Once Axl was as refreshed as he could get without withdrawing, he got back to his feet. "Thanks everyone," he offered warmly. "I've got this." Seeing only nods all around, he turned and marched further down the spiral stairwell.
It wasn't long before he caught up to the Threetails that had withdrawn. "Release control logic restriction system to level five." Another flare of light, and another glowing tail extended from the figure's body, the four tails now floating around behind him at the four corners. "I am Fourtails, and I challenge you to a fight." With no further warning than that, he charged towards Axl.
Axl spun his scythe to deflect the blows, but several went right through the holes in his guard to strike at his chest. Flinching back, he moved for a scythe combo, but while the first blow hit dead on the second was caught expertly, leading to a penetrating counter blow that sapped his energy as it knocked him back. Shaking himself off, Axl leapt to his feet before countering with the first gun that leapt to hand. The first volley hit doing heavy damage, but the second was flicked out of the air by Fourtails bare hands, leading to another counter hit that sapped his energy.
As Fourtails charged in again, Axl spun the scythe to slash him across the chest. Seeing that knock Fourtails back, he started to go for a second blow but paused. Spinning, he fired a volley straight into the gash he'd left with his scythe, causing Fourtails to fall even further back. Axl grinned widely as he leapt into the air. "I've got your number now!" he called out as he spun his scythe.
"That's what you think!" Fourtails proclaimed as he unleashed a massive discharge of electrical energy that filled the entire room.
The others flinched back from the discharge...only to stare in awe as it was all sucked into a central point where Axl - mimicking Wild Jango - drew it all into his body as he spun before diving to slam physically into Fourtails chest, sending him flying straight down the stairs. Axl reverted as he landed, taking several deep breaths. "...heal please..." he murmured, leaning on his scythe.
Cinnamon immediately rushed forward, using her FMG to repair the structural damage while Marino dosed Axl with some Sub Tank energy to refill his reserves. X and Zero stepped up to Axl's sides. "You sure you want to keep doing this on your own?" X asked worriedly.
"I...I have to," Axl managed to gasp out as he stabilized. "I don't know why...but I have to."
Zero nodded understandingly. "Then go show that fox what you're made of!" he encouraged, giving Axl a friendly smack on his back.
Nodding, Axl made his way down the stairs until he caught up to Fourtails. "Release control logic restriction system to level 4!" he proclaimed.
After the blaze of light, there were three figures, each with five tails. "We are Fivetails," they proclaimed together, "and we challenge you to a fight!"
One of the Fivetails lunged in, attempting to strike Axl with his tails. Axl countered by slashing with his scythe, knocking the tails away and sending the Fivetails bouncing back towards one of the others. His eyes widened as he saw that other catch his compatriot, spin him around, and hurl him straight back glowing. On instinct, Axl phased out into Stealth Mode just before the damaged Fivetails exploded. Seeing the damage to the room around him, he knew he wouldn't survive taking that explosion unprotected. Still, there were only two left-
His thoughts went darker as the third Fivetails raised its arms, and a fourth appeared out of pure light.
"Damn!" Axl growled as he began to dance around attacks evasively, trying to figure out how he was going to deal with this. Eventually, an idea struck him, but he could tell it was crazy. "Well...this sure seems to be pushing my limits!" Hoping his gamble would actually work, he activated his A-Trans.
As the Fivetails watched, Axl seemed to vanish in a blur. Before they could react, something seemed to appear in flashes all around them, delivering heavy blows that sent them bouncing around the room before sending two of them into the third, causing the two to explode and blasting the third to the stairs. The third Fivetails looked around worriedly for a time, then retreated down the stairs.
The blur finally stopped moving...revealing Marino in Quicksilver? Marino blinked at herself. "Wait, what-"
The A-Trans gave out, and Axl reverted to his normal form...only to fall to his knees and start coughing up blood. "Okay...A-Fusion not a good idea..."
"What did you do?" Octavia demanded in a barely restrained wrathful voice as Cinnamon once again began trying to piece Axl back together.
"I..." Axl coughed a few times before getting control of his voice again. "I tried to apply Massimo's power to Marino's speed in Quicksilver by combining their RDNA profiles with my A-Trans. It...it didn't quite work out..."
"Then don't do that!" X snapped worriedly, whopping Axl upside the head. "It's one thing to push your limits, quite another to try and make your systems do things they're plainly not supposed to do!"
Axl nodded as he managed to get to his feet. "It's...it's alright," he managed to say. "Definitely not going to try that again anytime soon...still, I think I can take one more of these guys before I need another extended break." Taking a few deep breaths, he made his way down the stairs.
As he approached, he heard the voice of Fivetails. "Release Control Logic Restriction System Level 3." The blaze of light heralded yet another form, this time a single warrior with six tails. "I am Sixtails," it greeted calmly. "I challenge you to a fight. We will trade ten blows, at which point I will restore myself fully and improve myself. After another trade of ten blows, I will crush your skull. To proceed, you must inflict enough damage to me to force me to withdraw before your twentieth blow. Since you fight alone, you may have the first move."
Axl nodded, bracing his hands on his knees as he took a few breaths. "Gimme a bit to get ready?" he asked hopefully.
Sixtails nodded. "You may."
Axl closed his eyes as he mentally went over his specs. "...alright, I can do this," he murmured softly. "But I'll need to go all out..." His body glowed as his armor changed from black to white(1), utilizing the armor mode Maka had designed for him that unlocked the full specs of his A-Trans. He didn't like using it because it put a strain on his other systems...but with a time limit, he needed to hit fast and hard...and he knew just how to do it. "Bet he didn't know I got this..." he murmured as he triggered his A-Trans.
To the shock of everyone watching, Axl transformed into Epsilon. "One...Metacrush(2)!" he roared out, lunging forward and smashing both fist into Sixtails' chest and discharging a massive surge of energy that sent Sixtails flying back into the opposite wall with a huge dent at the point of impact. As Sixtails started to move, Axl continued. "Two...Nova Impact!" Spreading his arms wide, he unleashed a barrage of energy blasts that tore the room apart...and would have destroyed Sixtails had he not fled down the stairs. At that point, the A-Trans gave out and Axl collapsed back onto his rear, reverting back to his normal black armor.
"Three, faint," Spider joked teasingly as the group gathered to fix Axl up for the next set of battles.
(1) His 'Ultimate Armor' from X8.
(2) One of Epsilon's attacks which reduces the target's LE to 1 if it hits.