The fortress trembled under the aftermath of the battle.
A few moments earlier, the storm had swept over the steel platforms, rain crashing down as thunder rumbled through the sky. Now, however, the storm began to weaken.
The rain slowed down.
The wind faded.
Dark clouds slowly drifted apart in the sky above.
Patches of blue began to appear.
Sunlight broke through the clouds and reflected across the surface of the ocean around the ruined fortress.
The alarms throughout the base still screamed, red warning lights flashing across broken metal platforms and shattered walls.
But the storm itself was dying.
And in the middle of the destruction stood Super Nico.
He floated a few inches above the cracked platform.
His fur glowed bright green and a swirling aura floated around him like living energy. Dust, water and debris were pushed away from him by the force of it.
Dr. E lay on the broken platform where Nico had slammed him moments earlier. His advanced exosuit was destroyed. One arm hung uselessly at his side, the armor dented and smoking. The reactor in the chest had gone completely dark.
Rex stepped in cautiously.
"...I think you killed him."
Nico tilted his head slightly.
"Nah."
He looked down at the doctor.
"He's still breathing."
Viper stepped out from the destroyed chamber doorway behind them. Metal panels and broken equipment littered the ground as he walked across the debris.
He looked at Nico.
Still glowing.
Still hovering.
"...That form is unbelievable."
Dr. E groaned.
Then slowly he pulled himself up onto one elbow.
Nico casually walked toward him.
"You should stay down."
Dr. E let out a weak laugh.
"You really have no idea what you've done… do you?"
Nico shrugged.
"I punched you really hard."
Dr. E slowly reached into his ruined suit.
Rex stepped forward immediately.
"Try anything stupid and I'll break your arms."
But Dr. E didn't pull out a weapon.
Instead, he removed a small metallic device and placed it over his right eye. It clicked into place, and the red lens flickered to life.
The scanner hummed quietly.
Dr. E pointed it at Nico.
Numbers began to glow red across the lens.
Then they stabilized.
Dr. E's eyes widened.
"...Ten thousand."
Nico blinked.
"What?"
Dr. E slowly lowered the scanner.
"Your power output level."
Nico scratched his glowing chin.
"Wait... ten thousand?"
He looked down at himself.
"That's insane... I could've sworn I was around one thousand before unlocking this form..."
His eyes widened.
"So that means I got ten times stronger."
Dr. E slowly shook his head.
"No."
Nico frowned.
"No?"
Dr. E adjusted the eyepiece.
"Power output levels aren't linear."
Nico stared at him.
"...Explain."
Dr. E sighed.
"The power from each increase is higher."
He pointed the scanner at Nico again.
"At lower levels, the difference between one hundred and two hundred can be seen."
He paused.
"But the difference between one thousand and two thousand is far greater."
Nico's eyes widened slightly.
Dr. E continued.
"So when someone jumps from one thousand to ten thousand …"
He looked directly at Nico.
"...they aren't ten times stronger."
Nico tilted his head.
"...Then how much stronger am I?"
Dr. E smirked.
"Possibly hundreds of times stronger."
Nico blinked.
"...Whoa."
For a moment he stood there thinking about it.
Then he punched Dr. E in the face.
BOOM.
Dr. E shot across the platform like a missile and smashed through a steel wall before disappearing behind the collapsing structure.
Nico shrugged.
"Still gonna punch you though."
Rex burst out laughing.
Viper shook his head.
"You didn't let him finish explaining."
Then Dr. E's voice came from the wreckage.
"Of course you wouldn't."
Dr. E staggered back onto the platform, wiping blood from his mouth.
This time he wasn't smiling.
He pressed a small button on his wrist.
CLICK.
Nico frowned.
"...What was that?"
Dr. E looked up toward the sky.
"Insurance."
For a moment nothing happened.
The sky above them was mostly clear now, the remaining clouds drifting apart to reveal bright blue.
Then a shadow crossed the sunlight.
A dark aircraft streaked across the sky.
Before Nico could react, a figure leapt from it.
The shape dropped like a falling meteor.
Then it landed.
BOOM.
The impact cracked the platform beneath its feet.
Dust exploded outward.
As the smoke cleared, someone stood there.
A black panther.
He was humanoid, tall with an athletic build similar to Nico. His fur was deep black, catching the sunlight. His pupils glowed a sharp red.
He wore white gloves.
A long tail flicked slowly behind him.
Dr. E stepped back behind him.
Nico blinked.
"...Who the hell are you?"
The panther spoke calmly.
"Noir."
Then he disappeared.
He rushed forward and threw a punch straight at Nico's stomach.
Nico caught it.
Both hands clamped around Noir's fist before it could land.
The platform cracked beneath them.
Nico looked at him for a moment.
"...That's it?"
Then he spun and threw him.
Noir flew across the platform and smashed into a metal wall hard enough to dent it inward.
The entire fortress shook from the impact.
That was the last straw.
The structure finally began to collapse.
Metal screamed as support beams snapped. Entire sections of the tower folded inward. Chunks of the outer walls fell into the ocean.
"Shit!" Nico shouted.
He grabbed Rex with one arm and Viper with the other.
His green aura flared.
Then he lifted off the ground.
They hovered above the collapsing fortress as it crumbled beneath them.
Platforms folded inward. Towers collapsed. Metal bridges snapped and crashed into the ocean.
Far below, Dr. E and Noir fell through the wreckage.
After a moment, Nico lowered himself onto a large piece of rubble and set Rex and Viper down.
By now the storm had completely passed.
The sky above them was bright blue.
Sunlight shone across the ruins scattered over the ocean.
Dr. E climbed onto a nearby pile of wreckage, breathing heavily.
Across from him, Noir stepped forward.
The two fighters faced each other in the remains of the destroyed fortress.
Super Nico on one side.
Noir on the other.
Nico tilted his head.
"You're not very strong."
Noir said nothing.
Nico looked him up and down.
"If I had to guess..."
He smirked.
"Your power output level is about 850."
Noir's tail flicked slowly.
Inside Dr. E's mind, his thoughts were calm.
"I don't know much about these Rubies."
"And I also know that this form has a time limit."
"Which is why I called Noir."
"One of my weaker soldiers."
"With that being said, he is not meant to win."
"He's meant to stall."
"Just long enough..."
"For Nico's transformation to run out."
Back on the battlefield, Noir moved first.
He dashed forward.
This time Nico didn't even dodge.
He let Noir punch him.
The hit landed square in Nico's chest.
Nothing happened.
Nico slowly looked down at him.
"...You done?"
Then Nico backhanded him.
CRACK.
Noir flew across the rubble and bounced along the ground like a ragdoll.
Rex winced.
"Damn."
Noir pushed himself back up.
He charged again.
Nico sidestepped, grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, and slammed him face-first into the ground.
BOOM.
The rubble shattered beneath the impact.
Noir tried to recover.
Nico kicked him in the ribs and launched him across the battlefield.
Noir rolled across broken steel before getting back to his feet.
The red pupils in his eyes glowed brighter.
Nico cracked his knuckles.
"Alright."
His green aura flared brighter.
"You wanna stall me?"
He moved slowly.
Then vanished.
The next punch hit like thunder.
Noir's body bent around Nico's fist as the blow sent him flying through three broken walls of the fortress ruins.
Debris exploded everywhere.
Rex stared.
"...He's getting bullied."
Dr. E watched from nearby, quietly checking the timer on his scanner.
"Just a little longer..."
Inside the wreckage, Nico stepped through the dust and cracked his neck.
Noir staggered out from the hole in the wall.
Still standing.
Barely.
Nico smirked.
"Oh."
He raised his fists again.
"So you can take a beating."
The green aura flared brightly under the clear blue sky.
And the fight was far from over.