Everyone had sort of gone dumbfounded at Ruu's arrival, except for perhaps the girl who was just eager to see what happened. Of those who were shocked, the trio of boys, Bell, Maze, and Toko, were shocked most of all, because they had known Ruu longer and didn't see this coming in the slightest. Although Toko did have suspicions.
That said, he was more focused on the spear Ruu was holding.
The snake lawyers all tried to charge at Ruu, but he cut through them with his spear, beheading several of them at once as he appeared next to the large scale snake suddenly. Venom was immediately shot his way, but he hopped backwards, doing a one hand stand into a cartwheel as his feet hit the wall as he had crouched already, letting himself push himself forward and slicing through it again. The giant snake was already regenerating, but it spit its venom out as a gas to create a wall, a defensive measure to let it finish regenerating before the next attack.
But Ruu did not wait that long, as he jumped over the wall of gas and came swinging down. The giant snake backed up so the angle would be off, and yet...
No. If I dont move more, I will die!
He sensed something was off, and backed up further. As he did, he felt a long blade just narrowly miss him as it was swinging down.
"...what the hell was that...that wasn't a spear blade" he muttered, as he spat more venom. More of the Snake Lawyers arrived to surround Ruu, but he used the shaft of the spear for a pole vault to get over the encirclement, and swung his weapon around as he brought down a powerful slash at his opponent.
He backed away, but still got nicked by the blade somehow. It was incredibly irritating for him, especially since he was being forced to stay on the defensive the whole time. He hadn't used any magic or powers from what he can tell, and while incredibly exceptional, everything he had done was possible with a boy of his age. Did that mean he was actually getting pressured by a boy with zero supernatural abilities?
One of the snake lawyers drew a gun, but before they could pull the trigger Ruu noticed it and ducked, letting him dodge the bullet as he knocked it away with one end of the spear after a lunge. This gave the giant snake a moment, but not too much as Ruu rushed back into the assault.
But in that moment, he regenerated his tail into a sharp blade and stabbed forward at Ruu. Ruu used his spear however to push against the ground, going over the tail and then swinging with force, cutting the tail off.
"AHHHG!"
The giant snake screamed as it pulled back, wounded as it hissed with vile and scorn. Its eyes locking onto its target with a furtive focus and an overwhelming desire to plunge him of any lifeforce he may have left. It launched another array of poison gas, this time spreading it out further. Ruu jumped over to dodge it, but then claws came at him, slashing at him and knocking him back with their sheer force. The giant serpant before him now had arms and claws, another form or perhaps a manipulation of this one.
Finally managing to get a hit on him, the serpent sneered with joy.
"Ha! You think you are all that! We shot you before, and yet...wait..."
That was when it finally hit him. The reason he felt the need to justify this situation so much, the inconsistency. The reason why this made no sense.
Ruu hadn't done anything supernatural...and yet, he also did not have a gunshot wound either.
There is dried blood...but there is no wound?!
"You...what the fuck are you?! Where is your gunshot wound?!"
Ruu just smiled as the enemies surrounded. And in the next moment, spears shot out of the blood, piercing all of the lower ranked enemies as the big serpent dodged in time.
"Impossible...you are..."
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Rolling back time a bit...
The Snake Lawyer looking over at Ruu just hung up, when suddenly it was stabbed from behind by a crimson spear. The leader did not see who it was, they retreated into the shadows instantly, but they left the spear...as Ruu got to his feet and picked it up.
The others looked shocked, seeking him standing there, but Ruu just smiled. They quickly prepared weapons, but they were all interrupted by the corrupted security robots that burst into the scene. Ruu stepped forward in that time, getting inbetween them as he cut off all their heads, the wound on his shoulder regenerating. The leader, just barely clinging to life still, watched all of this. Blood flowed up from their corpses, turning into sharp pointed weapons of various types.
"K-k-kill the intruders! E-e-eliminate them!"
The robots came at him, and he sent his array of weapons at them. He ran into the sortie, tearing through the robots with his spear, displaying nimble and skilled agility and control as he proceeded to take each and every single one of them out. He ran through with a particularly high skill, showing no signs that this was his first time doing that.
He effectively tore them apart bolt by bolt, severing limbs, hitting their computer systems, and removing their heads for good measure. It was just as skilled as before, but this was different. It felt different. It wasn't just the supernatural aspects. There was something else to it as well.
A chill crept over the leader, something that he wasn't used to. It tried to scramble away, as if he instinctively understood the boy in front of it was not his prey. It was his predator. So he ran and ran as fast as it could, in hopes of escaping. Even with his wound, he would try to escape. But it didn't get very far, as blood droplets on the ground, bloodsplatter from when the boy had been shot, had spikes shoot out of them and pierce it several times over.
"Impossible...you...you are..."
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"A vampire" had been the answer they both reached. Ruu's fangs came out a bit in his mouth, no longer feeling the need to hide so much.
"Impossible...it cant be...the Bloody Brat?!"
"What?" Ruu asked, confused. "No no. I am not him...he is right behind you".
Before the gorgon or the pyromancer could react, they suddenly got hit with a palm each. An exceptional amount of force was in each one, sending them flying to the wall, and leaving person sized indents in them. Right where they had been, a small figure about the same height as Ruu was standing there, their signature raincoat on with the hood up so no one could discern what they looked like.
"...so he wasn't Bloody Brat? Didn't see that one coming" Toko muttered, having harbored some suspicions about that still despite a few pieces of evidence saying otherwise. Ruu meanwhile made his way through the lobby as other enemies came after the trio, while the Bat cornered The Snake, The Gorgon, and The Pyro. The Bat nodded towards them, indicating them to get going as they dealt with these enemies.
"We don't have time for this...but how are we supposed to get to the airplane?" Bell wondered, as they took the opportunity to leave. They got out and headed down an access corridor.
"Since the plane is in the air, the only way to reach it would probably be the flight control tower. If you forge a connection between it and the plane, you can use that as a bridge to make it to the airplane and reach it".
Maze explained a bit, and Ruu nodded.
"Yeah. If you use the right ritual and symbolism, it should be pretty easy to accomplish".
"By the way Ruu..."
"Yes Bell?"
"Did you know the entire time?"
"...not everything. I had to piece it together myself. I was only vaguely aware when you asked for directions to Sorcerer's Stacks, that was when I suspected. Although I think my dad must have known from the start".
"Your dad?"
At that question, Ruu directed a glance back from where they came.
"...wait wait, your dad is Bloody Brat?!"
"Yeah. Well, its all rather complicated, so I think that its a conversation for much later. Juice will be necessary".
Toko meanwhile was rubbing his temples.
"This is...quite a bit. But okay, okay. For now, lets focus on the objective at hand. And that is getting to that control tower. Do we just follow the signs then?"
"Sort of. Its one of the most secure locations in an airport though, it will have defenses even in a reflection. Which means..."
Maze sighed. "Robust security, potentially puzzles and riddles, and going forward might not be the way forward".
"Yes, basically".
Maze was not thrilled at Ruu's explanation, but he knew it was true all the same.
"Was it okay to leave your dad back there on his own?"
"Yeah. The Giant Snake was one thing, but if that Gorgon decided to get serious, we could get really screwed up. And I don't have enough data on the girl, but if she was fighting against her, she must be strong. Not like we couldn't take either, but they have a lot of experience and power and we don't know enough about them".
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As they turned the corner, security robots swarmed them. They went into the fray. determined to reach their destination. Ruu unleashed his blood, Toko manipulated time, Maze provided fire support, and Bell wielded ice and lightning. They flowed, supporting and covering for each other, dancing live leaves on a flowing stream. Like flowers blooming in unison, showing their potential.
Still, there was something there. Bell could feel it as they approached, a nagging feeling. Something was different about this. Wrong, disrupted. As if there was a force that was trying to dig its way into things and mislead them. Bell could feel the twisting depths and the shores, as if he was being pulled back to the island even now, at this time. The Spirit Plane, the place where he must face his darkness, his fears, his rage, his doubts.
He had been called there just a moment ago, if only for a brief window of time, and Maze and Toko had surprisingly joined him.
Its not a place in my own head. Its an actual place, inside of me. Around me. Forever trying to influence me, but also be influenced by me.
Bell thought those things as they made it to the Control Tower's entrance. Right as they reached it, Bell opened the door to charge in, only to get pulled back by the other three....right as an elevator came down and nearly killed him.
"What the hell? Aren't these the stairs?"
"This is a Reflection. Nothing is as it seems" Maze said, as he looked into there. It was a huge chamber now, with various elevators going up and down, and even side to side. It was clear this was not going to be easy. "I see the exit. Far side, up top".
"I see it. Marked Control Tower too. We just need to make it across somehow and not die horrifically".
Bell looked around, and couldn't help but notice something.
"Hey. The elevators keep moving right? Is it possible to ride and hope across from them?"
"I see what your saying. Like that one game...right, yeah we might be able to do that. But this entire place will probably do whatever it can to keep and push us away in the process".
Toko prepared his pocketwatch, and Maze handed out a few things for them to put on their arms.
"Here. Just to be safe, let's use grapplers. And I will apply the spray to our shoes as well to make it so we can run on the walls and ceilings and such, although try to avoid the latter so your shirt doesn't fly into your face".
Once they finished making all their preparations, they proceeded to go through the endless elevator chamber. They jumped to the first elevator, and then it started to move instantly. Seeing a second one heading up, they used their grapplers to hook onto it, getting themselves high up. They detached and used that momentum to try and get on an elevator moving sideways, only for shadowed creatures to appear. Maze took out a flashlight and shined it at them, dispersing them as they landed, but another elevator came swooping over. They just barely ducked and hugged the top of the elevator in time, avoiding being knocked down into the abyss below. Howls and echos could be heard there, nightmarish sounds as they worked hard to get further towards their goal.
Getting back up, they jumped forward and got onto the side of an elevator moving closer towards the door they wanted to reach, only for it to start going down shortly after. More shades appeared, as well as the flying models of security robots, thus known as Security Drones. They open fired, but Toko froze the bullets and an elevator that was moving the wrong way, but in the right position.
Bell unleashed an electric attack, but more came from behind. Ruu used Blood Weapons to strike them all down as they made it to the upper layer, hopping off the frozen elevator and onto another one. The moment they did, the elevators nearby all rushed at them to crush them, and more security drones appeared. Ruu formed more blood weapons, but one shot him and disrupted his attack. Toko froze them in place, and the group quickly rushed towards the door, with Toko and Bell freezing some elevators in place to make a path using time and ice based magic.
The elevator swarm was moving in, threatening to crush them. They ran as fast as they could, shoes pounding the metal as they made one big final jump, using grapplers to help propel them forward at the very last gap. The elevators closed in, catching up even with their speed. Closing in, no more space left. They just crossed the threshhold right as they heard the smashing of metal and the grinding of wires. Looking back, it was a mangled mess of what they could only guess had once been elevators.
"...that...was way too close" Ruu said.
"Agreed. That was just...nightmarish" Toko agreed.
"What even were those Shadow things?" Bell asked.
Maze however just shook his head.
"I don't know. They didn't look like airport security, not people or robots. Something like that is very abnormal for a Reflection".
Toko thought for a moment too. "Yeah, I cant remember any Boundary or Reflection producing things like that. Shadows though...might be dangerous, if its something that is derived from fear. That elevator chasm was harsher then even I expected as well".
"Airport security is tough, so I figured it was just reflected from that...but we might need to keep an eye out. Had any one of us been disabled, we probably would have died back there".
As they rallied themselves, they continued to head up the stairs towards the control tower. It didn't take them long, but after the hell they had already faced, it felt like forever. The issue was once they arrived at the final door there. It was a large, overwhelming door, clearly three times as big as would be necessary. Not a single one of them was tall enough to reach the door handle big. And if that was not enough, there was two keypads on the side, in an isolated glass box of a room, each one with a metal detector, as well as one for the main door. From what it indicated, their entire bodies would be searched, no possessions of any kind allowed beyond the checkpoints, and failure to adhere to the rules in any way would meet death. It appeared the glass boxes would lock them inside too, meaning that with all this security, there was no way for them all to go. Maze seemed especially taken aback and hesitant about all this.
However, it was not something they would need to deal with, because it was all broken. The door had been ripped off its hinges, and the detectors broken. It appeared that every single trap was smashed to pieces as well, and the glass had been partially shattered. On one hand, the boys were happy not to have to deal with that unnerving, horrid trap, but it also confirmed they were behind the one responsible for all this, and that this person had so easily tore its way through the security systems of a Reflected Airport.
"...I am glad we don't need to deal with that bullshit, but...this is probably even more concerning, isn't it?" Bell asked.
Maze's expression turned grim. "Yeah. We are quite literally dealing with something that can tear through security measures we would have no way to overcome without following through. And yet, if we don't, there could be serious issues as well...especially if this guy damages the plane".
Considering what he did to the checkpoint, it was entirely possible he might damage the plane, so they had to hurry. Heading through the doors that had been ripped asunder, they made it into the control room. There were various computers and terminals, but one especially stood out. The communications station, which could forcibly connect to any plane. They headed over to it, and Maze proceeded to get to work on it.
"It appears that it was already used to connect to the plane. Someone had the same idea that we did, they used it to force a connection to the plane and then made their way over there. I just need to do the same, perhaps even piggyback and get us there faster then he did...Toko, could you align the clocks a bit in a ritual and use your powers?"
"To get us there even earlier? I see. Since this is a bridge through space, you plan to also adjust the time, make it so we appear earlier then we left".
"Yeah. Who knows how much of a lead he had on us, so every second counts".
Toko nodded. "I will do what I can".
Toko and Maze got to work, while Ruu and Bell kept an eye out for trouble as they looked at each other.
"So...vampire..."
"So...foxkin..."
"I feel like there is both a lot to unpack here, and not a lot at all".
Ruu nodded. "Yeah. I mean, this kind of stuff isn't exactly something you can just tell people or open a conversation with".
"Yeeeaaaah. Kinda unbelievable stuff".
The two were a bit awkward right now.
"...so just to be clear" Ruu started. "We both want to apologize, but we dont want each other to apologize?"
"Basically yeah. I mean, where do you even begin here?"
"We have way too many good reasons to keep these secrets, but also kind of feel bad about not opening up with each other even though we have many good reasons?"
"The issue isn't even how we feel about each other's secrets. We are feeling bad about our own secrets. And we both did it, so it feels even, but still unfortunate".
"Yeah. This is...complicated".
"Soooo....sleepover at my place tonight, water under the bridge, we use a big gaming marathon to get over it?"
"Seems like a solid plan".
Feeling like they figured out how to settle things, their timing was perfect as Maze and Toko and finished with what they were working on. Maze had everyone gather around the computer.
"Email to the plane...attachments, us four. Signal, Connect, Send, Start!"
He hit the button, and suddenly the four of them got sucked into the computer, as they felt themselves whisked along a great torrent of electricity and connection. Everything wooshed and flashed as they flew from the control tower towards the plane, the entire world a blur of motion and light around them. It was disorienting and strange, but at the same time rather exciting as well, as they rushed along towards their target. Soon after, the emerged from the vortex of motion and light, and landed on top of the plane. And yet, that was not the end of things it seemed, as they had a good look around.
They were surrounded by a great many planes, all of them appearing identical. There had to be dozens up here, all frozen in time, all floating around.
"What the hell going on? Is this like the airport, the Reflection growing and duplicating things?"
"I think so. It could also be whatever this guy went after is obscuring its location, making it difficult for him" Maze said, as he looked at a piece of a plane beginning to crumble, if slowly and just a little. "...and we might have other issues as well".
As they said that, they came face to face with someone. It was more or less one of the last people Bell had wanted to see. The Fake Phantom, the one who had attacked him back on the subway, who had beaten and overwhelmed him. The only reason he lasted so long was thanks to Bat, and the one who actually defeated him was the real Phantom. Bell had grown stronger, but...not that stronger.
Ruu put his hand on Bell's shoulder.
"We got you..."
The man looked over, and saw Bell.
"Well now, look at that. I had come here after one prey, but here is yet another".
"You...you did this?"
"Hmm? Oh, no".
Maze was puzzled this time. "Wait wait, you are not the one who started all this?"
"Nah, he has a bounty on his head too for all the jobs he has done, a nice juicy one. And he stole something from M'lord, so I was dispatched to retireve it. But I must say, capturing you seems like a far easier task that he will love even more".
At those words, an explosion like sound rocked near them, as something burst out of the plane. A hulking figure, perhaps two meters tall or even taller, covered in shadows and darkness so not a single feature could be seen. That was why they couldn't even be sure how tall he really was, or even if it was a he honestly. But it grabbed the Fake Phantom while he was stunned, and proceeded to throw him across the chasm into another airplane. It then turned its dark, hollow eyes towards Bell, and pointed a finger at him.
"Inheritor! Diieeeeeeee!" it said in a weird distorted voice, that chilled them to the bones. Maze immediatley open fired, but his attacks seemed to bounce off the darkness aura. Toko also tried to freeze him, but it didn't do much of anything. Bell summoned Blood Weapons to attack, but he unleashed a howl of darkness that made it all coagulate and dissipate, as he charged towards Bell. Bell tried to hit him with a full powered lightning attack, while Bell used the flashlight again. Both at the same time seemed to give it pause for a moment, but it did not seem to damage him at all as he continued to march straight up to Bell, a large hammer of darkness forming in his hands which he went to swing. Maze, Toko, and Ruu tried to intercept, but shadowed minions formed around them and held them back, throwing them to the side and engaging them in combat.
It swung its hammer down on Bell. Bell created a barrier to hold it back, but it shattered like glass. He flinched as he felt this was it...only for the strike to never actually hit its mark. He looked around, and saw someone he did not expect...but someone who he was growing ever grateful for.
"Phantom!"
The real Phantom had shown up, grabbing the hammer and pushing him back. Upon his knuckles appeared to be something like brass knuckles, only it wasn't made of brass, but probably steel or maybe even stronger. But most noticably was the bright, blaring lights upon them. That light did more then even Maze and Bell had combined, and Phantom was staring down his target with a gaze that was impossible to read, due to his face being obstructed by bandages.
The fight had only just begun however, and this was a foe that even the overwhelming Phantom had not taken out immediately. And no one could be sure just how it would end.