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[center]Chapter 10: Blaze of Glory[/center][/b]

[i]Flood-Produced Trench[/i]

The trip along the Flood "rope" was disgusting. No way that the rotted flesh would have any other reaction that revulsion, but what could you do?

Pyro, at the front, saw fifteen mushroom-like beings coming close. He let go of his grip with his left hand, a stream of fire erupting from it. 

Behind him, Inferno did likewise, a Steaming stream hitting the incoming Infection Forms before they could make good on their name. 

One of Axel's chakrams was thrown, burning the last two Flood forms and forcing them off of the rope. 

Fortunately, only minimal damage had been done to said tether by the time the three reached the first ship. One by one, they jumped in, letting go of the mass of infection and rolling in.

All three looked down at the bottoms of their shoes, at the paste that stained them. "Ugh!" they reacted in unison from their disgust.

Pyro looked toward Axel. "Who in their right mind brings the Flood to the Kingdom Hearts universe?"

Axel gave him a blank look, as did Inferno.

"...Not what I meant. I wouldn't do this."

The future of the self-proclaimed somewhat insane pyromancer looked around tge infected ship. "Sorin, Telary, Rivers. Our villains weren't much better where I come from."

Axel snapped his fingers in front of each form of Mireu. "Hey, hey! Focus!" When each person nodded, they started down the ling corridor of the vessel, Flood screeches audible coming closer. Each Pyro drew his knives, Axel holding his chakhams loosely...and the Combat Forms came.

Combat Forms were the closest in appearance to their hosts. The human types had Flood feelers coming out of their fingertips on one hand, as well as having their heads resting constantly on one shoulder as they fired or swung the weapon the host died with using the other hand. Chimera had more or less the same general appearance in terms of infection. The Covenant Brutes...they were veritably [i]covered[/i] in the parasitic mass, though still capable of using a weapon.

Pyro and Inferno ducked under the spray of bullets that almost hit them, doing their best not to fall over. They then generated fireballs in their hands, firing volley after volley into the horde. 

Axel waved an arm, muttering under his breath. "NulB-" He stopped. They were immune to fire damage. Inferno's lack of caution with that fireball a second ago that torched a human form as well as the work on the rope implied as much. "...All right, then." The former Number VIII planted a hand on the ground (as reluctantly as he did), and shouted. 

"CINDERFLOW!" 

Instantly, a large portion of the hall's floor turned to red hot cinders, killing all of the remaining Combat Forms in sight. He then pointed toward a nearby door. Apparently the mass didn't have as much control of the entrances and exits as it could, as the infection had destroyed the door. A pillar of Covenant design, a plasma reactor, was inside. "Might be useful."

Before the Mireus could answer, a booming voice spoke. [b]"I am a timeless chorus. Join your voice with mine, and sing victory everlasting."[/b]

Axel looked to the others, gulping. That had to be huge. At the bottom of the pit. "Um....so that's--"

Inferno scowled. "The Gravemind. Must have been rebuilt. A Flood hive mind."    

[b]"Do not be afraid. I am peace. I am salvation."[/b]

"Peace and salvation sound a lot like space zombies trying to kill us from this angle," Axel retorted. "So that's peace? Who knew?"

The Gravemind continued regardless. [b]"We exist together now. Three corpses in one grave."[/b]

"Don't know about you two, but I don't plan on dying here," Axel said, looking toward the reactor. The Eternal Flames flared up. "You're all talk, anyway."

[b]"There [i]is[/i] much talk, and I have listened, through rock and metal and time. Now I shall talk and you shall listen."[/b]

"Listen, bud. Your place stinks, your hospitality [i]isn't[/i], and you're a bad guy. You think we'll listen to you? You don't have anything we'd want."

Pyro watched as Inferno whispered to Axel. "Dude, taunting the huge, thousands-of-years-old thing that you can't see is not a good idea."

Before Axel could respond, the entire ship started to shake, causing all to stumble back and forth. Again the mass roared, now in rage. [b]"Arrogant creature! Your death will be instantaneous, while we shall suffer the process of infinitude!"[/b]

The trio was propelled out of a weak side of the ship by a violent yank, flying through the air as ten bipedal, stumbling masses of Flood matter came into the hall, Infection-filled Carrier forms. They were flattented against a stronger wall, trapped inside.

The three heroes hit the side of the second, closer ship to the end. Each of them grabbed the side, one by one, and climbed up toward a broken side entrance.

Although the Mireus entered without much trouble, Axel wasn't quite as lucky. He saw three forms in the distance, attached to walls of the pit. [i]How'd they make this thing anyway, in just six weeks?[/i] The forms were what seemed to be spined, three foot tall towers sticking out of the walls, or attached to them. Yellow energy was fired at him from these Ranged Pure Forms, two shots hitting him in the right leg. The man grunted, but forced himself to climb up, the Pyros helping him in.

Axel was lain out on the ground, and a flame cane up on Inferno's index finger. "This is gonna sting." He put the finger on the wounds, hearing tge hiss as Axel tried to keep from crying out during the cauterization. He then gave the ex-Nobody a Potion. "Drink up."

After Axel did so, he stood along with the others. "Why not just a Hi-Potion?"

"Had to make sure we got the infection out, just in case it can transfer like that," F. Pyro informed him. "Can't tell from the game." 

The next enemies they saw were Tank Pure Forms. These beasts were bipedal, with enormous muscles, but lacked eyes, and had Flood tentacles out of their mouths. A few spit out Infection Forms from those mouths. Still, though the fight was difficult, they made their way deeper, toward a greater stench.

In the darkness, three enormous, concentric mouths were visible. The middle was a human one, one further out one with four mandibles that seemed unfamiliar to Axel, and a Chimeran one at the outside ring. It spoke again, tentacles emerging and racing up toward the group. [b]"Now the way has been unlatched, headstones pushed aside. Corpses shift and offer room, a fate you must abide!"[/b]

Pyro tried to stop the tentacles briefly by speaking. "Why do you always talk like that? You're no Shakespeare."

A brief pause. [b]"Preference, Interference. Nothing more."[/b]

"Oh, all right, then."

Very briefly. Again the tentacles came, and the fight began.   

Inferno ducked, avoiding a smashing attack that shook the ship. "Did you think that would stop him?!"

Pyro jumped, but an attacking smaller arm swept his feet out from under him, flattening him to the ground with a sharp exhale. "For a second, yeah."

Both let loose short volleys of fireballs, forcing the tentacles back. They then stood as the ship shook, almost tossing them into the maw below.

Axel threw his chakrams at each of the two tentacles, the weapons not seeming to do as much. Frustrated, he set them aflame when they came back, throwing them for more impact.

The monster roared again, and spoke. [b]"Side by side we march as one. Omega and good will die. Worlds will fall if we strike together. So forth shall all life."[/b]

At that, the Ranged forms from earlier opened fire once more. Axel jumped back to avoid hits, and threw one weapon at one of the enemies, an explosion detaching it from the wall aflame and sending it below.

"Well, he's a third side again," Pyro muttered, a shot hitting him in the chest before he fired a short stream of flame at the Ranged form that hit him, then cauterizing his own wound without a sound.

Inferno growled as the shot hit his past, and pointed above the last Ranged form. A fireball hit, shaking it enough to knock it off.

The ship shook a third time as Pyro and Inferno spread their legs and bent their knees. They then each slammed their right fist on the ground. Both Jonathan Mireus became enveloped in flames, head to toe, their Zero Modes. The shaking continued, and they jumped as the ground below them was knocked out by a tearing tentacle, sending Axel tumbling down.

Both Pyros fell, their arms outstretched, as tentacles came toward them.  Inferno sliced into one with a knife in one hand, forcing it back before kicking off of another. Pyro planted his feet on one tentacle, sliding down it as if skating as he left a trail of flames behind. Unluckily, another attack slashed into the younger one's back, knocking him off. 

Axel, having righted himself in midair, looked toward the limb that came toward Pyro again, and spoke. "Firetooth." The next dual attack was similar to a repeated Strike Raid that the Original Interference or the late Keyblade Master would have performed. Both chakrams were thrown again and again, reappearing in Axel's hands after each hit. The targets? Two of the disgusting limbs of the Flood hive mind. He only stopped as another tentacle came toward him, grabbing it and swinging up toward another as Pyro and Inferno reoriented themselves. 

The fight went on like this for several minutes. Smaller Flood forms entered the fray every now and again, but the three heroes were mostly concentrated on the enormous Gravemind. Both sides got hits in, but the Gravemind did not seem to be taking any real damage.

All three pyromancers came close together at one point, coming to a silent conclusion of what to do. A Trinity Limit.

[b]"I have defeated fleets of [i]thousands![/i] Consumed a galaxy of flesh and mind and bone!"[/b]

With that, they began. First all three held out their hands, fireballs charging in them, and fired. The flames merged into a larger blast, and the Gravemind roared as its mouths were hit. The three Then gripped each others' hands in a triangle that self-immolated, slamming back the five tentacles that came at them. When they were closer, they let go, and each went in for the last strikes.

Axel's Eternal Flames flared up and began spinning around their user. "You asked for it!" They were launched, each hitting the Chimeran or unknown orifice and causing a fiery detonation on impact. As they returned, he shouted again, holding them together. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" The weapons were engulfed in a blaze, one that grew rapidly. When it mostly dispersed, the ex-Nobody held a single chakram many times the size of the two combined. He threw it at the central mouth, a much larger explosion occuring.

Both Zero Mode Jonathan Mireus fell through the inferno, their voices still audible to their higher companion as a large flame was formed on each of their right fists. They spoke in unison. 

"This hand of mine is surrounded by roaring flames. It's endless burning tells me to bring justice! Here I go!" The two held back the fists, and punched on the next call. "Erupting Burning Fist!" The two, along with Axel, were propelled out of the mouth by the resulting jet of flames, sent up into the air as areas around them were caught in the rising fireball.

Evidently, even that was not enough, as the Gravemind still spoke, albeit dazed. [b]"Resignation is my virtue; like water I ebb, and flow. Defeat is simply the addition of time to a sentence I never deserved... but you imposed."[/b]

The rising motion slowed, and they all stopped about level with the ships' generators. Axel again threw his bladed disks, each into a different ship. 

"You talk too much."

He had no idea if he could cause the ships to explode. That kind of shot was luck alone. But he needn't have worried. The Carrier forms in each ship were close to the cores, or close enough. On impact, one Carrier in each ship staggered forward into the reactor, and exploded to release its cargo of Infection forms. These triggered chain reactions of revolting explosions, causing the reactors to overload in seconds, blue infernos erupting outward down and up the pit, as damage and propulsion. 

The Fire Team was forced up again. The propulsion was upon a piece of metal from on of the ships, which again slowed to a stop, and they grabbed on to the rope of Flood mass near the top of the pit. As the flames died down, the rope of rotted flesh snapped, dropping them on the street, exhausted.

"This is usually....when to say a cool one-liner, isn't it?" Pyro asked, trying to catch his breath.

"Let's not," Inferno replied. "I'm too tired."

The three exhausted victors saw a streak of light in the distance. Its identity was uncertain, even as it slowed down, landing on a rooftop. A twinkling blue light was then visible above the white one, a shout over the radios from a familiar voice.

Kaith bellowed a battle cry. "[i]FORWARD![/i]"

And the ships came into view, entering the world. Many were of Covenant make, with green camouflage paint and....why that symbol? 

Geth came as well, the same marking on their hulls as they gave more air support. 

Yes, the entrance was impressive. But it didn't stop the Flurry of the Dancing Flames from being angry. 

"What the [i]hell[/i] took you so long?!"