VESSELS: One More Show

  “Damn, why’d I have to be the one that got separated?” Lee complained to herself. “Great, no doors too.”

  Lee aimlessly wandered the halls to look for Bel and Isaac, but it was to no avail, until she heard a devastating explosion from afar. Lee still did her best to rush to it, hoping she would find them. She ran through long hallways, twisting and turning around corners, only to be met with an all-too-familiar charred figure.

  Lee could tell that the figure was wounded; it dragged its feet across the floor and held the side of its stomach, seemingly aching in pain. If Zander was here, this thing would already be toast by now, Lee thought to herself. She wasn’t much of a fighter, so she couldn’t do much other than watch it from around the corner she was peeking from.

  Suddenly, the Charred P.W.’s white, glowing eyes turned a bright shade of red. Molten cracks started to run through its skin, and two devilish horns sprouted from its head. Not long after, the space of the floor shifted, and the hallway where she could see the newly evolved threat had disappeared.

  Knowing the implications of its metamorphosis, Lee decided on a plan that was more of a gamble. She walked until she could find a more open spot, one that wasn’t as narrow as the hallways. Much to her luck, she found one not too long after.

  “Hehehe, Bingo!” She said out loud.

  She proceeded to reach her hand out, closed her eyes to focus, and spawned an electric guitar out of thin air. The instrument was shiny and clean; the body was colored red and white, and its shape was nothing out of the ordinary.

  Afterwards, she started to strum to herself and focus further. Her pink aura glowed and waved wildly around her. Soon after, a drum set appeared out of thin air. She played yet another set and spawned a bass, then another for a keyboard, and lastly for a microphone and its stand.

  “Thank you all for listening to the opening riff, now let’s get our other members on stage!” Lee exclaimed, pretending an audience was in front of her. Suddenly, out of the ground, three humanoid-shaped ghouls rose from underneath the ground, all dressed in torn rock-and-roll wear.

  They all had green skin and leaked blood from nearly every orifice. They all got into position with their instruments and stood behind Lee. The drummer had short, blue hair, and one of her eyes popped out from its socket. The one on the keyboard had long, blonde hair and was missing a few fingers. The bassist was brunette and wore short pigtails, and her legs were permanently bent, with bone sticking out.

  Soon after, Lee heard yet another familiar-sounding explosion and grinned. “Perfect timing! Are you ready, everyone?! We are–”

  “--Hayley and The Ghoul Party!” The booming announcement made Rita’s heart pump faster, but this time it wasn’t out of fear. She could feel her body and soul strengthen, enough to pick up Bel’s sword that had been lying on the ground next to him.

  As the Charred P.W. appeared from behind the corner, it walked over Bel and Isaac’s still unconscious bodies and over to Rita. It stood still for a moment, towering over her small frame. Even if I never got to see you again, I’m glad that I could hear your songs one more time. Rita thought to herself, at peace with the impending doom that was about to befall her.

  She spread her legs apart and fixed her footing. Although she had never handled a katana before, she tried her best to put her countless hours of watching old samurai films to good use. The Charred P.W. then set its claws ablaze and swung it down on Rita. Rita didn’t dare to close her eyes; she looked at it with a fiery gaze and charged with a scream straight from her very soul.

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  Her opponent was much faster than her, and the outcome seemed bleak, but right as its molten claws were about to connect, a projection appeared and blocked it from reaching Rita. Still screaming, she drove the tip of the sheathed blade right into the stomach of the Charred P.W. and launched it straight across the hall until it crashed on a wall in its path.

  “I take back everything I said about you, you’re pretty damn cool,” Bel said as he slowly got back up from the floor.

  “About damn time!” said Isaac while cracking his neck. Rita was amazed to see the both of them completely unharmed. Their clothes had also seemingly been repaired. What shocked her the most, however, was that she could see their auras fluctuating powerfully around them.

  Bel was also surprised at this as he stared at his own hands and saw how his aura was behaving. He hadn't focused his eyes to see it but could anyway, a testament to how powerful it seemed to have gotten. Not only that, but his body felt light, his fatigue disappeared, and he felt better than ever. “How is this possible? And... are you guys hearing that music too?” Bel asked.

  “It’s Lee’s ability, One More Show. It looks like she finally decided to help. We better get this over with before she finishes her song, otherwise, these buffs will wear off.” Isaac replied, turning around to face the Charred P.W. As the cloud of dust and debris cleared, the Charred P.W. unstuck itself from the wall and let out another ear-piercing shout. This time, it hunched forward, and its back started to bubble. Two large, demonic bat wings sprouted out of it, and a tail could be seen flailing in the air.

  “Not again…” Bel complained.

  “Get ready, I don’t think it’s got much juice left. Not to mention how the music is also weakening it. When the song is about to end, I’ll give you a signal, and I want you to send out your strongest projection to attack. Our attacks are already a lot stronger now, but it gets even stronger as the song goes on and whether or not we’re on beat.” Isaac noted, trying to reassure Bel.

  “What is this, some kinda rhythm game?”

  “Ugh! Just shut up and go already!” Rita yelled out, throwing the katana back to Bel.

  Isaac cocked his arms back and spammed rapid balls of fire shaped like dragons straight at the Charred P.W. and yelled out, “Fire Arts: Dragon Flurry!”

  “BAHAHAHAH! What was that?! Do you think you’re in some kind of shonen anime or something?!” mocked Bel, who couldn’t contain his laughter at Isaac.

  “H- Haven’t you been listening to what I said?! The more you show off your ability, the stronger it gets. It isn’t out of choice damn it!” Isaac stuttered, clearly trying to save face.

  “Alright then, how about this? RUN:PROGRAM: Three-Swing Barrage!” Bel happily yelled out. A projection jumped out at top speed, straight for The Charred P.W. It tried to swing its claws to destroy the projection, but the projection jumped up in the air and dodged it. The projection swung its katana three times as it landed, all hits on beat with Lee’s song.

  “Hah! I read you like a book,” Bel proudly exclaimed.

  Even with its new form, the Charred P.W. could barely keep up with Isaac and Bel’s ruthless attacks. Every fireball it threw either lost to Isaac’s dragons or was predicted by Bel’s projections. Whenever it let out a constant stream of flame, Isaac shot a more focused blast and pierced right through. Its fire was also no longer powerful enough to even destroy Bel’s projections, as it could now soak up much more damage than before.

  It’s okay, you can go now. You don’t have to stay behind for me, the Charred P.W. heard a voice speak in its head. It looked at the center room longingly, and couldn't control to flow of red tears streaming down its cheek. As the song was nearing its end, the Charred P.W., bruised and beaten, let out one final attack in a blaze of glory. A wave of flaming death gushed out of its mouth, large enough to engulf the entire space in molten lava.

  However, Bel and Isaac weren’t phased in the slightest and let out one final attack of their own as the big finish:

  “FIRE ARTS: TWIN DRAGONS!” / “RUN:PROGRAM: MOON PIERCER”

  Two columns of swirling flames shaped like dragons shot out from Isaac’s palms, and a blue projection dashed right out of Bel and plunged straight into the chaos with immense speed.

  All that ensued after was a great bright white light.