[ENDGAME] Stage 4; Allegory
The clouds dissipate, and only then do the people below realize that they had never been clouds, by the ashen offal generated by so many bioelectrical creatures in the sky. The atmosphere is a seething, crackling mass of solid Entropi. They bump into one another, passing through and generating wide arcs of lightning, seeming like the whole racial
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"Keiji!" Gaz tried to scream. "Keiji! NO! Stay with me!"
But suddenly everything went black, and Gaz felt like she was being suspended in time, it was as if she were weightless now, floating along. She closed her eyes and wondered if this was the end. It was almost peaceful somehow, but Gaz's apprehension hadn't gone still. It was her usual state of being, in case something DID happen, which was more or less a valid concern in Econtra anyway.
She opened her eyes and saw that it was morning. There was no more Econtra compound, only a barren wasteland of a place. Gaz wasn't sure if she should move at first, the land looked so unstable: was she dead? What a weird afterlife, at any rate. She had no idea what to do next.
Luckily for her, that decision was already made.
Standing a few yards away was Yuuko, her mentor, teacher and friend. Gaz's heart skipped a beat, and she felt a wave of confusion go through her. It was replace, however, by a temporary elation: Sensei was here! She didn't quite know why she was, but that was irrelevant now. Now she could tell her about everything that happened to her while she was in Econtra.
It was, however, temporary. When Gaz looked into Yuuko's eyes, she couldn't see her kindly teacher there, the one whose eyes were both wise and sad, Now Yuuko looked determined, angry, and set in a secret mission. Only a fool wouldn't have known what was on her mind. The air was thick with magic, and Gaz didn't know why she was here to begin with. What she did know, however, was that her powers were back, and if she didn't want to get killed, she would have to defend herself.
She didn't understand why she was being attacked, but she wasn't about to lose like this. She ducked down, avoiding a blast, and threw up her shield. Yuuko looked almost amused, and the next words to come out of her mouth through Gaz completely out of her element.
"I wonder if you ever thought much about why you put up a shield so easily. Has it ever occurred to you that you're still trying to run away from how weak you are? Are you so afraid of standing on your own after all this time? Maybe these powers are wasted on you.
"Very well. I have a choice for you to make. I can end this: I'll take your powers, and make you forget any of this ever happened. You'll go back to where you were before you came to Econtra, and the unpleasant memories of your past will never have happened. If you intend to keep your powers, however, you'll have to fight for them, and I don't intend to let you have them easily."
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At least, that was what it seemed like now. Yuuko stared back at her, ready to render judgment, and she could forget everything, just go back to sticking to her game slave. All of that crap about Dark and everyone in Econtra would be over. She wouldn't need to be plagued by the pain of feeling like she shouldn't be content. She could just be.
Pfft. Fuck that.
"What kind of choice is that?" Gaz asked. "Choose between the people I've met and cared about here in favor of comfort? Come on. You think you could make a better Yuuko than that. But I know the deal. The whole showdown and all of that. All the better anyway. It would suck if I wasn't in a fight."
Gaz smiled, and the fake Yuuko returned the smile. "You're so troublesome," she said. "The real one of me must be the reason for that. Of course you also didn't have that boy to think about either. He may have been a factor too."
Gaz smiled. "Yeah. Love's a bitch."
After several hours, Gaz was bleeding and smiling. She was spent, and she was certainly trying to catch her breath. The fight had been arduous, and she hadn't had a fight like that in Econtra before. She looked at her fake mentor. "Well, you're as good as I imagined Yuuko was. It's pretty impossible to win."
Yuuko smiled. "Then you should give up. What if you're beloved finds you dying of an aneurysm, eyes wide and staring, head rocking back and forth. Is that going to be his last image of you? Go peacefully, and that will be it. I promise that you..."
Gaz hadn't let her finish. She shot a purple beam, as lethal as Gaz could make it, straight through her chest. The usual bemused look on Gaz's face was replaced by a look of seriousness and purpose. The air crackled with Gaz's energy, and she was definitely bleeding more now, but none of that really mattered.
"'Mistress' accepts her death however it happens. That is the only thing he'd think. Trying to use my boyfriend as a pity chip with my mentors face is unforgivable. I don't quail to crap like this. I'm stronger than that. Yuuko would have known."
Gaz didn't bother contemplating the strained expression on this face Yuuko. She was fake. It made no difference.
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