The Grand Battle II! [Happy End!]

Originally posted on MSPA by Schazer.

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As the Sunset clutched the black mass with its metallic digits, all it heard was a ceaseless screaming in his ears pounding from the Faceless as it thrashed and tried to free itself from the Sunset's grip. Nonetheless, the Balancer repeated its command, hoping the mad creature heard it.
Failing to escape, Vyrm'n attempted to crawl up the Sunset's arm, but found a powerful repulsive force across the suit which prevented its black form from sliding across it. The obvious exception to this was The Balancer's palm, which adhered to the dark surface without fail.

The Balancer, still waiting for a response, began to warm up the Nightmare. In the haze of madness, Vyrm'n heard the hum and all the fight went out of it, the Faceless sliding off Galus who immediately darted into a corner, rifle charged and pointing at the Faceless; though he kept glancing nervously at the Balancer, lest it was trying to kill all of them.

Vyrm'n lay in a fluid pile which was topped by the Sunset's indomitable grip. The Faceless quivered unceasingly as if in constant pain, consciousness flickering about the room like the gaze of a cornered, frightened animal. Despite its long-departed logical reasoning, the Faceless knew it was in deepest shit. It was the target of two foes who could not easily be subjected to the void; and while the uncaring endlessness still swelled and filled its black heart Vyrm'n was incapable of communicating with anyone.

In a move that was pure instinct, no longer dictated by rational thought, Vyrm'n sent a flicker of thought up to the Sunset's mind. It screamed of pain; not a wish for it upon the Balancer but a simple wish for it to stop altogether. The Balancer considered this, wondering whether it would simply be easier to blast the Faceless out of existence now and be done with it. Yet its resemblance to the Balancer of old was uncanny, other than this animalistic instinct...

"GALUS LEE MATTHEWS, YOU WILL LOWER YOUR WEAPON IMMEDIATELY." Galus bit his lip; hearing the increased hum from the Sunset's weapon he reluctantly discharged the shot harmlessly into the ground, but did not put it away and remained standing warily by the door. The Faceless still shook at the Sunset's feet; unable to execute its only plan of violent destruction, it had to be content with staying where it was.

The Sunset would not repeat its command. Lowering the Nightmare to a region approximating the black beast's head, it held it several inches away from the black surface for a moment, giving Vyrm'n one last chance to explain.
The Faceless was still an eternity away when the Balancer pressed the Nightmare, the murderous extension of its cleansing spirit, upon the inky flesh.

~~~

In the Sunset's mind, hell suddenly broke loose. As its existence caught wind of the eternal emptiness consuming the Facelss and began to fade into insignificance at the sight of it; something rushed at the Balancer's being screaming and trying to explain everything at once.
Vyrm'n's scorched and tortured soul had had enough of suffering within its present shell, and fled to the Balancer's, mercifully dragging the entity away from the void.
Within the metal suit, a silent struggle took place as the Sunset attempted to drive away the torrent of consciousness that flooded its mind. The Faceless' mind put up no resistance other than being there, surrounding the Balancer from all around with its cries of agony.

"GET OUT." The suit bellowed the words to the room, where only Galus (and several boxes which were an approaching Gestalt) heard them, wondering who the Balancer was talking to. "GET OUT OR YOU WILL BE REMOVED."

Though the Nightmare had not shifted from its contact with Vyrm'n, Galus took the hint and fled. Gestalt made itslef inconspicuous as the pilot ran by, waiting to exact its promise at a time which was less likely to result in its own death.


Within the Balancer's mind, the same words roared, but with little effect. Vyrm'n simply fled to a corner of the Sunset's mind, trying to make itself as small as possible (but failing miserably). The Sunset roared at Vyrm'n, for all the world to hear:

"YOU HAVE NO PLACE HERE. GET OUT IMMEDIATELY."

Vyrm'n, now independent from the soul-scattering emptiness, was capable of replying lucidly but weakly, My apologies, this was the only way I could communicate- before the Sunset repeated, "GET OUT." Desperation surging into its voice, Vyrm'n added, I beg you- before the Sunset surged at the black spirit with an intent to destroy.

In its own mind, the Sunset was as capable of being as flowing and sinuous as the Faceless. The two entities clashed within the armour, wrestling furiously for some time until, finally, the Sunset succeeded in forcibly hurling out Vyrm'n into its own body again.

~~~

Vyrm'n suffered severe astral disorientation as its consciousness was restored to its rightful place, but the out-of-body experience had done it good: It only took it several moments of control to reassert sentience's dominance over the infinite void and become capable of conscious thought again.

The first thing it noticed was the burn of the Nightmare on its dark countenance; as surreptitiously as possible it slid away enough that the contact had been terminated, though it made no struggle against the Sunset's grasp above.

Thank you, Balancer. Now we may talk.

The Balancer, again, considered for a moment releasing the trigger and killing this creature who had invaded its mind as a base instinct. Instinct. Now the creature seemed thoroughly courteous. Wondering if it was making the right choice, the Sunset boomed, "I WILL NOT REPEAT MYSELF AGAIN FACELESS. WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE."

If the shadow was capable of posturing submissively, it would've. As it was; Vyrm'n consented with making its mental voice sound as respectful and inoffensive as possible.

I... hate this world, Balancer. Its chaotic structure brings constant pain to my very soul. I tried to kill one of our number merely as a swift means to leave this world, but his traps hampered me. I- it terminated the link with a yelp of pain as the Nightmare was butted against it to punctuate the Sunset's next question.

"YOU ARE THE ONE CAUSING THE MOST PAIN AND DESTRUCTION, FACELESS. EXPLAIN WHY IT WOULD NOT BE EASIER FOR ME TO END THIS ROUND BY REMOVING YOU HERE AND NOW."

Because I - I can help you kill the Karmist. Awaiting another burn from the Nightmare but not receiving it, Vyrm'n continued pleadingly, You cannot kill him, yet you wish him dead. He and I both take life by our nature, granted, but- another involuntary spasm of pain from the Faceless -but, I am the force which he wishes to wield and subjugate as his own. I was never designed to desire power or wealth or anything in infinity; the void is merely my nature. I-

"SILENCE. DO NOT STEAL MY WORDS FROM ME, FACELESS." The hand gripped a little tighter, the gun shoved into the depths of darkness before the Faceless could respond or shy away. "YOU SAY YOU ARE A FORCE THE KARMIST MAY WIELD. IF THAT IS THE CASE-" *click* "-THEN BY YOUR RATIONALE-" *the whine of some sort of ignition kicking in* "-YOU HAVE BEST BE ELIMINATED, LIKE THE GUARDIAN ORBS."

YOUR TIME! Vyrm'n shrieked, though only the Sunset heard it. It paused, though detonation was only a twitch away. Assuming the Faceless had picked up on some of the Sunset's thoughts, it seemed inevitable it had seen the timer. Unsurprising, considering its value constantly ran through the Balancer's mind. When it looked at it, it couldn't believe it.

Somehow, against all logic, the timer had gained another year and a half. The glowing coilgun emerged, still glowing, from the Faceless. "EXPLAIN."

I do not know, admitted Vyrm'n, and the Sunset had to believe the Faceless. To deliberately hide the truth at a point like this was beyond idiotic. All I can offer is... life can only stare into my piece of the void for so long before its insignificance to it becomes clear and it fades into nothingness. For some reason I cannot explain, the opposite happened to you. Uttering in a voice as calm and reasonable as it was capable, Vyrm'n added, I have already assisted you to some extent in defeating the Karmist. Would - would you please release me?

The Sunset considered demanding the Faceless reopen the void to possibly further its own life, but Vyrm'n's own confusion on the matter halted it. Consenting to the Faceless' request, the Balancer released its grip. Vyrm'n wasted no time slithering out of the way and reforming into a black pillar by the pile of boxes which now formed a ring formation around the dark shape.