FicWad

Ness sat at the bottom of the crater. He could climb out easily, but he couldn't be bothered.


Suddenly he heard a sound behind him. Wasn't even a sound, really-just the sense that something was there that hadn't been moments ago.


"Hello Mahna." He said, without turning around.


"You have performed admirably." Mahna said, approaching Ness. "In all the millennia of his existence, no one had yet defeated Decipio. A most impressive feat."


"Decipio? Was that what he as called? You and your pals have the strangest names."


"Where we are from, such names are common. They only seem strange to you."


"Whatever..." Ness muttered under his breath. "Knowing my luck, I suppose they're only going to get tougher from this point."


"Regrettably, you are correct. That was one of his most powerful servants, but the real confrontation will be much more difficult."


Ness stood up quickly. "And how the hell do you expect me to beat him, then? I barely took this guy down."


"That is why I have come to you. To arm you against your foes."


From the pockets of his coat, Mahna produced four spiraling wires. By the looks of them, they were solid gold. He handed them to Ness with care, and Ness examined them closely. The wires were about half an inch wide, and were covered in arcane symbols. He looked up. "What are they?"


"Their names are lost in the sands of time. What they do is more important. Place your forearms within them, and they will bond with you. That accomplished, you can use them to augment your natural psionic abilities."


Ness gingerly inserted his forearm into one of them. The spiraling wire subtly changed shape to match his arm and hand perfectly. Then they tightened suddenly, and were one with his hand.


It was bizarre. They were on his hand, but he didn't feel any weight, and they flowed with the movements of his wrist perfectly, as if it had been simply tattooed on. He hesitated for a moment before donning the other three, two per arm.


Mahna looked pleased. "Call upon them when you need their power. With them, you can defeat any foe." He looked around, almost anxiously. "I must go. He will be here soon. Remember-now is not the time. Now is not the place. But that place and time will come, and you must be ready." With that, he turned and was gone.


As if on cue, another figure appeared at the lip of the crater, looking down at him. Ness sighed.


"What do you want?" he asked in an irritated voice. "If you're looking for your buddy, Decepticon or whatever his name was, he's not here."


The figure chuckled. "I expected no less from one as powerful as you, Ness of Onett. You are a dangerous foe. I would have been surprised if he'd managed to destroy you. I suppose I should have sent others with him. Well," he said with a grin, "live and learn."


A variety of dark figures appeared around the edge of the crater. There was a huge, hulking creature, a pair of winged figures, an obviously feminine figure and a variety of smaller figures.


"I'm not making that mistake this time." The figure said quietly. "I would stay and watch, but I have some pressing matters to deal with. See you later. Or perhaps not." He laughed and vanished.


Ness stood still for a moment, appraising his situation.


"Well, shit." He muttered with a grin. Then he leapt into the air.


As one, the variety of dark silhouettes converged on him.


His leap took him through the center of the closing circle of enemies, and out of imminent danger. He braced himself for landing, but he needn't have bothered. He was intercepted in midair by one of the winged figures, and slammed into a skyscraper. The glass of the window-wall cracked under the pressure, and the creature screeched in his face. Its face was a horrific gargoyle-like image. It screeched again, a high-pitched shriek that made his eardrums ring.


He looked down and saw the gargoyle's twin flying up to meet him. Ness brought his fist back and landed a right hook that twisted his captor's head around. It roared in pain and released him. Ness fell.


He landed on the other creature's shoulders, straddling its head as he tried to keep his balance. It roared in anger and rolled in midair, dropping him off. He hit the ground running, making for the hulking creature.


His progressed was halted once more by the horde of small figures who interposed themselves between Ness and his target. They came out of nowhere, jumping on him and clinging to his skin. He shook them off, but found that he was standing in a huge patch of dark things. He lashed out with his fists, sending those closest flying, but they kept coming. In the end, he blasted off, jumping upwards and sending a continual burst of colorful psychic energy from each hand downwards. The small black critters squealed in pain as the psychic energy seared them while pushing Ness higher.


Once again, his flight was cut short by one of the flying gargoyles. Its claws gripped him by the shoulders, leaving him dangling beneath like a lump of cargo. Ness struggled against its grip, but it was stronger than iron.


Abruptly the grip was released. Ness looked forwards and realized that the gargoyle had used his momentum to send him flying towards a building. Ness impacted hard, shattering the safety glass and ripping through several cubicles before hitting the ground and skidding to a halt. He sat up and spit out the blood that was filling his mouth. It he hadn't raised a shield before impact, he would have come out filled with glass.


He stood up and moved to the hole in the glass his entrance had made. He looked down and backed off quickly. The massive hulking figure had dragged itself up the side of the building, and now jumped into the hole, intent on contnuing the fight. A huge fist whirled around, forcing Ness to duck or risk decapitation. He stepped forwards, grabbed the outstretched limb, and hit the creature in the chest with his free arm.


Nothing.


There was no give whatsoever. It was like hitting a wall made of metal. The creature failed to respond, unless you count grabbing Ness by the head and launching him further into the office building.


Ness landed, and judged his options, deciding that flight was the best of the rather limited list. He turned and ran along the cubicle corridor. The hulking beast roared and chased after him. Instead of following the corridors, though, it simply ripped through the cubicles and desks, sweeping them away with its fists as if they simply weren't there. Ness launched himself out of the window, heading for the rooftop opposite the building. The glass shattered as he threw himself through it shoulder-first. He flew through the air, keeping his target in view.


Abruptly he heard a shriek and a blur of movement to his left. One of the gargoyles was swooping towards him, moving at extreme speeds. This time, though, Ness was ready. One hand sent a flare of psychic power into the beast, picking it up and sending it spinning away. It shrieked as it fell, but Ness paid it no mind. He landed and rolled, turning himself around to face the way he'd come from. Predictably, the hulking creature launched itself out of the window to reach Ness.


Ness ran forwards and dug his heel into its gut as it flew through the air. The combination of the huge monster's forward momentum and the momentum of Ness' foot managed to do what his fist alone had been unable to. It let out a 'whuff' of surprise, but still landed on its feet. Ness leapt upwards, and caught the beast high in the chest with a tackle, knocking it to the ground. He landed atop it, straddling the beast's neck. Both hands came down, and surged power into the creature's face. It roared in pain, and then grabbed Ness with its huge arms. A mere gesture, and Ness was flying towards the opposite side of the rooftop. It leapt to its feet and dashed across the rooftop towards where Ness was impacting roughly.


Ness landed, and rolled away from the creature. He turned to see it roaring towards him. He waited until the last possible moment, and then leapt as high in the air as he could. The creature ran under him, its momentum carrying it over the edge of the rooftop. With a roar of anger, it fell.


Ness looked around. He had no doubts that the thing would be back, but he had something else to deal with in the meantime. He stood completely still, waiting for his enemy to come to him. He closed his eyes and concentrated.


His hand shot to the right, grabbing one of the Gargoyles' throat. He grinned.


"Gotcha."


He brought his other hand around and, ignoring the screeching and the clawing and the flailing, snapped its neck like a twig. It melted into nothing.


/Well, that's one down. /He thought in a satisfied tone before turning to greet the gargoyle's brother.


Enraged by its brethren's destruction, it shrieked and dove at Ness. Ness turned and, with his fist, ripped a hole in the creature. It fell to the ground, shrieking in pain and agony, and Ness finished it off with a flare of psychic light. It too melted away into nothing.


And that's two.


He was aware that the hulking beast was climbing the side of the building at a decent clip-and took advantage. He jumped over the side, landing feet-first on the creatures head. It roared as it was driven to the ground, its grip leaving trenches in the side of the building.


Ness sprung off of it's face. Before it could recover, he wrested a street-light from its base, and hurled it like a spear into the creature's face. It grunted and fell over, but was up again quickly. It roared and charged Ness again. Ness threw up a barrage of psychic bolts, but they didn't even slow the creature down. It slapped him backhanded, sending him flying into a building. Cement crumbled as Ness fell to the ground.


Ness leapt to his feet. He ran forward. He knew that this thing was probably his greatest threat. He threw his legs upwards, endeavoring to kick it, but it caught him in the air with a brushing motion of its arm. Ness was, again, rocketed into a building.


Ness charged again, and this time the beast changed strategies. Instead of slapping him aside, it instead embraced him in a bear hug. Ness felt strain around his chest and grunted in pain. He jammed his hands under his enemy's chin and fired blast after blast of colorful energy, but his assailant remained unfazed. The pressure increased, and Ness cried out in pain.


Abruptly, the blasts increased in power. The creature finally responded by roaring and tightening its grip. Ness looked at his arms, and saw that the wires Mahna had given him were glowing like the sun.


He released psychic energy again. The light generated was blinding, and the power that raced through the air was immeasurable. The creature roared in pain.


Ness fired, producing a steady stream of power. The beast roared again and again, but it showed no signs of letting go. Finally, out of desperation, Ness rammed his fist into its mouth. He fired again and again, and eventually the hulking mass released him as its internal organs melted. The rest of his body followed suit, in much the same manner as the Gargoyles. In moments nothing was there.


He staggered to his feet, and was immediately surrounded by scores of small, chittering forms. Ness cried out in frustration and tried to batter them away, but they came at him, so many and so fast, and he felt himself being dragged down by their collective weight. As they piled onto him, they obscured his vision, and he felt his skin being penetrated by dozens of rending claws.


He managed to focus, feeding power through his hands to bat to small gremlins away. Again Mahna's wires glowed brightly, responding to his need by increasing his power. Small bodies shrieked and disintegrated beneath his onslaught. The rest backed away, and then vanished into the shadows. They wanted no part of him.


Alone at last, Ness looked around anxiously. He needed to find his true enemy before it was too late.


Wait, wasn't there another demon?


"Ness?" The feminine voice called out from behind him. He whirled, and came face-to-face with the last person he would have ever expected to see.


It was Paula.