The God of Gravity part 4: Nine Guardians

Tragedy

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  Silva attacks Hyun with a bigger metal this time. He slices it in half but like a fluid, it collapses on him, trapping him inside a ball of metal. It shakes as he tries to get out. Oso is already attacking her but he could only do so much. Her piercing attacks don't work against his hard skin. So, she sends him away with a single blow using a giant hammer. He lands a dozen miles away.

  Jack is the only one that's left. He's flying in the air to avoid her attacks. She sprays needles to riddle him with holes. He uses that pulse again. But it is useless against a large spike coming from below. It hits his back then the tip goes out from his chest, impaling him in midair. 

  Now that no one is gonna distract her, her eyes glow silver. Tons of metal rise from the ground, gathering above the ship. It blocks the sunlight as if an eclipse is going in right now. Later, it becomes larger than the ship.

  “Catastrophic Collapse!!!” she cries, grinning intensely that her teeth could almost c***k.

  The huge ball of metal crashes against the barrier of the ship. The whole plateau is shaking, the nearby cliffs crumble, and the ship is slowly tipping to the side. Inside, the people are in a panic. They hold on to anything to stay in one place. 

  “The shield won't hold!!” Chao screams out, trying everything he can to keep the shield going.

  Then they know that there's nothing they could do. Hiroki goes to embrace Prisha to try to protect her. Gwen, Philip, and Icarus are bracing for impact behind them. Jasper is laughing beside Sayuri—who is unconscious on her throne. 

  “Curse you, Mother!!!” he laughs.

  The shield breaks, following a large explosion. The ship is crushed by a big ball of metal. A second later, it explodes into a fireball. It's like the sun behind the horizon. It can be seen on Jack's dead eyes as they reflect it. Hyun just got his head out of the metal ball he's trapped in. He's roaring from the top of his lungs, tears pouring out of his eyes. Oso could not see well from the distance because of his swelling cheekbones but he knows what is going on. 

  Silva's strength is depleted to even keep her standing. She kneels, watching the chaos she inflicted from this distance. The smirk on her face is as intense as before. 

  Gwen, Prisha, Hiroki, Philip, and Chao are still screaming but Jasper has stopped laughing. He's grinning but it seems his eyes are lifeless. The ship has stopped rumbling and they find this odd. They open their eyes and see the nose of the ship destroyed and wide open. 

  Jasper stands up from his seat and walks out. Because of the silence, the sound of his feet stepping on the sand resonates throughout the place. Outside, there are two silhouettes. 

  “Jasper,” Yanmei says, looking glad to have found him. Leo is staring somewhere else.

  Jasper didn't mind the. but turns around to see the ship. Only the cockpit is left. The rest of the rocket is nowhere to be found. Right now, they're on the desert sand. The blazing plateau is a mile away.

  “I'm sorry we couldn't save the rest,” she says behind him. “This was all we could teleport.”

  He drops his knees on the sand and squeezes his face with his right hand. “Not again...,” he mutters. 

  The rest of his comrades go out to see what happened. Icarus and Philip carry Sayuri out of the cockpit. Her left arm is on Philip's shoulders, the right on Icarus. Then all of them are surprised to see Yanmei and Leo. Only Arina doesn't recognize them.

  “Leo!” Philip exclaims, running to him. “Leo! You're here! How?!” But Leo doesn't respond. Philip senses something wrong. “Leo?”

  “I'll explain to you later,” she says.

  “What happened to the rest of the ship?” asks Hiroki.

  “We couldn't teleport something that huge,” says Yanmei.

  “So...,” He swallows before continuing, “the rest of the people—”

  “—are dead,” Jasper connects. They all look at him.

  Prisha weeps as well as Gwen. The rest of them are devastated except for Icarus. He's not affected at all. For a couple of seconds, there's no one says a word.

  “Where are Hyun, Oso, and Jack?” asks Gwen. 

  “There,” Icarus answers, pointing to the west in the distance where there are shining metals and decimated dunes. 

  The large spike can be seen but they're not sure who is impaled on it. The metal ball is shaking as Hyun is still trying to get out. A lot farther, Oso is limping, on his way to get back to the fight.

  “They need help!” yells Philip.

  “No,” Jasper answers.

  “What do you mean?!”

  “Stay here. I'll handle this.” 

  There was no emotion in Jasper's voice. They did not see his face when he said it so they aren't sure how to take it. They just let him go and watch from there. He transforms into a bird and flies steadily, not in a rush nor taking too much time. Silva is sitting on the sand, watching the mushroom cloud on the plateau. He transforms back to himself near the spike where Jack is impaled on.

  “Jasper!” Jack screams from the top of the spike. “You survived! What about the others?

  “They're fine.”

  “Thank goodness! What is happening?! Why can't I feel pain? Why am I still ali—”

  “I'll get you out of there later, Jack.”

  “Alright, be careful. She might catch you off-guard.”

  “Don't worry about me.”

  They nod at each other before Jasoer continues walking to his mother. Hyun is out of the metal ball now. 

  “I'LL K*LL YOU!!!” he screams, charging towards her. But then he stops when he sees Jasper beside her. “Jasper!” he exclaims.

  Jasper didn't mind him and just stands beside his mother as she sits on the sand.

  “So, you survived,” she says. 

  “Luckily,” he answers.

  “However, it's my victory. The people you took in are the enemies of Olympus Mons. They betrayed the state.”

  “They're innocent people, Silva,” Jasper says.

  “What do you mean, Jasper?” asks Hyun.

  “Is that how you call your mother?” she asks.

  “You'll never be my mother,” says Jasper.

  “JASPER!!!” Hyun screams, grabbing him by his collar. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!!!”

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