Orso Fiction 036

Orso Fiction Chapter 036-The Heir of the Dying Will
Nicole Roberts watched the eruption of yellow flames in the parking lot from a large patch of grass. Raimonda shook her head slowly.

“Looks like you won that one. No surprise…”, Raimonda said. Nicole looked at her with a little shock.

“You had that little faith in your friend?”, she asked, horrified.

“Well…kind of.”, Raimonda answered. “See…we all told her she wouldn’t be able to fight the red-haired chick…but she insisted she go up against her...That girl, I swear. So immature…”

“I figured you guys were a lot closer than that…”, Nicole said, steel in her voice.

“Don’t get me wrong! I love Orabella, and she IS strong…just…”

“Yes?”

“See, all of our Darkness Boxes have one extreme advantage, and one extreme disadvantage…Orabella’s Apophis, when Orabella’s powering him up, can spit toxic levels of Sun Flames, that encourage extreme cell reproduction in all the wrong places when it hits something living…”

“And the disadvantage?”

“A crippling weakness to…Sun Flames.”

“So that means…”

“Yeah. Orabella intentionally went against the absolute worst possible opponent…The punk…”

“Wow…”

“Out of curiosity’s sake…Of those of you fighting…About where does the redhead stand in power?”

“Paige…Well, if Taylor’s not fighting, then Paige is the strongest.”, Nicole said, realizing the implication.

“So your best fighter is already done…for now.”, Raimonda said, nodding in understanding. “And…where are you?”

“I’m…”, Nicole said, taking a deep breath. “The weakest.”

---

Back in the base, right next to the console McKenna was sitting at, Megan Conahan facepalmed.

“You don’t need to admit that, Nicole…”, she murmured. She stopped for a moment, feeling a presence behind her. She turned to see Brittney Drummey and Sam Brooks both peeking over the back of her chair, only their wide-open eyes, noses, and the tips of their fingers visible. “Can I help you two?”

“I was worried about my Roxas.”, Brittney said.

“I heard Nicole was fighting some girl…so I’m here to watch how fast she wins.”, Sam answered. Megan sighed.

“Pull up some chairs, then.”, she said, sighing. “Kids…”

---

“Weakest…Or maybe that’s just modesty.”, Raimonda said, a gentle smile on her lips. Nicole shook her head.

“Nope. It’s the truth. They’re all way stronger.”, Nicole said cheerily, oblivious to Megan, back in the base, hitting her head against the table.

“Well…alright, then.”, Raimonda said, opening her Thunder Box, releasing her Thunder Gorilla. “Skrymir, let’s go. What’s your name, ‘Weakest of the Agents’?”

“I’m Nicole. Nicole Roberts.”

“And I’m Raimonda…Good luck.”

---

“Yup. She’s done for…When Paige hits you that hard, you don’t get back up…”, Jess Biemiller said, watching the eruption of yellow flames. Adelina growled quietly.

“…Orabella…”, she murmured. “I’ll…avenge you.”

---

The gorilla charged at Nicole, who planted her right foot behind her, putting all her weight on it. With one massive thrust, she pushed her right arm forward. The blow collided with the gorilla, stopping it in its tracks.

“Weakest, hmm?”, Raimonda asked. “And here I was, letting Skrymir go easy on you, just to scare you away.”

“I didn’t lie.”, Nicole laughed. “I really am! It’s just…I’m a special case…”

“Special case?”, Raimonda asked, as the gorilla lumbered back to her. “Do tell.”

“See…”, Nicole said, igniting her ring with Thunder Flames. “I’m not JUST the Primo’s Thunder Agent…I’m also…”

She pushed her ring into her box, releasing, with a great flash of light, a black bear, paws crackling with green electricity.

“The apprentice of Zach Stimely, the Primo himself.”

---

“Here she goes again…”, Megan sighed. “She’s going to get herself hurt, if she doesn’t stop talking so much.”

“Zach’s apprentice?”, Sam asked.

“Yep.”, Brittney said. “Who knows what all he’s taught her, though…”

---

“So, a bear…”, Raimonda said, thinking.

“Yup. This is Emerald. He’s a great partner.”, Nicole said, as Emerald roared appreciatively. “Zach made Emerald himself…by tweaking the plans for Minerva, his own bear.”

“So, that bear’s a point of pride…”

“Oh yeah. Emerald is a great partner, an amazing animal, and…well, I don’t want to spoil anything, but the first part of the fighting style Zach passed on to me.”

“Passed on…”, Raimonda said, suddenly sullen. “I understand. You’re lucky, then. Skrymir, we’ve heard enough. Go. And don’t hold back this time.”

Skrymir raised a massive fist and brought it down at Nicole. Emerald, however, rammed him, knocking him away from the girl.

“You didn’t think that’d be enough, did you?”, Nicole asked teasingly. “When I say Emerald is strong, I mean he’s really strong.”

“Skrymir, keep attacking.”

The gorilla got on two legs, and aimed a punch at Emerald. The bear blocked it, and returned one of his own. As Nicole focused on the animals’ fight, Raimonda charged at her just as Skrymir had, preparing to throw a punch. Nicole, rather than blocking, spun around her, aiming a chop at the back of her neck when she was behind the girl. Raimonda was too quick, however, and caught her hand.

“This Zach…is he worth following?”

“Zach?”, Nicole asked, breaking free, and aiming another punch, this one caught. “He’s totally worth it. I wouldn’t call him my master if he wasn’t.”

“I see.”, Raimonda said stepping back. “This is absurd…”

“You’re telling me. Not like I like this fight.”

“No…How similar we are. That’s what’s absurd.”, Raimonda said sadly, before throwing a punch Nicole couldn’t counter, that sent her flying. At this, Emerald lost focus, checking on the well-being of his master, and took a savage kick from Skrymir.

---

“Oh my…”, Megan murmured. “She’s turning into Zach…”

“What do you mean?”, Sam asked.

“Nicole’s picked up one of Zach’s more obnoxious habits…Neither one of them can turn their back on a person they think is suffering. Nicole feels that that girl has a problem, and she’s going to extend the fight in hopes of learning it. She wouldn’t have taken that hit if she didn’t think it would put her in a better position for discussion.”

“Oh…yeah, Zach will do that…I didn’t know Nicole had picked it up…”, Brittney said.

“She COULD just finish the girl off quickly, but that’s not how those two operate…”, Megan sighed. “Ah well. Let’s just hope Nicole’s a better conversationalist than she is a strategist.”

---

“Is this how you’d be doing this, Zach?”, Nicole thought. “Am I doing the right thing? I think…I think I have to be. I feel it…this girl is suffering. She’s suffering, and I need to help.”

“Not getting back up?”, Raimonda asked, looking down on the girl.

“Let me ask you…”, Nicole asked, as she stood. “Why are you fighting for these metals?”

“Because…I need to be a protector. Just like…just like he was.”

“Is that right?”, Nicole asked. “I’m…kind of doing the same thing. With that metal, I’ll be able to help protect Zach.”

“You’re so lucky, Nicole…”, Raimonda said. “A master that you can count on, and who can count on you…I envy you that.”

“Yeah. I’m lucky, alright.”, Nicole said.

---


 * Before…*

“This is Nicole. Nicole, this is Zach.”, Michelle Thomas said, Megan Nissel at her side. The two being introduced smiled and shook hands.

“Nice to meet you, finally.”, Zach said with a big grin. “It’s because of YOUR art I’m here, after all.”

“What do you mean?”, Nicole asked.

“He saw that birthday card you drew for me, the one with L on it.”, Michelle explained.

“I wouldn’t have been able to work up the nerve to talk to her, if I didn’t know she was a Death Note fan.”, Zach said, pulling the blonde girl close. “It made our first conversation easy. I wouldn’t have met this fantastic girl if not for you.”

“Oh, stop…”, Michelle murmured.

---


 * Years later…*

“Zach, from now on, I’m your apprentice.”, Nicole blurted out.

“Hummanah what?”, Zach asked, bewildered. “You’re what?”

“Your apprentice. The Sakura to your Kakashi, that kind of thing.”

“Oh…wow.”, Zach struggled to say. “That’s so cool…But…why? What do you think I have to teach you?”

“You’re just…awesome.”, Nicole said with a laugh. “I want to see if I can’t learn some of your tricks.”

“Well, I’m honored, Nicolio.”, Zach replied, laughing as well. “I won’t disappoint...but you better listen to everything I have to say, alright?”

Nicole grinned broadly.

“You got it.”

---


 * Later…*

“What the hell are you two doing?”, Michael Kreinar asked, looking at the two of them. Both had their thumb and forefinger in a 90 degree angle on the bottom of their chin.

“Our awesome sign.”, Nicole answered with a smile.

“It’s awesome, trust us.”, Zach confirmed. Michael shook his head, trying not to believe how stupid the two of them looked.

---

A tear was slowly coming to Raimonda’s eye.

“I envy you…”, she murmured. “Your Zach…is still with you.”

“What happened, Raimonda?”, Nicole asked softly.

“It…it doesn’t matter. The only thing that does, is winning this fight.”, Raimonda said, igniting her ring with Thunder Flames, moving it closer to the Darkness Box she now held. “Be ready, Skrymir.”

---


 * Before…*

“You’re calling Nicole your apprentice?”, Conner Warrell asked. “I thought that was supposed to be me, dude.”

“Nope. You’re the heir, but Nicole wanted to learn everything I had to teach…for some reason.”, Zach explained. “I think Nicole will be able to use my teachings better than you could, actually. She seems...like she’ll really benefit from my teaching…She’s going to get even more awesome, and she’s going to do it fast.”

Nicole, listening from behind a corner, smiled to herself.

---

Raimonda plunged her ring into her box, releasing a black, gelatinous seeming substance. It wrapped around Raimonda and Skrymir. Slowly, Skrymir began to grow, until he towered over the school.

“Whew…Big monkey.”, Nicole muttered.

“This is the power my darkness has granted me.”, Raimonda growled, her voice distorted.

“What happened!?”, Nicole blurted out. “What happened to him?! The one you looked up to!”

---

“Aaaaaah!”, Raimonda screamed, waking in fright. Orabella laid in the sleeping bag beside her, her face still bandaged, but Adelina was still asleep, watching their fire. She turned to the girl with concern in her eyes.

“More nightmares?”, Adelina asked. Raimonda nodded. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Raimonda shook her head.

“Raimonda, we’re both here for you. Ever since we met you, we’ve been here for you. You can trust us.”

“It’s…hard.”, Raimonda murmured, getting up to sit next to Adelina. “But…I’ll try…”

She sat, and Adelina held her hand for comfort.

“When I was very, very young, my parents both died…Both my parents were only children, their parents long gone. I had no aunts, uncles, or grandparents to adopt me. But my brother, who had turned 18 just recently, said he would take me. I can’t imagine how hard it was for him. He threw away everything he had to make sure we wouldn’t lose each other…”

“Oh…wow…”, Adelina murmured, unable to find the words to say.

“He…did his best. I knew that everything he did was to help me, to let me succeed…But then…there was the accident.”

“Oh…I see.”, Adelina said softly. “I’m sorry.”

“We were walking to the theater to see a movie. He didn’t have much money, but what he did have, he would spend on putting a smile on my face…Someone was driving drunk, and came onto the sidewalk we were on...It would have hit me, but he pushed me out of the way, into the grass. He didn’t have time to save himself…it was…awful to watch”, Raimonda said, choking on tears soon to come.

“I’m so sorry…”, Adelina said, squeezing her hand.

“I ran, before anyone could see me. I didn’t know what to do, so I just ran…For the next week, I lived on what I could find…or steal. And then…you found me.”

Adelina wrapped an arm around her.

“I’m sorry, Raimonda…What…was his name?”

“Raymond. His name was Raymond.”

“So then…”

“That’s right. I named myself after the person who sacrificed all he had for me…so that I never forget him, and I always remember…the way a person should live. By forgetting yourself, and helping the ones you love. That’s what Raymond would want me to do.”

---

“Raaaymooond…”, Raimonda, or, what was left of her thinking, moaned. “Crush her, Skrymir…”

The gorilla lifted one massive fist, and thrust it straight down at Nicole, who dodged in the nick of time.

---

“Is that all her Darkness Box does?”, Megan asked aloud. “Make her gorilla bigger?”

“Seems a good enough power to me.”, Sam said.

“No…something seems wrong about that…”, Brittney said. “If the one Paige fought could spit super poison, a little size difference seems out of place.”

---

“Size isn’t everything, you know.”, Nicole said. “Emerald! Cambio Forma!”

The bear roared, and began to glow green, slowly changing shape. His face widened, and began to lose its features, as the rest of his body thinned out. The new form fell into Nicole’s hands, and she spun it deftly. She held the mirror image of Zach’s Cambio Forma; a black axe, a green gem in the center of the blades, the numeral “I” in white overtop it.

“Ascia de Erede”, she intoned. “Emerald is Minerva’s perfect heir.”

---


 * Before…*

“You know, sometimes, I worry about us…”, Zach said, looking off into the distance. “That we’ll lose sight of the real goal, and get caught up in the details. I want the Family to focus on making the world a better place, and I want the future generations to keep that close to heart, too.”

“You’re worrying?”, Nicole teased. “That’s not like you.”

“Heh. Maybe…But still, the transition to Second Generation won’t be easy. I don’t want everything to fall apart, when we have such potential.”

“It will all work out, Zach. You know it will.”

Zach smiled.

“I know. Because you and Rachel will be here, when I’m gone, to keep everyone on the right track. I’m counting on you to inherit my Dying Will.”

“Of course. You can trust me.”

Zach noogied Nicole.

“Good. But you’re not ready for it, yet. My foolish apprentice…”

---

“I still haven’t inherited your Dying Will…”, Nicole murmured. “I’ll prove myself worth it now.”

Nicole gathered Thunder Flames in the blade of her axe, and swung it, slicing through the air. The green, electrical flames shot in an arc at Skrymir’s head. They made impact, but the gorilla didn’t react in the slightest, bringing his fist down on her again. She tried the long-range slash again, to the same effect.

“You are helpless to fight him.”, Raimonda intoned. “This is the first of his six skills.”

“Six?”, Nicole murmured. “So size-shifting isn’t his only power…but, it’s not like I’m out of options, either. Just think back…what did Zach teach you…”

---


 * Before…*

“Nicole’s weapon?”, Zach replied to Brittney, when she asked about it. “Well…It’s like a mirror image of Minerva. I think the best part about it…is the same as Minerva’s…the infinite potential. Nicole will be able to use it just as well as I could. That’s what I think.”

---

“Infinite potential…”, Nicole murmured. “If I have the Dying Will, I can do anything with this axe…”

She gathered more Thunder Flames into her axe than before, and with a crash, flung them at Skrymir’s head. Again, the gorilla didn’t respond, just raising a hand to strike her. This time, Nicole didn’t move, and let the giant fist…pass through her.

“So, you figured it out…”, Raimonda said, the black tendrils whipping around her angrily.

“Yup. Look up at your big ape’s head.”, Nicole said, sticking her tongue out. Raimonda did, to see a giant hole in the oddly unflinching gorilla. “Thunder Flames solidify what they hit. I doubted that gorilla being real from the beginning, so I tried to make it solid, then crack it open.”

“Well, good job, then…”, Raimonda said. The image of Skrymir faded away, revealing the real Skyrmir hidden within the illusion of the giant’s foot. “But you’ve only beaten one sixth of Skrymir’s potential. That one was called Essence of Illusion.”

“Bring it on.”, Nicole said confidently. “I’ll take anything you have, and return it a hundred times over.”

“Skrymir…Use…Essence of Thought.”

Suddenly, the gorilla was a blur, speeding at Nicole, hitting her in the face, and sending her flying. Before she could hit the ground, the gorilla was already behind her, and hit her again, then speeding behind her to repeat the process. Nicole realized she was being juggled. She turned in mid-air, swinging her axe at where the gorilla would be. It made contact, and the beast roared in pain. It flashed back to Raimonda’s side.

“Not bad…Even the second isn’t enough to crush you…”, Raimonda murmured. “Skrymir…Essence of Fire!”

“That’s weird…I didn’t hit it that hard…But it acted like that was incredibly painful…Was that…the weakness?”, Nicole wondered.

The beast took one lumbering step closer, and the area his paw touched began to burn away.

“I shouldn’t let that thing touch me…”, Nicole thought, and swung her axe at the ground. From the distance between them, a bolt of Thunder Flames shot from the ground where Skrymir was about to step on, shocking his paw.

“Not even the third…No one has gotten this far before…”, Raimonda murmured. “Of all the people Sonia has made us fight…no one ever broke down the fourth skill….Use it. Essence of Age!.”

The gorilla sped up, lunging at Nicole, who prepared to swing her axe to counter it.

“Sucker…I know your weakness, now.”, Nicole murmured, grinning. She began to swing her axe…

s..l..o..w..l..y…

The gorilla’s fist made contact, sending her flying. Nicole quickly got to her feet, glaring at the beast.

“What was that?”, she demanded.

“Like I said…No one has broken down the Essence of Age.”

“Essence…of Age…”, Nicole thought, trying not to focus on her broken ribs. “What were the other ones? Illusion…that one made an illusion…Thought was super-speed…Fire was destroying everything he touched…And now Age…which slowed me down too fast to counter…and I think made me more feeble…Everything that big ape hit hurts…”

“Hurry…hurry and lose…”, Raimonda moaned. “I can’t keep this up forever…Skrymir! Strike her again!”

The big ape lumbered to her, but Nicole jumped away from it this time, dragging her axe on the ground in a circle around the gorilla as she dodged it. She brought it down hard on the trail of Thunder Flames she had been laying, and the entire circle burst with green light, forming a barrier around the beast. It punched it, to no avail. Slowly, the barrier began to close in on him.

“Looks like you can only ‘age’ living material...”, Nicole said. “Interesting.”

“You’ve done something I thought impossible…”, Raimonda said, the black tendrils getting even more violent. “Essence of Fire.”

The barrier burned away as it touched the beast.

“Essence of Ocean”

The gorilla raised both of his hands over his head. All around them, the ground began to glow green, and sparkling balls of light began to emerge, gathering above his hands. He threw the ball at Nicole, who leapt back to fall in mud. The ball of Thunder Flames hit her in the chest.

“Ahhhhhh!”, Nicole screamed as the shock traveled through her body. As she could focus again, she looked up to see Skrymir raising a fist above her.

“Essence of Age”

Stunned by both her inability to find solid footing, and the slowness forced upon her, Nicole had no choice but to brace for impact.

“My silly apprentice...”, she heard, from deep inside her mind. Suddenly, her axe flew from her hands, striking the gorilla, who screamed and turned back. The axe floated back into her hands, and began to crackle with Thunder Flames.

Nicole began to crawl out of the mud, wading through it to find solid ground.

“Essence of Ocean, huh?”, she asked. “That’s a pretty crazy skill. Stop me if I’m wrong…But it draws the ‘solid’ out of everything around it, and converts it into Thunder Flames…”

“That’s right. It’s Skrymir’s greatest single skill.”

“So…whatever’s left isn’t all that impressive.”, Nicole reasoned. She gathered more Thunder Flames in her axe, and hurled the flames at Skrymir.

“Essence of The World Serpent.”

There was a flash of green light, and the Thunder Flames Nicole had launched dissipated as they hit the gorilla.

“And there you have it…The six Essences…”, Raimonda said. “The World Serpent is the ultimate defensive skill…one that negates even the lowered defense of the Darkness Box…”

---

“So that’s it?”, Sam asked. “She’s used all six of her Essences…So, the fight’s basically over, right? Nicole already knows how to fight each one, right?”

“Raimonda wouldn’t be so calm if that was the case…”, Megan said. “I think she still has something up her sleeve…And she mentioned running out of time…I think we’ll see it soon…”

---

“I said that I had six skills…”, Raimonda intoned. “But those six…can be fused together…”

“Oh…Awesome.”, Nicole said.

“You’re nothing like the opponent’s I’ve fought before…I’ll NEED to use all six at once…Skrymir! Use it! Realm of the Giants!”

The gorilla began to glow with a darkened green tone.

“World Serpent. Fire. Ocean. Age. Thought. Illusion. These six together create the ultimate attack…Realm of the Giants.”

“I can feel it from here…”, Nicole murmured. “I can’t beat that…It’s pushing me back from here. Emerald…get ready to hurt…”

She held the axe over her head, gathering Thunder Flames, as Skrymir gathered flames in his hand, softening the ground around him. The ground he absorbed the solidity from began to sink, bubbling, boiling. As he did, Raimonda fell to her knee, coughing from the strain.

“If I can just hit him…with this last attack, he’ll be out.”, Nicole thought, the axe vibrating from the amount of power being stored inside it.

“For…Princess…”, Raimonda choked. “Goodbye, Nicole.”

“No way I can dodge that, with this mud…”, Nicole said. “No choice…but to attack through it. Time for THAT skill…Thanks, Zach…”

She swung the axe down, launching a bolt of Thunder Flames, shaping itself into a bear. The bear dashed at Skyrmir who hurled the Realm of the Giants. The bear caught the ball of energy, struggling to keep it back. There was a roar as the bear began to break, cracking, and splintering apart.

“No…keep pushing…”, Nicole murmured, trying in vain to wrest her feet from the mud.

“Raymond! Princess!”, Raimonda shouted. Nicole’s bear pulled a fist back, breaking apart even faster. It shoved its fist through the ball as it broke into nothing. A fragment of the green energy shot at Skrymir, striking him, making him crumple to the ground. The ball sped at Nicole, who’s only defense was to lift her axe as a shield.

---

“That’s not pretty…”, Allison Boyd murmured. Nerina looked at her sadly.

“That fight is over, I’m afraid…”, Nerina said. “I’ve seen Raimonda’s Realm of the Giants…No one has ever survived it. I’m sorry, for your loss.”

---

As the smoke cleared, Raimonda worked her way to her feet. She squinted into the distance, and saw Nicole, lying unconscious.

“I…I won…”, she murmured. She coughed up blood as her Darkness Box began to dissolve. “Did I…overdo it?”

She coughed up blood once more, and fell to her knee.

“Raymond…I’m sorry…I fell so far…”, Raimonda said, a tear coming to her eye. “I fell so far, to do this…”

She closed her eyes and fell, feeling nothing.

-

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