Eternal Symphony
Chapter 32: Eternal Symphony
It can be said there is a clarity that comes from a heated battle, where you can feel as if you are one with yourself. Time itself bends, making every second seem like an eternity in of itself. A real fight, is one of beauty and serenity, calm within its own storm.
"Shit shit SHIT!"
Some would argue that those who say that are complete idiots.
Catacomb had quickly picked Twilight up, his recent assault on his opponent proving to be nearly ineffective. Dante, not being the patient type, quickly pulled out his own gun. "Hold on, Twi!" Twilight wrapped her arms tightly around Catacomb, holding on like her life depended on it, though that was most likely the case. Jumping upwards, Catacomb pulled out his second gun and aimed it at his landing target, the counter. He shot, the blast sending a chill into the room and successfully freezing the surface. In fashionable timing, Catacomb landed on his side, sliding across the bar top. Dante quickly fired at Catacomb, but his erratic movements and his own slight disorientation from the previous impact sent his rounds astray, hitting the bar and liquor alike.
Taking care to shield Twilight's head, Catacomb took aim at the wall they were headed towards and pulled the trigger. With a bright flash and a loud bang, the structural integrity was easily compromised by an explosion, bright flames engulfing the room. They quickly swallowed Catacomb and Twilight as the duo was launched through the hole and into the streets. The impact of the ground broke their fall, though it wasn't the most pleasant. Catacomb continued to keep Twilight close, absorbing the brunt of the impact. He coughed heavily, the heat drying his throat, and landing knocking the wind out of him. Twilight, coughing herself, looked over Catacomb quickly before getting up, and dragging him away from the building. It only took a few more seconds, the contents finally catching and the bar going up in a scorching inferno. Catacomb, staring up into the sky, coughed a bit more before breaking into a laugh.
"Are you crazy?!" Twilight said, staring at the hysterical man. "How did you know that would work?!" Catacomb calmed himself, grinning slightly at his little victory.
"Third...time I did that..." Catacomb said, getting up slowly. He made it halfway before wincing in pain and falling to a knee. Her disbelief turned to worry, making an effort to keep Catacomb up. She looked down, his side still bleeding.
"Cata! You're still hurt!" Twilight started to panic slightly.
"Left...pocket...whitish blue shell." Catacomb gasped out. Twilight nodded, reaching into his pocket. She pulled out a handful, quickly sorting through them. She wasn't sure to be more worried about him or his inability to organize the cluttered mess of magic. "So...did we get em'?" Catacomb weakly asked, staring into the fire.
"I hope so..." Twilight responded, finally finding the one she was looking for. Handing it off, Catacomb loaded it into an empty slot and placed the barrel against the wound. Twilight winced as he pulled the trigger and cried out in pain.
"NoW... the...GreeNISh whitE oNE!" Catacomb's gargled words forced Twilight to work fast. Catacomb pulled the rune gun away, a chunk of bloody metal stuck to the barrel. She quickly handed him the one he asked for, watching him shove it right against the wound unloaded. A bright light flashed from the shells business end, the wound quickly closing, causing Catacombs pained gasps to dull into a quiet whimper.
"Are ...you okay?" Twilight asked. Catacomb remained silent, taking his time to respond. Eventually the words came out.
"Probably not... getting shot is never fun..." Catacomb said, his voice quiet.
"I thought you said you fixed yourself?!" Twilight said, forcibly helping Catacomb to his feet.
"Sorta...stopped the dying part...bout it though." Catacomb said, weakly pulling the bloody bullet off his gun and throwing it away. He looked over at Twilight, who was staring intently into the fire raging a good distance from them. "Don't worry...I am sure our collateral damage fund will fix that up nicely."
"Cata..." Twilight said, her eyes widening. "It's him..." Catacomb glanced where she was looking, his jaw dropping as a flaming body casually walked out of the bar. Dante, a large toothy grin on his face, along with his skin being covered in red scales. His clothes, surprisingly intact, must have been fireproof as well, along with him. His hands extended into sharp talon like claws.
"A fire drake?! Is my freaking luck that bad?" Catacomb groaned, trying again to get to his feet, ignoring his bodies desire to stop doing anything.
"We have to go!" Twilight said, trying to drag Catacomb off. She pulled, but he didn't budge.
"Get out of here, Twi..." Catacomb said, readying his rune gun. "Even if it costs me my life, I will..." He was stopped by a swift backhand from an angry Twilight.
"Your chivalry is nice and all, but I have a better idea that doesn't involve attending my boyfriend’s funeral!" Twilight said, dragging the stunned Catacomb along.
"That wasn't very nice, I'm injured..." Catacomb whimpered as he shuffle behind Twilight, still gripping her hand.
"Whine later!" Twilight said, pulling him along with her, Dante starting to pick up speed himself as he noticed their retreat.
"This had better be one hell of an idea!" Catacomb said, starting to pick up the pace as well, finally catching his stride. Twilight nodded, Catacomb giving her a supportive nod. "Where to?" Catacomb asked, quickly scooping Twilight up, overall not listening to what his body wants anymore. She was startled by the sudden action, but wasn't going to complain either.
"My place." Twilight responded. Catacomb looked at her like she was completely out of her mind.
"Never on the first date, Twi. You should know me...wait...your...place?! And you call me crazy!" Catacomb yelled out, looking back in time to dodge a jet of flames. "My point proven! Why are we bringing a fire breathing mob boss to a tree again?"
"You got a better idea?!" Twilight asked, not really in the mood for logic.
"Yeah. I kick his ass." Catacomb said, grinning. Twilight shook her head rubbing her forehead.
"...You're lucky you are funny." Twilight commented.
Dante, obviously annoyed that they barely considered him a threat, decided to give them something to worry about. He jumped into the air, sprouting a pair of crimson wings from his back and taking to the sky. Once airborne, his speed nearly doubled, quickly catching up to Catacomb and Twilight.
"And the bastard can fly, too." Catacomb said, gripping Twilight tightly. "You're going to have to hold on..." Catacomb looked at her, the glare in his eyes projecting how serious he was. Stopping for just a second, Twilight felt a falling sensation as her body started to quickly approach the ground. She assumed that it was all over, and Catacomb tripped, leaving them exposed. Just as she was about to hit the ground, it stopped. Everything around her, except for Catacomb, was a complete blur. She could see Dante quickly falling behind, becoming a red dot in the background. She looked back at Catacomb, mainly his stance. She understood the meaning behind his previous action, dropping this low before running to decrease wind resistance against the two of them, and his eyes never leaving the front to maintain the proper sense of balance for this speed. She briefly wondered if this was how Rainbow constantly viewed the world.
Catacomb skidded to a stop, panting heavily and clutching his side. He was thankful the patch job held up, but it was still just that, and he wasn't going to last long at this rate. He set Twilight down, having arrived at her house, and turned around, pulling out his guns and taking aim at the quickly approaching ball of red. "Hurry and do whatever it is you're planning. I'll hold this jackhole off."
"Cata, please be safe..." Twilight said, staring at him.
"Don't worry...I don't feel like dying today. I got better things to do anyways." Catacomb responded, taking the time to reload his guns. Twilight smiled at this odd, yet reassuring statement. "Quit being all cute and go do who knows what! I trust ya, so hurry back." Catacomb flicked his wrists, snapping the chambers into place. He stood up, taking aim as Twilight quickly made her way into her house. Catacomb stared into the sky, watching Dante's approach come to a stop. "Well, I guess everyone has to dance with the devil sooner or later, who would of guessed I'd still be alive when I did...for the second time.
"You..." Dante said in a dull roar, hovering overhead as he glared down at Catacomb. "I would just shoot you, but your idiotic bar stunt went and ruined all of my ammunition." Dante slowly landed, his image more dragon than human now. "Well, to be fair, I can't really bitch, because ripping you apart with my own two hands will make it worthwhile."
"Well, you're ugly." Catacomb said, nodding proudly at his statement. Dante stared blankly, trying to piece together his response.
"You know, for all the years I have been doing this, I have heard a lot of threats and defiant speeches. Cata, was it?" Catacomb nodded proudly. Dante started to clap. "That is the single most lazy half assed comment I have ever received."
"Thanks, I do aim to please." Catacomb said, chuckling.
"It is a shame that I will have to kill you, but I have to follow my heart. You'd make a great lackey." Dante said, starting his approach.
"Nah. Been there done that. Your pay rate sucked anyhow." Catacomb said, standing his ground as Dante approached.
"Honestly can't say I am surprised someone like you managed to weasel their way into my organization. You are a filthy little bug after all..." Dante started to laugh, but was silenced by Catacombs sudden attack, striking him dead in the face with his pistol. Dante was knocked over from the sheer force of the attack. He recovered, jumping to his feet quickly and glaring at Catacomb. His eyes, the clouded blue that represented the changelings, stared a hole straight into his skull.
"You HAD to go and PISS ME OFF!" Catacomb yelled, quickly approaching Dante. He swung the two rune guns, using them as short clubs for the moment. Dante blocked the attacks effortlessly, his harder scales able to absorb the hits easily. Dante came back with a slash from his claws, Catacomb quickly ducking below the attack. Using his leg strength, Catacomb launched himself forward, ramming the barrels of his guns into Dante's stomach. Having managed to successfully lift him of the ground, Catacomb pulled both triggers, firing the next shell in line. The attack connected, a high level kinetic blast shell, and fired both Dante and Catacomb into opposite directions. Magic effects may not work well, but Catacomb knew from prior experience that attacks that manipulated physics usually did the trick. Dante skid across the ground, smashing into a park bench. Catacomb, on the other hand, was cushioned by the tree he was guarding. Unfortunately trees were never that cushy, causing the wind to be knocked right out of him.
Dante pushed the rubble from the destroyed bench off of him. Not wasting any more time, he charged at the winded Catacomb, who weakly held up his weapons. Taking aim to the best of his ability, Catacomb fired a series of Kinetic Blasts. A few managed to slow him, but his charge wasn't going to be stopped that easily. Down to the last bullet, Catacomb took careful aim and prayed that the one who made it didn't royally screw up. "GO TO HELL!" Catacomb shouted before firing. The gun lit up, its magical contents bursting out in a dark purple glow, surrounding the area in front of him with the energy, just as Dante was running into it. "Gravity Crush!" Dante's assault was suddenly halted as he was painfully thrown into the ground. Catacomb wasn't going to sit there and wait, so he scrambled to his feet, taking advantage of the five second window to get the hell away from him. Reaching into his pocket, he groaned at its contents. "No more of any of those..."
The spell ended, Dante sore all over. He slowly rose from the small crater that had housed him a moment ago. "Well aren't you...a slippery little prick." Dante said, flames starting to leak from his mouth as he spoke. "You...I tried to be professional...I tried to be nice..."
"You shot me..." Catacomb said, glaring back at Dante, loading the remaining five ice shots into one of his pistols. "...so forgive me for saying screw you!"
"Like I said, I tried. You and that little bitch...you had to resist. You're only making it harder on the both of you." Dante growled out, temper flaring.
"I get that quite often." Catacomb said, loading the other side with his last healing shot. Everything else at this point would either be useless or far too destructive.
"I would bet. Is what I am doing so wrong, that you would feel it necessary to defy me like this? All I want is everything in the world." Dante said, glaring down Catacomb, a dark grin on his scaled face.
"Well yeah, kinda. I mean, I like those things as well, but I would honestly have no idea what to do if I actually did." Catacomb said, watching Dante for any erratic movements.
"I have money and I have power. When I succeeded in gaining both of those, all I could think about was more. More power. More money. It's why I can't stand people like you. You have an obvious appreciation for both, yet you ignore your own whims." Dante crossed his arms, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Working hard for those good for nothing sisters, it is going to get you killed."
"Probably, but definitely not by you." Catacomb chuckled, his own grin showing through."
"I would have to DISAGREE!" Opening his mouth again, Dante fired out a massive wave of flames. Eyes widening, Catacomb quickly jumped out of the way, barely dodging the massive attack. Unfortunately, the house in the distance behind him didn't fair to well, as it ignited almost instantly. Catacomb quickly took aim, firing at the house with an ice shell, the wave of cold quickly extinguishing the flames.
He was happy it worked, but with the opening his act caused, he suddenly found a hand within his lower stomach. The sudden pain felt unreal, everything flashing between white and black. Instinctively, Catacomb kicked Dante off, grabbing his stomach painfully. He quickly shot at himself with the last healing round, quickly fixing up the wound. Dante laughed manically, charging again at Catacomb, who still hadn't fully recovered from the pain, he proceeded to slash at him, Catacomb weakly holding up his guns to block the attack. He succeeded, but was still knocked down due to the force of the attack. "You're finished!" Dante yelled out, stamping on Catacomb's chest. Catacomb gasped as all the air violently left his lungs, leaving him gulping for any semblance of oxygen to refill them. Dante's heel provided no such relief, as he continued to press down on him. Catacomb reach upwards to aim his loaded gun at Dante. He simply laughed, and blasted the arm with another burst of flames. Catacomb wanted to scream out in pain, but the laughing Dante continued to press down on him. His skin, completely blacked and charred, the gun slightly melted and runes obviously wrecked. Catacomb stared up at Dante, slowly but surely losing consciousness. He knew he was dying and didn't want to, but he felt so powerless.
It started to go quiet. Catacomb could only hear Dante's faint laughing, subtle screaming and the sound of shattering glass. That was followed by a sudden release from his chest and a sudden influx of air. Catacomb gasped heavily, gulping in as much as possible. His vision suddenly came back into focus, and spotting a very pissed off Dante walking away from him.
"You bitch! What did you do?!" Dante said, clutching his face. Catacomb's eyes widened when he noticed Twilight backing away from his approach, obviously trying to hold back her fear.
"A ...special compound I created!" Twilight yelled loudly, obviously wanting Catacomb to hear. "It removes a dragon kin's resistance to magic!"
Catacomb wasn't normally the kind of person to take hints, but he wasn't stupid either. Quickly reaching into his jacket with his good hand. He pulled out the leather pouch and unzipped it with his teeth. He had to hurry, because Dante was getting too close to her for comfort. Pulling out a jet black shell, Catacomb deftly threw it up into the air, using the hang time to grab and open his operational rune gun, and let the shell fall into place. Snapping it closed, he took aim and fired.
Just as Dante was about to strike Twilight, he felt himself stuck, unable to move. He couldn't even open his mouth or move his tongue to yell out in confusion. Struggling to get up, Catacomb walked towards Dante, his arm slowly healing as the charred flesh fell and flaked off, leaving fresh flesh in its place.
"You..." Dante couldn't turn around, but he could tell from Catacomb's tone that he was far beyond pissed off now. "...invade the town, torment my friends, shoot, stab, barbeque me and ruin one of my babies..." Catacomb stood next to him, grabbing his outstretch wrist and dragging him away from a stunned Twilight. "I can let all of that go...but you go and try to hurt her..." Catacomb laid him on the ground, the spark in Dante's eyes showing fear for the first time in the fight. "You have probably reviewed my record repeatedly, if I am correct. I bet it told you I am a fast changeling who used rune pistols. You thought you were the perfect match for me, two magic users against a magically resistant asshole!" Catacomb took a shell out of his pocket, and loaded it into his gun. Dante kept trying to fight, but he didn't even know how. It was such a foreign feeling to him, being under a magical effect. He didn't even know where to start. Nothing was working. It was as if all of his nerves decided to shut down, with the exception of the ones keeping him alive. "Sucks, huh? That is Showstopper, a paralysis spell performed by Princess Luna herself. I highly doubt you're getting out of it any time soon. I would ask you if you had any last words, but I doubt you can actually speak." Catacomb placed the gun against his head, starting to squeeze the trigger.
"Catacomb, don't!" Twilight called out as he aimed directly at Dante's head. "He isn't worth it, so don't kill him." Catacomb stared down at Dante and grinned.
"Ya hear that? All that money and power, and in the end the only thing that is keeping you alive is someone who you hurt. Sad, isn't it. The great and might Dante, saved by one of the Elements of Harmony." Catacomb pulled the gun away from Dante's head, and grinned. Before Twilight could even react, Catacomb spun around and fired. Her eyes watched in fear as the spell went off, the crazy look in Catacombs eyes terrifying her. She watched as the dragon kin was...sealed into a tiny glass ball. "Twi...you should see your face...priceless." Catacomb said turning around and giving her a thumbs up.
"You're an...Cata?" Twilight watched Catacomb go from his standing position to the ground in a loud thud. "Cata?!" Twilight ran over to him, trying to shake him awake. She felt for his pulse, shaking with fear. She couldn't feel it. "CATA!!!" Twilight cried out, shaking him repeatedly, hoping that it could do something. He still wasn't moving tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't know what to do. "CATA, PLEASE!!!" Twilight cried out. Pounding on his chest. She stopped for a second, staring and started to rip off his shirt. Placing her hands on each side of where his heart would be, she stared to magically focus. "I refuse to let the last thing you say to me...be...a...joke..."
A small storm cloud started to form above the two, Twilight shaking nervously. He meant way too much to her for her to give up on him now. She couldn't let all the time they had been together, all of his effort for her and all of the honest words he had spoken go to waste. "Dark clouds send forth your emissary. Show judgment to those deemed unworthy..." She focused, putting all of her effort into making sure she didn't make a mistake.
"LIGHTNING!!!!"
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Insta-Defibrilator.
Nice touch.
3321858 Funny to think that all of those lightning strikes would lead up to it being used to try and save someone rather than punish them.
piclair.com/data/awzy9.jpg
But seriously.
Pwnt.
3322345 I have no idea that such a thing existed. Probably because there are morons like me in the world. Problem fixed, and thanks again for pointing that out. I have come to accept that I will never get that right, but that is what ctrl F is for
Anyways thank you for your continued help and support. I should seriously start listing you as my unofficial editor. You have been a big help, as well as an awesome fan.
On a side note for everyone, I am beginning the revisions for JW, so when I am finished there, feel free to check it out. Thanks again everyone and have a great day
3322373 No worries. The thing about 'you're' is that it's a contraction, a merger of the words 'you' and 'are', which is what it means. I've found the easiest way to teach people whether it's your or you're is simply to say it out robotically.
So if you wanted to say the sentence:
You're going to the library
what you mean is
You are going to the library.
Just ask yourself if the 'Your' is a 'you are'.
For instance:
Spread out, it's:
Does that make sense?
3322434 Makes total sense. But in practice, I kind of just type. I am stuck with a wide assortment of annoying distractions called brothers, cousins and random people that kind of walk in raid the fridge and leave. I kid you all not. It has grown so normal that I dare not question it anymore for fear of breaking the fabric of space and time and turning all cows into tofu, In order to do what I do, I generally have to stop doing that thinking thing and kind of just do. With a bit of practice and a smidge of focus, I know I can separate your and you're correctly that way. Until then, ctrl F is my friend and I got you for when I forget about ctrl F...eeyup...good plan to me.
Nice chapter :P Looking forwards to more.
Keep up the awesome work. Loving the story and all the work you've put into it so far.
3322891 Thank you very much. It kind of makes me sad that the series is almost two thirds of the way done.
3323415
Almost two thirds?
What character after this?
Regardless, its been a nice read.
3327039 Kind of ruins the fun if I tell people
But yes, the last story will be the end. Only so far I can go before I am sure it get's old, even for me included. Besides, leaving it like it is now, there would be too many unanswered questions, and that would be simply mean of me.
3327730
Yeah I definetly understand that dragging stories on too long is a bad thing.
Im hoping Ark, though would also be pleased with Reader.
Scratch that I'm happy with anything you write.
3330691
That, that right there...That hit me right in the feel spot. I appreciate that moment and will continue to try and not disappoint.
Considering those two to be the most likely choices, one would figure. If anything, I was planning on doing a few in-between mini stories. Let's face it, their vacations have been anything but relaxing so far
On an off note, though, revisions for JW is nearly halfway done. I corrected every single grammar mess up I noticed, which was quite a lot.
Also fixed up some awkward wording and added in a few extra bits as well. Hopefully that will be finished by the end of the week, but I will put up a blog post when it is all completed.
3331157
Hit you right in the feels? Good, that means you believe what I and many of your readers think.
When the revision is done and I have some spare time I'll have to re-read it