Fire tore into Belial as Nova's Corona Blaze Sword opened rents in his flesh. Grunts of effort tore from Nova's lips as she swung the blade of solar fire over and over, cutting into Belial's body with all her might.
Belial howled in pain, lashing out with a great fist that struck Nova, tossing her into the frozen ranks of Samhain's legions. She hissed in pain as she hit the ground hard, her great blade ripped from her grip mid-flight and stuck into the earth several metres away.
Tytania took up the fight, calling her Tifaret Jewels with a single command, sharpening her vines into rapiers and charging. The Tifarets burned into Belial's flesh, striking the wounds from Nova's blade and sending surges of pain through the Black Hand. Then the Rosemon struck, stabbing and slashing at Belial with her rapiers, sending rivulets of black blood running across the demons armour.
He hissed in pain, lashing out with an outstretched palm and knocking Tytania away before opening his cannons.
"Screaming Darkness!" he cried, unleashing blasts of energy that crushed Tytania into the ground, then exploded and seared into her. She screamed in agony and lay still, burns livid in the holes torn through her clothes.
Nova snarled and stood up, tearing the Corona Blaze Sword from the earth and raising it.
"You'll die this day, Belial," she hissed "all you Black Hands shall perish by our blades! Prepare to burn!" She took flight, charging, readying the Corona Blaze Sword to strike...
"Crimson Mist!" Belial roared, launching lethal clouds of red mist from his cannons, but Nova was ready as always.
"Torrid Weiss!" she called, unleashing torrents of white-hot flame from her wings that evaporated the mist and burned the poison to nothing.
Belial snarled in rage and glared at her, light flashing in his eyes.
"MENTAL ILLUSION!" he roared, light exploding in mid-air and blinding Nova for a second... then she fell to the ground, unaware of the battle, locked away by the attack...
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She groaned and opened her eyes to see a familiar gauntleted hand reaching out to her. She looked at the owner of the hand and gasped in shock, overjoyed. She took the hand and the one before her pulled her to her feet, hugging her in a tight embrace.
"Gatmuz..." she breathed, relaxing, safe in his arms.
"Nova..." he replied, kissing her brow as he held her tight.
They kissed, unaware of the world, barely noticing the other aspects of the illusion, barely noticing all their friends, living and dead, barely aware of the sun, the grass, the sand, the sea and the brilliant blue sky...
There was only the two of them and their love. Nothing else could intrude on their thoughts...
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Tytania groaned and stood up, vines limp and Tifarets dull around her.
With a harsh groan, she forced herself to look towards Belial. He towered over an unconcious Nova, fist raised to crush her and destroy her, to end her life...
But Tytania denied that chance.
"Jewel of Heart!" she cried, gesturing wildly. Her Tifarets ripped the air as they struck Belial, searing into him and making him howl in pain.
"Insolent pest!" he roared "so sleep, you black rose! Mental Illusion!" Light flashed and Tytania started to collapse... but then her Burst Aura burned brighter and she stood straight, resisting the power with ease.
"HOW?!" Belial roared.
"My only dream is to defeat Samhain," Tytania whispered "so your illusion has no power over me. I just want to keep fighting until you all lie dead at my feet. That is my dream." Her cold gaze met Belial's and she charged, readying her rapiers.
As she hacked at Belial, his roars of pain shattered another illusion...
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The world broke. Darkness tore across the sky, the sea, the grass and sand... Their friends were reduced to screaming wrecks that stood as the Black Hands. Siegfried, Belial, Lazarus, Azazel, Marduk, Nidhogg and Abaddon towered over Nova and Gatmuz and the two lovers could only try to fight.
Nidhogg blasted them with his Dorudiin. Lazarus cut them with his blades. Marduk struck with lightning, Azazel with the black stars, Belial with shadow and poison, Siegfried with black steel and darkness. And Abaddon stabbed at them and ripped them apart, his spears and Dot Matrix soon slaying Gatmuz once more.
Nova screamed and the world tore asunder...
She fell in darkness and death and despair...
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Eyes snapping open, she shakily stood. She beheld the battle of Tytania and Belial and her mind worked fast, understanding the truth.
She started to weep bitter tears at her loss, but flames burned in her eyes. Hate and rage burned as she roared her anger and loss and heartbreak to the black heavens, raising the Corona Blaze Sword.
"BELIAL!" she roared "I SHALL RIP YOU LIMB FROM HELLISH LIMB FOR THIS!"
She took flight and readied the blade in her grip to rip into Belial, to hack and slash and slay until nothing remained for her to strike and burn, until not one speck of darkness was left.
Her flames burned brighter, white-hot with rage as she chrged.
Finally, she swung her blade and tore into Belial's flesh.
He howled in agony as her flames tore through his body, setting him ablaze with the flames of Nova's hate and rage and pain. He screamed and turned, lashing out with colossal fists, hammering Nova into the ground before stepping onto her limp form, pressing her deeper into the earth.
She screamed as she was crushed underfoot, as agony tore through her. She wondered if this was the end, if soon she'd join her beloved Gatmuz in whatever lay beyond. She began to resign herself to that fate.
A spark of defiance blazed brightly in her soul and her fire blazed. Belial snarled and stepped back as they seared into his foot.
Nova stood weakly, her Burst Mode fading. Belial growled and turned away, towards Tytania.
"Screaming Darkness!" he roared, unleashing blasts of energy that crushed Tytania into the earth with incredible force. The Rosemon howled in pain and weakly stood. Her eyes met Nova's and she staggered towards her ally, holding a broken left arm.
"I can't fight any more," she hissed, falling to her knees beside Nova "I'm too hurt, Nova. You can fight on. Take what I have left and use it to kill this bastard. Go some way towards avenging Gatmuz."
"Tytania... I will," Nova said. The Rosemon pressed a hand to Nova's shoulder and her aura faded, flowing into Nova. The ShineGreymon closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.
Power rushed through her body like lightning as her flames exploded outwards. The Corona Blaze Sword burned white hot as she gripped it strongly, ready to strike down Belial.
Tytania fell limp beside her, shrinking down to Lilymon form. Nova silently thanked her ally before ascending gracefully to Belial's level.
The towering MaloMyotismon had endured the flames and rage of Nova and Tytania. Those attacks had weakened him, but he was still powerful and his anger had grown to a peak. Now his very gaze seared Nova and his voice blazed with hate.
But Nova by comparison was rage intensified and focused. Graceful, her rage in check and channeled to grant more strength, not allowed to corrupt her form...
This was a power to fear.
She charged, deadly silent and ruthless with purpose as she effortlessly swung the Corona Blaze Sword, opening a rent in Belial's armour and flesh, searing into the monsters body. He tried to swat her as a lesser Digimon might swat a fly, but flames burst into being around her to sear into his hands and force his blows away. Her blade tore open his flesh and rent his body.
He tried to unleash darkness and poison, but light and fire warded her form and tore his powers asunder. His strength was all he had, but she could evade his blows and summon fire to guard her form.
She had become an enemy intangible, invulnerable, undefeatable.
But slowly, she tired. Sluggish movements began, her strikes weaker. Triumph began to sing in Belial's soul, but Nova forced herself to fight on. His fists hammered her, his cannons ripped into her, his poison mist seared her flesh, but she fought.
He crushed her with fists and feet, but she stood and fought. He unleashed darkness from the cannons of ruined cities crowning his shoulders, but her light still shone. He breathed poison mist to wear her body to nothing, but she resisted death and weakness.
Nova was exhausted, weakened, tired. The blade in her hands was as heavy as lead, her movements ever so slow. Belial crushed her with ease, but she had to fight on.
And her Burst Aura faded, the Corona Blaze Sword becoming the GeoGrey Sword once more. She was weary from battle, with no respite, no mercy. Belial endlessly crushed and blasted and tore at her.
She would soon die unless he died first.
"Gatmuz..." she breathed as she lay there on barren earth and watched Belial's cannons open to obliterate her with darkness. "Please... my love... help me... wherever you are, give me strength to fight on..."
"Nova... I love you and I always will. You must fight, my love. Fight and live, Nova."
His voice came quietly, muffled, but it gave her strength. She stood and faced Belial, raising her sword with aching muscles, ready to fight to the last.
"Belial," she whispered "time for your black heart to finally stop beating. Time for your judgment!"
Energy coursed through her once more as she called forth her lesser evolution, her lesser evolved form to fight with...
"All who curse the Blackest Night, all who worship Yggdrasil's light. Hear my voice, my hope so bright, with my faith, your dreams take flight! Slide Evolution!"
She raised the great claymore, body shining with golden light as she became more bulky, stronger. Flame no longer burned on her flesh, it instead filled her soul and coursed through her veins like blood as she heard the voices of those gone, those who did believe in Yggdrasil's light.
And she knew, she would help their dreams take flight. Gold faded to shadow, but she still shone with faint white light as she spoke the name of her form, this last hope.
"VICTORYGREYMON!"
Raising the Dramon Breaker, she took a step forwards, the blade shining with golden light as she opened her eyes and stared Belial in the face. The MaloMyotismon stared back, but flickers of fear washed over his eyes.
Nova breathed once, then charged.
Taking flight, she dived into Belial, slashing once, twice, a third time, then kicking away to evade a heavy fist, Dramon Breaker in her grip suddenly exploding with golden light as a surge of blazing power washed through its blade.
"Trident GAIA!" she roared, levelling the blade at Belial and unleashing the conflageration, searing his chest with it as she charged once more through the flames, parting them to slash across the still white-hot flesh and forcing a roar of pain from Belial's lips.
"SCREAMING DARKNESS!" Belial roared, but Nova raised the Dramon Breaker and spun it in her grip, golden energy marking the blade's path...
"Victory Charge," she spoke. The thin tracery of energy before her expanded into a hexagon of golden light, Belial's attack exploding harmlessly against it as Nova charged, shield shattering around her as she raised her claymore.
"Dramon Breaker!" she called, slashing at Belial's ankle. He howled as the blade ripped through weaker armour to almost sever his leg entirely. The wounded leg buckled and he fell to one knee. He hissed and threw a punch at Nova, catching her off guard and slamming her into a frozen Armageddemon. She cried out in pain, but merely slashed her claymore across his palm and forced him to release her.
She rose to the level of his neck, readying the Dramon Breaker, raising it towards the sky.
"We, Black Hand, are the Avengers," she spoke softly "we are hope and all that's bright. We are the last free might. We come to end the Blackest Night."
The claymore fell and was levelled towards Belial's heart.
"So behold our power," Nova concluded as her blade shone fiery gold "the brightest light."
She charged.
Belial thrashed with flailing hands, but she summoned forth the Victory Charge to block the hammering blows. He unleashed darkness, but her blade tore through night with the fiery light of hope. He called forth poison, but Nova summoned the Trident Gaia to boil it away.
Her whole body shone gold an instant before she struck and her mouth opened to speak the fateful words.
"Through my bonds," she whispered "my friends and loved ones grant me hope and might. And with their hope granting me this light, I shall pierce your black heart and end you forever, Belial. I summon forth..."
"POWER OF BONDS!"
Energy exploded from her body in a halo of power, a corona of golden light that glowed like a sun as she ripped into Belial, impaling him with the force of her attack, sending holy fire and light racing through him as her blade pierced his core.
Belial screamed. Agony tore from his throat in an endless howl of disbelief, of rage, of pain...
He howled and roared and screamed. His cries rent the air asunder as golden light burned in his throat and eyes. He was unmade by golden fire and he could only scream as the light ripped through his flesh to illuminate him from within, like some hideous paper lantern.
He glowed golden for an eternal instant...
Then Belial simply exploded, Black Hand one second, dissolving data and golden embers the next.
Nova fell to her knees, golden aura fading away as she panted for breath, Belial's black blood staining her armour and blade and flesh. Her deep breaths were ragged gasps for air, to try and stave away exhaustion long enough to aid against Samhain.
The Dramon Breaker fell from her grip and her hands clenched into fists as she breathed heavily, trying so desperately to hold the exhaustion back long enough.
She took up her blade and slowly stood, raising it. She strode slowly through the frozen legions to the fallen Tytania. The Rosemon was unconcious, exhausted by battle and the gift she had given. Nova bowed her head and took up Tytania in one arm, grunting with the effort, but still able to bear the burden. She wouldn't leave her ally in danger. The legions could unfreeze at any time.
Looking over the battlefield, the war seemed to be going well for the Avengers. Already, it seemed Belial and Marduk had fallen. Nidhogg and Azazel seemed nearly defeated, their respective foes about to slay them. The other Black Hands and Avengers seemed obscured by the mass of the legions. But Hyperion and Samhain's battle in the keep above was invisible to Nova, black stone veiling the conflict...
(I know Power of Bonds isn't an official attack, but it's a cool thing and besides, we've all had our fan moments (Golden MegaGargomon, Imperialdramon Kaiser Mode etc). So please please cut me some slack Kamotz!)