The hoards of robots just kept coming. Natalie didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to get away with being up on the pillar. As the bullets started more and more she realized she was an open and easy target. “Time to go she said,” as she opened a portal and entered it. She came out in the actual plaza. She thought now might be a good time to switch to alchemy and hand to hand. She made her staff vanish and then clapped her hands together to create a sword from one of the plaza walls.
Running into the crowd, she started slicing robots apart one by one dodging the laser blasts and bullets, sometimes just barely. She managed to work her way to Edward. Setsuna and Asuna had made their way to them too.
“This isn’t good,” Asuna said. “I’ve been hearing that the Chao’s robots have managed to take three of the six points already and they’re getting pretty close in the other two outer points.”
“They’re getting pretty close here too,” Natalie said as she clapped her hands and put them on the chest of an approaching robot turning it to a ball of metal. “We can’t keep this up much longer.”
“Is there any word on if Chao’s been found yet?” Setsuna asked. As she asked, the speakers came alive.
“Chao Lingshen has been spotted and our own beloved child teacher Negi Springfield is on his way to take her out! Bonus points go out to the finder of Chao but please, let the Hero Units take out Chao. Keep building your points for prizes against the robots until this final battle is decided!”
“Well that answers that,” Edward said.
Setsuna and Asuna both looked at each other knowing that they had to go help Negi. Natalie saw the look. “Go you two, we’ll handle things here. Go help Negi take Chao down.”
“Right, thanks you two,” Asuna said then took off with Setsuna.
Natalie and Edward stood back to back, assessing their situation. “Things are getting pretty desperate,” she said to him.
“All the more reason to fight back harder,” he said as he sliced through another robot. “Give me a boost?”
Natalie nodded and took a step away from him using her alchemy to create a pillar of rock that not only lifted Edward up into the air, it demolishing a few more robots at the same time. When the pillar reached its peak, Edward jumped down off it and sliced through more of them.
Just then, a barrage of bullets came their way. Edward quickly put up a wall to shield them but it wasn’t big enough. Natalie was partially exposed and one of the bullets hit her. “Natalie!” he yelled but before he could reach her, the sphere had formed and she was gone. “Damn it!” He knew she was alright but it still pissed him off and he went on a rampage.
When the sphere disappeared Natalie was in a field with hundreds of other people and it was quiet. “Oh hell no!” She was not going to let this stand. She had to try and get back. Materializing her staff once more she created a portal. “Time to test if I can really go anywhere with this thing, even back in time a few hours,” she said as she stepped through the portal.
When she came out she was at the World Tree again and robots were everywhere. “Oh yeah, this thing is a lot more useful than I thought.” She went running down the stairs and back into things. She didn’t care about how close or far away the robots were, she was using her Spatial Rift at point blank range if she could. Everything it hit exploded. If she couldn’t maneuver enough to get the Spatial Rift off she was transmuting the robots into balls of twisted metal.
She had to find Edward; he had to be worried about her. Creating a pillar just big enough to look over the crowd she searched for him. It didn’t take long as a large spiked spear rumbled up through a crowd of robots. “Always gotta put on a show,” she chuckled to herself as she jumped down from the pillar and tore through every robot that got in her way until she reached Edward.
When she arrived, he had his back to her fighting off a rather large humanoid robot. “Charon Spatial Rift!” she called sending the blast just to the right of Edward and blowing the robot apart.
Edward quickly turned around to see her there. “Warn someone when you’re going to do that!” he yelled. “What a second, I saw you vanish!”
She held up her staff. “I can go anywhere I want to remember? It seems that it includes time as well as space.”
Edward smiled at her. “Good to have you back then,” he said punching just off to her left, sending his blade into a robot that had come up behind her.
“Any word on the battle with Negi and Chao?”
Edward pointed up to the blimp that was flying overhead. “It’s gotten pretty intense up there from what I can tell. I don’t know how much longer either of them can hold out. Also seems the World Tree is the only point left that hasn’t been overtaken…”
“Well seems fitting since I don’t know how much longer we’re going to hold out down here either,” Natalie said blowing up another one. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to get tired, I don’t know how much longer I can hold out.”
Edward nodded. “I hate to admit it but I’m starting to feel it too but we can’t give up. Wasn’t it you that said we can’t just think of ourselves?”
Natalie smiled and nodded. “As long as we’re on the same page…” she said as she blew up a few more.
Finally, the loud speakers came to life again. “Chao has been defeated! This year’s closing event is officially over! Congratulations to Professor Negi, all the members of the Hero Unit, and all of the students of Mahora Academy!”
With the announcement the robots started to retreat. All of the remaining players started to cheer. Natalie and Edward both sighed heavily and sat down on the ground, back to back.
“Holy crap that was fun,” Edward said with a laugh.
Natalie couldn’t help but to laugh as well. “I don’t know if fun is exactly the word I’d use but at the moment I don’t have a better one.”
Asuna and Konoka came up to Natalie and Edward. “We thought you guys would still be here,” Asuna said with a laugh. “The 3-A girls are having a party, come on you two, you’re invited. We’re going to be sending Chao off. Since she lost she has to go back to her own time.”
Edward looked at them confused. “Wait a minute, why would you want to throw a party for someone that just tried to destroy life as you know it?”
Konoka took this one. “It’s not something that can easily be explained Edward-sempai, yeah she did of these things but she was also our classmate. We spent the last two years with her and she became our friend too. It’s one of our strong points I’d like think, we’re forgiving and welcoming but most of all we stick together.”
Edward just shook his head. “I’m still not sure I understand. I mean yeah I get that you guys stick together and that’s admirable but isn’t what she did a betrayal of that? She was willing to fight you to get what she wanted; I’m not sure how that’s forgivable.”
Natalie looked at Edward. “Haven’t you ever gotten into an argument with someone you care about Ed?” She knew that was a rhetorical question, of course he had. He argued with Alphonse and Winry and countless others. “Did you just give up on them because of it?”
Edward sighed. “No…”
“This is no different. Chao believed she was right, her friends didn’t agree. It’s actually as simple as that. You don’t abandon a friend just because you don’t agree on something.”
Edward stood up and held his hand out to Natalie to help her up too. “You’re right, thanks for reminding me…”
Natalie took his hand and let him help her. “That’s what I’m here for,” she said to him with a smile. She then turned to Asuna and Konoka, “So where’s this party? Let’s get going.”
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