the vast ocean, a lush forest, and a few islands in the sky. Kagura and Jugo walked up behind them. Kagura filled Jugo in on what happened after he was taken out.
Jugo: We need to find shelter, the creatures on this island will swarm this area come nightfall.
Red: I've read about Gaia's wildlife. Have they really gotten more ferocious over time?
Jugo: Yes, by an unimaginable factor. Ever since the Futurists came into power, nature has been changing rapidly.
Kagura: Its definitely time to go then... Bro? Whatcha doin?
Raioten was still stuck in place. His eyes were fixed on the wide horizon in front of him. He looked down to see his hands trembling.
Red: Hey, we're fine now. We're going to get off this island.
Red closed in to place a gentle hand on his shoulder, but was stopped. She was petrified by an astonishing pressure. In one quick burst, Raioten roared out to the heavens at the top of his lungs. His scream traveled all across the island. His voice carried all of the pain and anguish of his past years in the Tower and changed it into hope. It was a message of perseverance, almost challenging the world to try to stop him.
Red: Woah.
Jugo: Ok, now we seriously need to go.
Red: Are you ok?
Raioten: Raioten.
Red: Raio what now?
Raioten: My name, is Raioten.