SD: Wind of Rebirth and Redemption Ch-3 part 3

Shun groaned as he struggled to get back to his feet as the shrapnel from around him clattered to the ground. He tried moving his left arm, and found that while it did still work, every movement came with sparks coming out of the arm, signaling just how badly damaged it was. Next to him, he saw that his Aero Slider had been broken in half, with both jets broken off. Groaning slightly, he straightened himself out as he stood in the hangar, his body felling like crap in several places, and he knew that if it wasn't for him being a Rebirth, he probably would have really broken something if not be outright dead right about now, as he knew the spot he felt sore were most likely cracked if not outright fractured, and ironically he was in this state thanks to SAKIDO no less. “This…is REALLY bad,” he thought, as without his slider, he would be confined to fighting from the ground, and with his arm in shambles he couldn't summon any of his larger, more powerful guns, leaving him with just his handguns that he could use without his left arm, and even that was questionable, since like it or not, his arm was the key to opening his sub-space storage. Looking around to see if there was anything he could use to salvage the situation, all he saw was the tons of Dragonium bars used to construct the casing of most Gummi Ships and hangars.

That's when he heard Maleficent’s voice boom throughout the hangar. "Now then, come out Shun!! I'm waiting for you, coward!"

At the declaration, Shun couldn’t help but sneer. "Tch. Why don't YOU come out and face me yourself, you cowardly witch!" he spat.

"Hmph-hmph, and what makes you think I'm the one being a coward? After all, isn't it smarter to wait behind ones minions to see your opponents next move, learn their strengths, harbor their weaknesses?" she answered with a hint of ferocity. "I already know you wouldn't let that demon wench die. In fact, you wouldn't let anyone you even remotely care about die! You think you're a damned hero, but I know what you really are. You’re just a coward trying to run away from the truth and hide what you truly are! You act so strong when you’re nothing more than the bane of benign backwash!"

It was a game of wits now, and the first one to break would give the other the upper hand and Shun couldn't give in. "…and what's your excuse? Surely if someone as ‘gracious’ as yourself knows me so well, then why not attack me outright and be done with it?"

"Heh heh heh heh..." Maleficent’s voice laughed, causing Shun to spin around, looking for the source. "Aha hahahahahahahah! And what makes you think I'd waste my time with the likes of you? I have more important things to do than waste time killing off a peon."

"Or maybe it's because your just weak.” At this, Maleficent froze as Maria and Sephora snickered behind her, as they knew it was true. "Why else would you proclaim yourself the ‘Mistress of All Evil’?” Shun taunted. “I’ll tell you why! It’s because you're nothing more than the conceited, inbred offspring of the devil’s retarded cousin who can't seem to take the hint of when to just piss off!" Maleficent suddenly gritted her teeth as the sputtering of both girls behind her got to her ears, and judging by the sudden silence Shun knew he was winning. "I mean sheesh, it's an apt comparison to call yourself ‘backwash’, but calling yourself ‘benign’? That’s just stroking your own ego, but I’ll bite,” Shun said, a devilish grin on his face as he straightened up like a soldier and gave a mock solute. “To the Mistress of All Evil! A fitting salute!” he said, before taking his hand off his head and changing the gesture to…well…to The Finger. The next few moments were tense, as Shun realized he might have screwed up and gone too far with the taunt, since he wasn’t exactly at full strength. In fact, with the condition he was in, he realized that Maleficent could EASILY beat him, and Maleficent’s sudden silence was never a good sign. But heck, he figured if he was going in for a world of hurt, he might as well give one more jab, even if it was just for the kicks and giggles.

“Cat got your tongue? Well, I don’t blame you, especially since your first big loss was against who again? Oh yeah, a teenage boy who didn’t even have any formal training, or real control over his Keyblade! I mean, sure Master Sora may be a great hero now, but back then, I heard he was REALLY green! How do you even look yourself in the mirror after losing to that?” Shun taunted, before laughing his guts out at the end, wanting nothing more than to milk this situation for all it was worth.

...dead silence was his only answer.

That’s when Shun heard something morphing behind him and quickly turned around, just as the shadows finished turning into a projection of Maleficent, which lunged at him, and grabbed him by the neck and slamming him into the wall. Before he could get his head straight, he felt her hand squeezing down on his neck, making breathing problematic. “I can finish you whenever I please!” Maleficent sneered. “SO WHY NOT MAKE IT NOW!!" she spat as she began to crush his wind pipe.

Shun could only let out a choked sound as his vision was getting blurry from the lack of air. However, Shun had also planned for this, knowing that Maleficent wouldn’t appear in person, but rather via a projection like this. Therefore, the ‘trap’ would work in 3…2…1.

A bright flash happened, followed by a beam striking Maleficent, causing the projection’s skin to burn and fizzle.

"GAH! What!!?" she screamed, confused by the sudden attack from the hangar itself. "Anti-magic?! Impossible!” she thought as she frantically looked around, suddenly realizing her folly. Having never had a need for them, she had never been inside a Gummi Hangar before, so she never knew or cared about what went into making these ships, and that included the stockpiles of dragonium metal that was always kept in the hangars.

“Gotcha!” Shun thought with a smirk as Maleficent had let go of his throat when the dragonium reacted. Dragonium was a type of metal that was naturally found in mountainous caves, most of which were found to be ideal homes for dragons, or other draconic animals, as well as being found in small quantities within dragon scales (hence the name ‘dragonium’). What made the metal so special was the fact that dragonium had anti-energy properties, particularly towards magical energies (aka Mana), and though he was still a little skeptical about it, he didn’t question the fact that it worked, since it was always used to keep Gummi Hangars safe from any unstable ships should they go critical. Even better, recently it was discovered that the metal was extremely effective against spiritual and/or so-called ‘magical’ beings, meaning that this place was a veritable death trap for someone like Maleficent.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Shun picked up a sizeable bar of dragonium that was roughly as long as he was. “So…I guess this is your first time in a Gummi Hangar,” he started, catching Maleficent’s attention, before slamming the bar against his left hand, splitting it at the end, before using his left hand to crush and shape the tip to make an improvised edge. “Mind if I give you a tour?”

Maleficent stood there holding her now burnt hand, and without thinking, Maleficent slung her projection’s fist towards Shun in a black mass of inky shadows, preparing to reduce Shun to nothing more than a smear on the wall. However, before she could hit her target, the arm was severed and splattered across the floor by one swing of Shun’s ‘weapon’.

-break-

Back on the canyon side, Maleficent hissed in pain as she was suddenly feeling her projection’s pain as well. “How can this be? This has never happened before, so why is this happening now?!” she thought, though she knew where she could get her answer once this was over. “Those two will have a lot to answer for when I’m done here,” she thought viciously, knowing that Maria and Sephora probably knew something, and besides, she’d enjoy torturing those two for answers anyway. Laughing at the thought, she quickly focused her attention back on her projection…and soon wished she hadn’t…

-break-

Before she could even focus all her rage back on her target, Shun was upon her with the spear and before Maleficent knew it, Shun had sliced the projection from across the shoulder leading down to her waist.

-break-

"GAH!" she screamed as her insides threatened to become external, before she quickly shifted her form into shadows again to avoid any permanent physical damage.

-break-

Seeing the perfect opening, Shun lunged forward to deliver the finishing blow, before Maleficent’s projection devolved into a humanoid shadow, which he beheaded all the same. What came next was a sharp and angry yell from Maleficent, which reverberated around him, followed by a swarm of Heartless, Shadows to be precise, emerging from around him.

“Fine!” Maleficent spat, her voice seemingly coming from all around. “If that’s how you’ll have it, then I’ll take my rage out on your demon pet!” she declared as her presence left the hangar. Hearing that, Shun realized that Sakido was still outside and he focused on making his way back out just as the Heartless began to ban together into some sort of wave, pouring out from all sides and began to attack.

Shun raised the spear, preparing to slice/stab through the wave of Heartless. However, before he could do anything, he felt the familiar warm sensation of receiving a message from The Master. The message reminded him of his currently broken Aero Slider, as well as his damaged arm, and that without either of them, he wouldn’t be able to help Sakido escape from Maleficent’s clutches. “Then how am I going to help her?! If you didn’t notice, I’m a little busy right now!” Shun said. The reply he got was a suggestion. Why not ride the Heartless to the Storm Rider itself? When he got that, Shun couldn’t help but smile. “I like the way you think,” he grinned, before swinging his blade into the Heartless swarm and splitting it in half. Instead of wiping out all of the Heartless like he had initially planned, he decided to just split the wave in half before he started running towards the back of the hangar with the Heartless in tow, jumping to and fro avoiding the dangerous machinery and hap hazardous dragonium, only needing to turn around once to dispel the Heartless and give himself a fighting chance to get into position. Readying his Thompson Contender along the way as he had a feeling he'd need it, he quickly got into position and waited for the Master’s signal, once more watching as the Heartless swarmed into one massive cloud once more.

Holding his ground, Shun stood at the ready. “Wait for it…” he muttered as the Heartless came closer and spread high into the air. “Now!” he shouted as he jumped up as the Heartless swarmed around the area he had just left. Slinging themselves upward to Shun’s feet where he graciously planted his soles on the face of the first unlucky Heartless that met his shoes, before jumping again, again, and again and all by the Master’s orders, knowing he need the help most, before Shun felt the Master’s presences leave him and go to another.

Back outside, Sakido was not in a good position, as she struggled to stay conscious. The Heartless had been slowly crushing her, and now it had managed to break a few of her ribs, making it harder and harder to breath, while her wounds continued to bleed as the teeth stabbed into her like swords. She had attempted to escape several times, but to her dismay, every attempt was a failure, as even her attempt at a lightning spell was dispelled by the creatures saliva that had suddenly developed anti-magic abilities. Unable to get even a spark, she struggled more and more to try to escape using what precious energy she had left until she soon began to pass out. However, right before her vision faded, she suddenly felt a surge of energy as her strength was suddenly restored, though her wounds and the pain remained. She gasped at the sudden jolt cleared up her vision, but before she knew it the creature was thrashing about again trying its damnedest to put her lights out but as she tried to struggle out of the creatures mouth the results were the same, so why was she alive in the first place if only to be trapped again? Was she just being kept alive to die slowly?

That’s when she heard him. "SAKIDOOOOOO!!!" Looking down, she saw what had to be the stupidest, if not admittedly, coolest things she ever saw. There was Shun…riding on a wave of Heartless like they were some kind of board, making his way up to her. Once the wave was close, he jumped from the top of the wave and over the Storm Rider’s head. Drawing his gun, he suddenly shouted, "CATCH!!" as he fired what looked like a spear right towards her.

Sakido saw the spear coming, and despite the excruciating pain she was in, still managed to hear him and focus enough to manage to grab the spear. She didn’t need to strain to know why Shun had given her a weapon instead of shooting the Heartless, as there was only one thought on her mind. “Let! Me! GO!” she roared, before stabbing the Storm Rider in the eye!

The Storm Rider roared in pain, releasing its hostage, while at the same time, Maleficent grabed her left eye and cried out in agony, before feeling a sudden slash on her cheek, as Sakido pushed herself out of the Storm Rider’s mouth, scraping the blade against its skin and leaving a huge scar over it, and at the same time, over Maleficent’s left cheek.

Despite Sakido’s body screaming at her thanks to the bite marks that were now present on her back and navel area, she managed to push through it and quickly forced her wings to fly, preventing her from falling out of the sky, though she was a little shaky and she was still losing altitude.

Seeing the state she was in, Shun quickly moved a little forward in mid-air and quickly positioned himself near her and grabbed on to her. “Sakido! Are you alright?!” he asked her worriedly…only for her to give him a look that seemed like a cross between a dirty look and a look that seemed to say ‘Are you serious?’, as she was VERY sure she didn’t have to say it for him to figure it out. “Ah…right… Sorry, standard question,” he chuckled sheepishly, causing her to roll her eyes in annoyance at him, since considering she had just been gnawed by the Heartless, nearly bitten in half, and was losing quite a bit of blood by the moment...

"Of course she ISN’T alright! Any dummy could have seen that!!" He mentally berated himself. Getting over his embarrassment quickly, Shun glared at the Heartless. He had to end this soon. The longer they took, the more people would die from the miasma. “Alright, no more games! Bullet Creation…Commence!” he declared as they fell in mid air focused again.

Core element… selected

Bullet material… selected

Bullet type…selected

Once the process was done, a new bullet appeared, only this time, it glowed a neon white color as Shun loaded it into his Thompson Contender. “Make this count!" he said as he slung the gun around Sakido’s neck and at the heartless itself "Hyper…" the bullet charged "Burst!” he shouted as a sphere colored the same neon white color as the bullet charged out the front of the barrel of the Thompson, before an intense beam was fired.

Seeing the oncoming attack, the Storm Rider, in a surprising show of finesse, thanks in no small part to its master, evaded the attack, but it was not quite fast enough as the attack brushed against the upper right side of its head and an explosion happened where it was hit, shattering one of Maleficent’s horns. The Heartless roared in pain as the upper right of its head, including one of its horns, was completely destroyed, pushing it to the brink of defeat.

At this point, both Shun and Sakido couldn’t help but smile at each other with a certain sick satisfaction at the sight of the troublesome Heartless about to meet its end, thanks to all the grief ‘she’ had caused them. However, just as it was about to fall, a dark portal appeared and sucked the Heartless in as Maleficent sent them a death glare from where she was standing, and with a wave of her hand, dispelled any projections that were still in the area, and calling off any Heartless that were there as well.

“…she ran away…” Shun deadpanned in disbelief. "Tch. How typical of her." It was strange enough that a Heartless as unique as the Storm Rider had appeared, and not only was it stronger than the average Boss-Class Heartless, but to think someone, even Maleficent, had altered it to such a high degree and would even go through the trouble of preventing them from defeating it, was extremely strange. Granted, had they not known its ‘ties’ to Maleficent, it might have beaten them, but still…

“And after all that-urg!” Sakido was about to curse before she winced, as now that the adrenaline from the fight had started to wear off, she was starting to really feel the wounds she had gotten from the fight.

"Hey…" Shun said as he adjusted himself in mid-air into an upright position to catch himself on his Aero Slider. "You don't look so good."

"Thank you, captain obvious," she thought whilst rolling her eyes, before looking down and realizing how close to the ground they were. "Uh…Shun?"

"We need to get you patched up right away-” Shun started to talk, just as he followed her gaze to the ever approaching ground. "AW CRAP!!"

*THUD!!*

Dust shot up as the two of them hit the ground. "Ooooooooww, damn it!" he said breathlessly as he realized the mistake he made. He had used the Heartless to get into the sky and it was SAKIDO who had the wings, and he didn’t exactly have a parachute on him either.

“Heh...hehehe…hahahahahahaha!!!" he laughed as he fell back on the ground.

“What’s so funny?” Sakido asked, reeling from the impact of hitting the ground from that height.

"Picture this. We survived the poisonous miasma, the crazy witch, and the murderous Heartless, only to die from falling into the dirt. Hahaha! If that’s not ironic, I don’t know that is!” he explained as he continued to laugh.

Sakido just glared at him. “There is NOTHING funny about dying, dammit!” she mentally shouted. They just barely survived that and he was laughing like it was no big deal. “Is he really that brave, or is he just so stupid that he can treat death like a game?!” she thought, before sighing in annoyance and grabbing him by his cloak, bringing him to his feet and saying, “March!” whilst pointing towards the hangar.

Shun, in turn, was taken aback by her attitude. “Er…Okay,” he blinked, before walking in the correct direction. “Sheesh! What’s HER problem? I’m just trying to lighten the mood a little,” he thought as he started walking, until…

*crack* "Oof!!" he groaned, falling forward as his injuries finally caught up to him. “Geez. Murphy’s law strikes again,” he muttered as the pain he had been ignoring up till now flared up. Looking towards Sakido, he saw her kneeling as well with her hand over the wound on her stomach and sides. Thank goodness for the fact that they were both Rebirths, otherwise that fall, along this next track to their hangar might have been impossible to make. Turning towards her, he smiled slightly and said, “Here,” as he offered his shoulder to her. She stared at him for a moment in confusion, until she realized what he was doing, before using the shoulder as a temporary crutch. With that, the two of them walked towards the hangar, wanting nothing more than to get to Shun’s ship.

-Break-

Maleficent was angry. No, angry was an understatement. She was infuriated, not just at the fact that she was defeated by a couple of Rebirths, but also because those two women had upped and disappeared. She had some questions she needed answered and she wanted them answered NOW!! Another thing was that they clearly knew something she didn't. After all, why else smile at her pain? Why else laugh at her threats? They knew something was wrong from the beginning and she'd spill their guts just to hear it. Literally.

“[So Maleficent, I see you’ve had your fun]” came an ethereal voice that she didn’t hear through her ears, but rather through her very soul. The voice came from behind Maleficent, scaring her and causing her to attack the cloaked man out of reflex.

"You!!" she spat at her benefactor. "Where are they? What have you done to MY assistants?" Maleficent demanded.

“[Nothing at all, but they did say you were mistreating them. That’s why I felt it necessary to stitch up their wounds and let them heal]” he said with a smarmy air of confidence that Maleficent hated about him. “[After all, ‘we’ are not a dime a dozen. We are unique. We gave you this power, and we can just as easily take it away. I recommend you remember that]” he said arms crossed.

"And I think, you should learn your place!" Maleficent countered, lashing out with her staff, only to find that her magic wasn’t working. “What!?”

"[That’s not how this works, Maleficent]" he said waving his hand, having disabled her magic with a mere gesture. "[You’ve already learned so much in the short time since you gained access to this world’s Hollow Drive]" he lowered his finger as her staff regained its glow. “[So I am certain you know what the Hollow Drives are capable of]”

Maleficent look at him unamused. "Hmph! If you're so capable of using them…" she started, looking to how his action felt the same as the Hollow Drive’s reality altering powers, "Then why demand my services?"

The figure just smiled beneath his hood. "[...tell me Maleficent… Have you ever heard the phrase ‘to kill a god’?]" At this, she looked at him curiously. Surely he couldn’t be serious. She knew there wasn't away to kill a God, at least not one possible by mortal means. Even she could not accomplish that, but here he was promising just that. “[It’s not as impossible as one might think]”

Maleficent’s eyes widened in surprise when she heard that as she silently stood there, watching as the man proceeded to the Hollow Drive and placed his hand over it.

“[You see, in reality there are no true Gods, only false idols we all protect through worship]” he said as the Drive’s cube core spun rapidly. “[People believe these kings of men to be invulnerable, but in reality they're just as vulnerable as we are. I want to prove that to somebody and I want to show him that he is not above a God, just as much as I am not below a human]”

"And you need me somewhere in this crazy plan? For what?!" she demanded as he turned and smiled under his hood (not that she saw it).

“[To wipe him away from existence]” was his answer. “[And the Hollow Drives are the key to achieving this goal. The key to the entire multi-verse even]”

Maleficent was left speechless for the first time in a long time. Quickly regaining her composure, she asked, “And why should I help you? What’s in it for me?”

"[The glory of killing a God]"

Maleficent was not amused by that answer. “You jest. No one is capable of killing a God, not even I," she spat, turning away. Even if there was a way to kill a God, she wouldn't be crazy enough to risk her life for it, knowing they could easily erase her.

"[What if I told you that the God I intend to kill is the very source of all Rebirths, the God known as the Master?]" This made her stop short, as it caught her interest, as the hooded man continued. “[What if I told you that this GOD was only capable of acting through them and that the only way it can attack is to have them fight back for it? What if i told you it was the Hollow Drives that were tied to it? Would you trust me now?]" he smirked, knowing he had her in his hooks.

“Damn him,” she thought, before turning back to the man. "And what would I have to do to get rid of this… God?"

“[All you need to do, is gather a set of Hollow Drives. That is all]” he chided.

“How many?" she demanded, only for him to raise his hand, showing the number she needed. 5 Hollow Drives. At this, she went wide eyed at the number. “What do I need to do?"

"[Create a distraction. Quit meddling with the Hollow Drive as you have and complete the Unwritten. That is all you need to do for now]” he stated. “[Then, once we’ve properly extracted the Hollow Drive of this world, we can move on to discovering the location of the other Hollow Drives]” he said as he proceeded to walk away to a dark corner of the room.

"And if i do this…" he stopped as Maleficent started talking. "This will kill the Rebirths?" he turned to look at her for a moment and simply nodded his head, before walking into the wall and fading from reality. "Hmph, fool!" she spat, turning to the Hollow Drive. "I'll complete your Unwritten, but it will be I who has control over them, not you!" she said, before mentally adding, “And as for this so called Master, it only proved one thing…” she thought as she summoned a crystal orb and waved her hand. The crystal rippled, before showing the scene of the Gummi Hangar where her projection had been destroyed. What this proved to her was that Shun wasn't as perceptive as she once thought. In fact, none of them were, and that they were all nothing more than a bunch of meat puppet for this "Master" her benefactor spoke of, and if she could kill it then she could kill all of them. Now all she needed was a way to do it and she quickly got to work on conjuring up her projection’s remains, binding them to all shadows on Radiant Garden. That way she'd know exactly where they were heading.

"Besides…" she thought with a smile. "I’m going to make that demon wench pay for what she did to me!" she said gritting her teeth as she gripped her face where the scar and her blind eye lay…
(Scene freezes as the chapter ends)

(Ending theme 1, "Itsumo" OST Transformers Galaxy Force)