Amidst the battle between Beiu, Chachamaru and Atashi looked up and saw a jagged line in the sky appearing to be some sort of crack that had formed up there.
"Is that a crack in the sky?" Chachamaru rasped, he gazed at the crooked line emitting a purple glow in between its crevice.
"It looks like a portal to another-" Atashi was cut off by the sound of a loud engine behind both he and Chachamaru. Their attention diverting back to their comrade's possessed mech that was about to lunge at them anytime now.
Badger-530 shook its body vigorously and stomped towards them like a lion chasing its prey. The once green eyes now a glowing purple identical to Beiu's color. The purple blob had taken control of the mech which sent the entirety of Atlas in alarm when they received the news through the monitors.
"Granite Crusher!" Chachamaru summoned mounts of soil with his foot, splitting the ground into two which caused the badger mech to slip and slide across the field.
The mech got up again and brushed it off. It looked at the feline and Atashi with an unforgiving gaze.
When Chachamaru decided it was time to dislocate one of the mech's limbs so as to prevent him from moving around like a rabid animal, two lasers appeared from its shoulder blades and struck the ground moving towards them at high speed.
Atashi leaped up and struck the mech's side with his fiery spear. Badger-530 let out a mechanical roar of anger and swat the teen away with his claw that had a running chainsaw within its wrist now.
A sense of urgency caught to him as Atashi backed away from the mech the moment it slammed its claw onto the spot where he landed.
"Things are getting crazier. First we encounter some sadistic purple blob and now there's a crack in the sky." Chachamaru glanced up again to see the crack forming into a circle in the center, waiting to break and give the world a surprise.
"Well that's what happens when you accept missions from Atlas." Atashi responded, throwing three flames at Badger-530 with his spear. It seems none of his attacks did anything to stun the mech, they just made him furious every time he got hit by a fireball or spark.
The feline huffed, stretching his arms while Badger-530 readjusted its position on the ground. Standing upright, giving off a high-pitched sound that served as an indication that another deadly attack was on its way.
"Helix Cannon!"
A large green blasted bolted towards Chachamaru and Atashi's direction. They threw themselves towards the shrub on their left, hearing the explosion that went off right after the beam passed them.
"Did he just fire that thing at us?! I swore I heard it disintegrating whatever it struck!" Chachamaru panicked.
Atashi wiped the dirt off his face and charged at the mech. "Blazing Wheel of Morality!"
The feline watched the teen's flame wheel barely land a hit on the mech that noticed him closing in a few times and fired several missiles that pushed Atashi away to the tree line.
Without a second thought, Chachamaru sprang up and raised his fist. He couldn't bear to accept defeat from an insane robot. He had the strategies so he should use it to the fullest.
"Knuckle-bashing Fist!"
Badger-530 swiftly trotted to the side and swiped his large mechanical paw directly at Chachamaru, flinging him to the ground where he started feeling sore from the impact.
"What the..." Chachamaru stared at the approaching mech, puzzled by what just happened. He didn't even get to hit the mech, it just darted away like a wasp.
Kurai who was still stuck in the trap hanging from a tree swayed back and forth restlessly. The man yelled at Chachamaru and Atashi, warning them not to go near to the mech but they didn't hear him. He watched helplessly as his two teammates continued throwing fists and fire at the large mech.
"S-stop! It's too d-dangerous!" He croaked.
A green forcefield surrounded Badger-530, shielding the mech from any attacks they threw at it.
Chachamaru and Atashi watched as Badger-530 leaped into the air and opened its mouth, revealing its mechanical rows of sharp teeth waiting to chomp down on chunks of flesh in its peripheral vision. The mech's stance reminding them of a shark and the thought of its bite force triggering an adrenaline rush that instinctively told them to stay away from the center of the field.
"This can't be good." Both the feline and Atashi ran in their opposite directions when Badger-530 dove down and collided with the ground, shaking the earth to its core.
Chachamaru fell flat to the ground. He shook his head and looked up to see the large badger about to bite him.
At that instant, Chachamaru rolled away and stood up waiting for the mech to come closer and when it did, he punched it so hard in the face that it let out a mechanical cry and scurried away from him.
"That's more like it."
Atashi sprang up, pointing his spear at the mech. "Raging Firestorm!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, calling a rain of fireballs that descended on the clearing.
The mech scooted to every spot that wasn't struck by any fireball yet. One of them landed in between the mech's eyes, smoke rising from that area. Badger-530 covered his snout to hide the pain.
Atashi caught up with Chachamaru and crouched down beside the feline. "Do you know where a badger's weak point is?" The teen asked Chachamaru quietly.
"Let me guess... it's one of those spots that never crossed our minds at all." Chachamaru observed the Badger-530 standing within the falling fireballs that rained down on him.
"It's the neck." Atashi lowered his gaze at Badger-530's shoulder area, hoping to get a good look at the mech's neck to see if it's secured with any form of bulk or armor.
To his relief it wasn't. "I watched a documentary about honey badgers with my cousin Reiji some time ago. Their neck has the thinnest layer of fat compared to the rest of their body. Which makes it vulnerable to unsuspecting attacks."
"Oh that makes sense. I thought that was the case since the neck does appear to be lean compared to the shoulders and knees." Chachamaru hummed, keeping his voice low so the mech wouldn't hear them. "But isn't it a bad idea to nudge him there? Badgers get extremely aggressive when provoked. You're setting yourself up if you decide to do that."
Atashi rubbed his forehead, "I don't mean we sneak up on him that's obviously gonna make things worse for us he'll go bonkers." The teen explained. "What I'm trying to say here is that one of us distracts him and the other goes for his neck."
"That sounds much better." Chachamaru responded slyly. "So how are we supposed to do that? I don't wanna get caught in between his jaws."
"You don't have to worry about that I got you covered." Spinning his spear, Atashi stood up and waited for the mech to unknowingly give an indication that it was going to stay in that spot for the time being. The rain of fireballs about to come to an end, which meant they had to hurry.
Chachamaru looked up at Atashi with a look of uncertainty regarding their plan, "I don't mean to sound like a party pooper or anything but how do we know if the plan is going to work? He's a robot badger not an actual one."
"Since that purple clown is controlling him now, he would've adopted the instincts of the actual animal. Which makes him no different from your typical badger, just look at the way he pounces on us whenever he gets the chance, his movements are a mix of strategy and animalistic tendencies." Atashi continued, holding his spear firmly when the last few fireballs landed in the clearing.
"Yeah you're right." Chachamaru responded, getting ready to leave this hiding spot of theirs.
"Don't be surprised if he knows our scent. Our dear friend isn't just standing there, he's waiting for us to come out."
"I'm not surprised by anything at this point."
"Good because you'll have to be on high alert. Make sure he doesn't see you." With one last glance, Atashi sprinted towards the mech his spear lighting up in flames.
The feline followed after him, taking note of everything he said so Chachamaru decided to be steady and crept beneath the patch of tall grass in the clearing. Inching towards Badger-530 who spotted Atashi charging at him.
"Jack O Lantern Formation." Atashi dodged one of Badger-530's and leaped into the air. The flames surrounding him as he went.
Versatile and agile, Atashi landed on the mech's neck, waiting for its structure to stop rattling about on his feet.
"Hold on, I thought I was supposed to-" Chachamaru's eyes widened when he saw Atashi running up the mech's neck and jumping off his muzzle, shoving his spear in between the sharp teeth that instantly clamped down on it.
Atashi held onto his weapon, dangling from Badger-530's jaws while also trying to get the mech to stop moving from side-to-side by leaning towards one end to another.
Chachamaru quickly ran towards the mech once he got closer to the less dense part of the clearing. The feline sprang up when the mech's near appeared to be closer to where he was, preparing to land a direct punch.
"Take this!" Chachamaru punched the mech's neck, sending it into a frenzy.
Both the feline and Atashi landed on the ground and watched as Badger-530 started moving around in circles like a malfunctioning machine. Beiu was desperate to leave the mech now.
Kenju woke up from the sudden shock he felt in the control room and rushed to the control panels and buttons.
The mech swung its head back and forth until Beiu flew out.
"Woahhhhhh!" The purple blob crashed into the ground with a loud thud.
Pushing the button that displayed upmost importance within the controls of the mech, Kenju sat upright and waited for his screen to return to its clear and organized state. The voices of the personnel from Atlas sounded on the speakers, asking if he was alright and required assistance.
"I'm fine just took a little- nap I guess." Kenju scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Badger-530 shook his head and stared at Chachamaru and Atashi who were glad to see the mech back to being himself again. The mech gave a mechanical purr and looked up at the sky when it noticed something off about the atmosphere. Kenju was taken aback by the presence of the crack up there.
"What's going on up there?"
"No idea it better not be what I think it is." Chachamaru responded.
"It better not be the summoning of the three gladiators. We don't need another apocalyptic scenario give the world a break."
The mech nodded at Chachamaru and Atashi, hoping that wasn't the case too. "Don't you think we should do something about it?"
Chachamaru gave a loud sigh. "I wish but how are we getting all the way up there?!"
While the three of them were dealing with Ryukushu's favorable henchman, Jeremiah who was planning on hunting down more of Ryukushu's minions if they were still around, stood in the wasteland that was once a vibrant part of the woods. Now a pungent and dull place from the aftermath of his battle with Kelpy. The monster who fled.
His heart skipped a beat when he heard a distant cry echoing in his head, followed by numerous others. "A universe has been destroyed." The large bird blinked a few times, making sure this wasn't some hidden enemy trying to lure him into a trap.
When he was certain that he was the only one who could hear it since nobody was reacting to it after what seemed like minutes, Jeremiah concluded that these cries were from a completely different location. One further away, the pleads too much of a whisper for anybody to hear. "Not just one but two. I couldn't save them."
Though these people might not have known him, or perhaps they did given that he travels across the continuum of space and time to save those in the worst possible destructions and scenarios, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt seething in his chest.
Then he started feeling something hearing his thoughts. Jeremiah looked up and saw a crack in the sky that had just formed a ring waiting to shatter and introduce a new dimensional interval waiting to bring about a new law and order that would submerge humanity in ruins.
"Ryukushu must've done this. That samurai and Douma must be having their battle right now. This distortion has to be sealed away!" Immediately, Jeremiah flew to the sky and closed in on the glowing crack in the center of the sky.
Growls and screeches sounded from the crevices in the crack. At least a dozen purple monstrous entities crawled through the narrow space, reaching out to touch the sky and continue their journey out of the ring.
The entities almost fell off the cliff, gathering their friends who desperately pushed through the crowd.
"Rejoice!"
Crowds of people gathered in the city watching the large majestic bird flying towards the strange ring in the sky. Their jaws dropped when they saw a swarm of nightmarish creatures popping their heads from the gap.
"What are those things?!"
"Monsters! We have to get out of here before they start coming down here!"
Jeremiah reached the crevice of the circular formation. He unleashed a bright light that shunned the entities away from the opening in the sky momentarily.
The crowd in the city screamed when the bright light in the sky flashed like a bolt of lightning. A few people fell to the ground unable to speak and define the strange occurrence.
"Are you alright? Calm down and take a deep breath-"
"Murph!"
The lady gasped when she saw her friend struggling to form coherent sentences. It must be from the shock but she was talking normally just a few seconds ago.
Taking a slight glance at the sky, those purple entities getting burnt to ashes by the bright light emitted by the large bird, the lady came to a horrifying conclusion that her friend might have been one of those people who were staring at the scene for too long. Or kept their eyes on it directly the moment the light appeared. She cried and consoled her friend, telling her not to strain her vocals so she could recover from the shock.
The rustling in the grass startled Chachamaru as he saw the purple blob getting up from the ground. Beiu smiled widely and threw an incredulous amount of gumdrops at the mech, feline, and Atashi who scrambled away from the incoming explosives heading their way.
"He's not tired is he?" Chachamaru stammered, he caught a glimpse of Beiu rubbing his hands together with a sinister look his eyes.
"Reeeeee!" Beiu ascended above the ground and dropped the remaining gumdrops. Imitating Atashi's rain of fireballs that trapped him in the center of the clearing a while back.
Gripping the gears firmly, Kenju steered the other way when the gumdrops were close to landing on the mech's body and pressed one of the buttons on the control panel.
A pair of wings slid out of the compartment on the mech's back drawing Chachamaru and Atashi's attention to its fascinating feature. Badger-530 soared to the sky like a rocket and fired several missiles at Beiu who expanded his body as they bounced off and crashed into the clearing.
Badger-530 brought its arms and legs together like a swimmer getting ready to dive into a pool.
"Dynamic Aviation!" The mech sped towards Beiu and knocked him down to the ground. It spun around in the air and made its way back to the ground.
"Hey do you guys see that giant bird up there?" Pointing at the sky, Chachamaru watched the angelic creature fight off the monsters that were about to crawl out of the ring.
Global organizations and space stations were talking about the bizarre phenomenon taking place.
"It's not just affecting Earth. The dimensions of this crack in the sky extend all the way to the depths of space. Meaning these creatures are traveling to our world over an infinite distance. If the situation gets out of control the world will be ran by these monstrous entities. We will then experience a massive shift in the law and order of our world." One of the scientists said during the live news broadcast on television.
"Hey do you guys see that giant bird up there?" Someone from the back repeated.
Chachamaru and Atashi turned around and saw Beiu holding a floating opaque prism against his chest.
Clenching his fists, Chachamaru was going to say something to put the purple blob in his place but the fidgety movements from Badger-530 halted his tongue from lashing out.
"Don't look at it!" Kenju yelled at them urgently.
But it was too late. Chachamaru and Atashi felt a wave of diaspora hit them when the prism lit up. Their gazes turned into a lifeless shade of their former color. Bodies limp but still standing on the ground, frozen like statues in a courtyard.
"I can't feel my muscles and limbs. What's happening?" Chachamaru's voice echoed in his head. He saw his own body standing over him.
He felt he was losing his mind and control over himself at that exact moment. "Why is my body standing above me?" When his voice started fading away that's when he noticed something surreal about his state of conscious.
Both he and Atashi had switched places with the ground. Their identities and self-recollection were about to vanish while the ground's non-existent sense of self was slowly taking over their bodies in the clearing.
They tried to shout but couldn't. They tried to move but they were locked in place. Badger-530 was the only one who could save them. Chachamaru couldn't bear to witness his body getting thrown around like a ragdoll by Beiu.
That purple blob who hovered towards their bodies had a glint of mischief in his eyes. Chachamaru and Atashi knew what he was going to do; Beiu was planning on getting rid of them by destroying their bodies.
Badger-530 swiped his claw at Beiu to get the chainsaw underneath his arm to land a direct hit. The purple entity squeaked and glided away.
Staring at the screen in the piloting room, Kenju slammed his fist on the desk in agitation. "Dammit! He's running away for the second time!" The man steered the mech closer to the purple blob and fired numerous missiles at him.
Beiu spawned out of the explosions and threw a larger gumdrop at the mech. The goo that ignited on Badger-530's legs kept him on the ground.
Kenju tried moving the gears back and forth, even going as far as to push some buttons in hopes the mech will break free from the sticky hold but nothing worked. He clenched his fingers, thinking of a solution to this mess.
Now that Badger-530 was out of the way, Beiu could proceed to the next stage of his plan. The purple blob scooted closer to the feline and teen's immobile bodies, his lips curving into a smile when he felt the tremors in the ground. Their thoughts echoing in his ears which made Beiu excited.
If he gets to them it's over! Oh I gotta think of something fast! Kenju fiddled with the buttons on the control panel hoping some kind of miracle will get to him.
The personnel at Atlas didn't hesitate to contact Kenju when they saw what was happening on the screens. They communicated with him and offered to provide him with some assistance. But Kenju knew that was going to be difficult because the rest of the troops were in other parts of the city evacuating civilians and handling other threats.
It'll take time for them to get here and by the time they do, Chachamaru and Atashi are finished.
Beiu inched closer to the two bodies standing in front of him. The inaudible voices getting louder but declining at the same time. The density of these yells fading away.
"Hahahaha!" The purple blob could only laugh at them. Despite being outnumbered and thrown across the clearing by all three of them numerous times, the battle seemed to lean in his favor. Beiu was proud of himself.
Just then he heard the sound of a metallic rattling sound from behind him. Beiu slowly turned around, a breath's width from Chachamaru and Atashi's bodies, when he saw what was standing behind him.
Badger-530 had gotten out of the sticky goo using his chainsaw underneath his arm. The mech roared at the purple entity and charged at him.
Beiu was displeased by this. He got ready to throw another set of explosive gumdrops at the mech when it threw him at the side with its paw.
"Gotcha!" With a smile, Kenju watched the purple blob struggle to regain his balance on the ground.
The floating prism appeared in front of Beiu for a while and then vanished again. Kenju took that as a cue for him to launch his next attack.
Shaking violently, the ground felt like it was at the verge of collapsing when Beiu looked up in confusion and saw a green blast heading his way.
The spot where Beiu was exploded, patches of burnt grass appearing all over the clearing.
Chachamaru and Atashi regained their consciousness, looking around frantically in case there were any traps set around where they stood.
"We're back!" The feline looked at his paws, glad to see he was still in one piece.
Kenju saw his friends back to their lively selves again and grinned. "I guess that blob was avoiding my close attacks because he didn't want his focus to slip." The man recalled the prism that appeared for a while in front of the purple entity. "Countering that reverse-amnesia of his did the trick."
"Screeeee!"
"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." Chachamaru saw Beiu staring at him and Atashi.
The purple blob stretched his arm at Chachamaru, knocking his feet off the ground.
"Hey stop that." He fell to the ground and furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.
Atashi was about to plunge his fiery spear into the purple blob when Beiu decided to take matters into his own hands.
The purple blob's arm diverted to Atashi's direction. The upper part of the jelly-like arm morphed into a person.
The teen stopped, disgusted and perplexed by this strange decision of Beiu's. Two more human morphs appeared. All of them stood in front of Atashi, staring at him.
"Are you trying to hurt more people Atashi?" The one closest to him questioned.
"That's what happens when your anger gets out of control." Another responded.
"I wouldn't wanna be in your shoes. Not even for a day." The third added.
Even though these weren't real people their comments were getting to him. Atashi's mind entered a spiral of guilt. He couldn't bring himself to ignore them because everything they said to him was so relatable. Moreover there was no way he'd ever lay a finger on another human-being even if any nasty remarks came out of their mouth. He told himself that he would never cost another person's life ever again.
Not that he meant to do it at that time, in fact he never went out to kill someone at all. But his actions had put many lives at risk during those events. Why did these morphs have to look human? The purple blob was really testing his patience.
"Just ignore them Atashi they're not real." Chachamaru called out to him.
Atashi's fingers curled into fists. The teen narrowed his eyes at the three human morphs and burned them with his flames.
Beiu screeched and hovered around in circles.
The large feline hurried over to Atashi and waited for him to calm down so he can finally speak and discuss their next plan.
"Alright we gotta think of something fast. This battle is past its conclusion we should've kicked his butt by now." From afar, Chachamaru could see Badger-530 observing the purple blob's movements. Maybe he too was thinking of a way to beat this annoying creature.
An idea sparked in the feline's head.
"Oh I know remember what happened earlier during the battle? When that blob summons a twinkle of light his thoughts can turn you into just about anything."
"Yeah that. We should avoid it at all costs."
"Why don't we try to get it to backfire on him instead?"
"You mean..."
Both Chachamaru and Atashi discussed among themselves quietly.
The purple entity turned around and scowled at them. It hovered towards them with an anger expression.
"Got it." Atashi jumped up and rushed towards Beiu in his flame wheel. Beiu moved away and stretched his arms at the approaching Chachamaru.
Staggering away from the long arm, Chachamaru ran towards a tree and circled it a few times until Beiu's hand was wrapped around it and he was facing his palm.
"Hey annoying blob! Ever thought what it's like to be a balloon?"
Beiu lifted a brow in conclusion. Chachamaru quickly moved lower, the shimmer of light flashing right in front of the purple blob, stunning him.
"Raaaaaaaah!" The purple blob winced and flickered his eyes at Atashi who walked over to him.
"Moeru Kūdō Style: Mezameta Honō!" Atashi leaped above Beiu and pointed his spear at the purple blob as he closed in on him.
Beiu screamed and started squirming restlessly, the fiery spear plunged through him burning his insides at the same time.
Both Chachamaru and Atashi watched as the purple blob exploded like a balloon that just popped. His remains getting burnt by the ashes engulfing him.
The purple blob was no more.
"Woohoo! We did it!" Chachamaru cheered, Atashi sharing the same wave of emotions. Badger-530 walked over to them letting out a victory roar.
Then their attention diverted to the situation in the sky when they heard the rumbles along with the static.
"Oh yeah we've got other things to deal with."
"Guys! Help me out here!"
That was Kurai. Chachamaru and the other two turned around to see their comrade still hanging from the tree.
"We're on our way!" Chachamaru yelled, the three of them running towards the tree in the distance.