u/Craftex101

Ra floats above the arena, his eye frantically shooting between the many viewer platforms where Pandora, alongside the Einherjar and Benkei’s Legion are helping the injured from Ra’s onslaught. “GRRRRRR!” His eyes lock onto Icarus again. “You… ICARUS!”

Icarus is panting heavily but his smirk remains on his face. “That’s my name. Glad you’re finally learning it!” He holds out his sword of Theseus and his new shield of Pallas which is constructed a lot more mechanically. Both of them feel heavy in his hands. But he can’t let it show… He clenches both of his fists around the grips of his weapons and shoots off towards Ra.

Ra, through a gritted beak, envelops his fists in sunballs and moves in as well. RA’S MIGHTY SUNFISTS! “You dare think you are anyone worth remembering!? Your foolish companions refuse to stop SHOUTING your name at the heavens!” He grunts as he deflects Icarus’s initial swing of the sword, throwing a straight at the young boy who jerks his head away and throws an uppercut with his shield.

Ra slams his fist down on it to knock it away, Icarus being forced to let it go before he’s struck in the chest, Ra aiming for the emblem, but he managed to move out of the way and be struck directly instead! “Heh. Just admit it… you know who I am,” Icarus mutters as he newly freed hand holds onto Ra’s arm to not be flung away.

Ra, in annoyance, winds his fist back. “Unhand me, peasant!” he strikes Icarus in the face. “You. And your worthless island of misfits! Your worthless SPECIES will crumble under my feet! To dust!” He keeps striking Icarus in the face as if to accentuate his point.

Icarus’s head reels back from each strike but he simply pulls himself back, refusing to release Ra’s arm. “That… the best… you got?” Icarus mumbles with a grin still on his face! He takes a heavy swing with his blade, Ra being unable to move out of the way, but he doesn’t need to! The Sun God simply grabs hold of the blade, the blazing heat from his sunfists sizzling against the metal, his sharp claws scratching against the surface.

Icarus quickly realizes his sword will literally melt if he doesn’t get it free! He lets go of Ra’s arm and spins for a spinning kick to Ra’s head! Ra scoffs as he twists Icarus’s sword, forcing his hand to twist with it and stopping his kick JUST before it can connect. “PATHETIC!” He chops at the sword with his other hand, snapping the blade in half due to the softening from his heat!

However as soon as the blade snaps, Icarus uses his wings to continue his kick, following through with his OTHER leg and finally landing another solid hit on Ra. “How’s that for pathetic!?”

However as Icarus finishes his spin, he feels a tight tug on his wings. Ra grabbed hold of one of them with his talons on his feet. “Very pathetic,” Ra strains his open palm, collecting a ball of sunflames! He twists Icarus up to face him, though they are upside down compared to one another. Icarus’s eyes widen as Ra slams him straight on with the ball, sending Icarus flying back.

Pandora gasps from one of the stands where she’s taken refuge, right next to Tyr and Ichiko. “!!!” Her worry instantly doubles when suddenly Icarus’s wings start to… BURN?! “W-what!? But… isn’t he… he’s heat-proof! And his wings!”

Tyr grunts. “At least… he was… That medallion on his chest. It was the item your box produced, correct?”

“Y-yeah! It makes him immune to Ra’s heat!”

Tyr nods. “I see… well… then I am afraid that boy is… doomed…” He comments as Icarus softens his landing on the ground with a single flap of his wings. He flaps his wings to stop the flames from spreading. He looks down at his chest, realizing in the same moment as Pandora and the rest of the audience. The medallion is CRACKED! “... Or? Hm.”

As soon as Icarus lands he falls to his knees, dropping the hilt of the blade he was carrying! His vision blurring due to an immense increase in degrees. His lips instantly chapping and tearing in places from dryness. His heart starts beating faster and faster. He feels dizzy. Disoriented. Just breathing the air feels like it’s burning his lungs! How… how are you supposed to fight this guy WITHOUT negating this HEAT!? He was fighting in THIS the whole time? “Hah. Hah… nnngh… Pandora… you really saved me… a ton… of… pain…” He mutters under his breath.

Ra lands with extra speed, cracking the floor on impact and Icarus looks up at him. “It would appear that the heat has gotten to you now. Do you feel it? The anger of The Sun Himself?” Ra spits with venom on his breath. Icarus tries getting up, slowly but steadily, rocky on his feet. “Now that your little ‘gift’ is taken care of… I am going to enjoy this!” The Sun God adds with almost a look of delight on his face as he balls up his fist and winds it back. Icarus tries to put up a block but his arms are even heavier now and he gets a solid strike to the face. “A human like you… a human like you truly thought he could stand up to me!? ME!?” He calls out as Icarus rolls along the ground, rather pathetically.

Icarus tries to get up again, struggling against the heat through gritted teeth. His skin feels like it’s bubbling. Melting! Ra steps up behind him. “You wish to be on your feet?” He grips Icarus’s hair, pulling him to his feet, looking into his eyes. “You see how pointless it is? Your struggle? Every choice in your life? All it amounted to was being a stain on the flo-” Icarus interrupts Ra by spitting in his face, of course Icarus’s saliva has already evaporated long before he even could… but just when Ra is about to gloat Icarus takes a sudden swing at him. Ra’s eyes widen as he reacts quickly by CRUSHING Icarus into the floor. “DESPERATE! LITTLE! ANT!” Ra slams his face into the stone floor over and over again, leaving a bloody stain on it. “I would like you to beg for your life. Go on. Maybe I will be merciful.”

Icarus feels his head being raised to allow him to ‘beg’. “Heh. As if you would.”

Ra scoffs. “For once… we agree,” He hoists Icarus back on his feet, slamming his fists together, making them erupt in flames. RA’S MIGHTY SUNFISTS! He begins a beatdown on Icarus, who can barely keep himself on his feet! Let alone fighting back. Each meaty hit met with the equally visceral sound of sizzling flesh from the heat. Each strike to Icarus’s tank-top tearing another hole in it. “I am certain when you had that FLUKE earlier!” He lands a firm fist right in Icarus’s fist. “Striking a god as powerful as ME! That made you feel powerful! Like you were worth a damn! It was the GREATEST moment in your pathetic life!” He uppercuts Icarus with vigor. “But now you feel how fleeting of a moment that was! NOTHING-!” BAM! “BUT-!” BAM! “DISTANT-!” CRACK! “FORGOTTEN-!” POW! “MEMORY!” Ra winds back his fist for a final devastating blow! Icarus exhales sharply and tries to throw a weak counter attack but Ra simply grabs his fist out of the air, his sunfists disappearing as he crushes Icarus’s hand, digging his talons into it, making the young man scream in anguish and drop to his knees as he feels the bones in his hand crack like twigs under Ra’s immense strength. But before it even registers fully Icarus feels Ra’s knee connecting with his face. “Keep it down, worm,” He grabs Icarus’s leg with his foot to pull him a little closer. “Do you not realize what is happening, worm? Your life is in my hands now.”

Icarus weakly presses some buttons on his gauntlet, Naucrate firing a few pods down towards the two of them. “I am not done… just. Yet.”

Ra scoffs and shoots both pods out of the sky with barely a thought. “Hmpf. So you still hold hope in that device,” He smirks and steps on Icarus’s back to keep him pinned, as he takes aim at Naucrate, forming a massive Sunball in his hands. RA’S GLORIOUS RA-!? Icarus, using his technological wings rather than muscles, shoots himself off the ground, making Ra lose his footing and miss his shot, striking one of the platform shields instead. “Grrrr…” He angrily punches Icarus back into the floor. “You little pest!”

Ra pushes Icarus with his foot. He points with a talon which forms tiny Sunballs which Ra begins happily shooting at Icarus, making them explode and push him around. “Look at you! Without your toys! You are nothing! Without help! You. Are. NOTHING!” Icarus lands against the downed Danaus and slowly hoists himself up against the slanted wall. His legs are shaky.

‘It hurts… so bad. His words sting just as much as his flames. I know it’s true. I can’t do anything on my own. I’ve never… ever… done anything without help… But-’ He smirks, raising his fists, supporting himself mostly on the wall behind him. He can barely make out a faint blob of color against the sandstone walls that must be Ra. “... is that… supposed to make me feel… bad? Obviously I’m nothing… without my friends. My family. The people I know and care about. The people who care enough about me to help me. They make me who I am. Make me… your worst nightmare.”

Ra feels his eye twitch and he swaps from one finger to his whole fist. He strikes the air and fires a sunbeam at Icarus who manages to roll aside just in time, another giant hole being dug into Danaus. “MY WORST NIGHTMARE?! You think there exists such a thing as a nightmare for ME!?” Icarus rolls BACK around and into the hole in Danaus. “After such a speech, you HIDE!? How truly HUMAN of you!”

Ra strides over and picks up his staff again, flicking it up with his foot rather than bend down and giving it a quick spin. He points it at Danaus, forming a sunball rapidly and launching it at the fallen Pod.

As the sunball TEARS through the wooden and metal frame a figure erupts from the side. Ra smirking. “It is futile to run. My heat will-” However as Ra turns to face Icarus, he notes something strange in the young man’s hand. DANAÏDES #33: ANTHELEIA! And his body is doused in water. The water from the pods that Ra can’t evaporate! He’s using it to cool himself down?! Icarus swings a leg at Ra, aiming high! “CLEVER! But FUTILE!” Ra easily dodges the attack, even as Icarus follows up by swinging the pod at Ra, the sun god simply smashes it to pieces with his staff and kicks Icarus straight in the stomach, his sharp talons tearing into his chest.

Icarus tumbles back, panting as he tries to get up. Even if the water isn’t evaporating… it’s still getting warmer… and dripping off. He grits his teeth. “Thanks. I thought it was… pretty clever myself too,” He grumbles as he gets to his feet now a little dizzy again.

“Don’t flatter yourself. Clever for a worm,” Icarus’s eyes shift towards Danaus for only a moment. Ra instantly reacts, firing another another Sunball at Danaus, completely breaking it as the rubble goes flying off the edge of the arena. “No more of that. You see? It is trivial for a god such as me to manifest my will into reality. While you must claw and scratch away at the world for even the slightest advantage. Watch. Or I suppose in your state you must simply FEEL as I take away your last. Possible… advantage. And despair as you are OUT! OF OPTIONS!” Ra raises his staff, floating into the air. With his free hand he continues to shoot at Icarus with tiny sunballs, forcing him to weakly dodge however he regains some of his vision seeing Ra aiming for Naucrate. “Now… despair.”

Icarus swiftly puts a thumb on the ‘wheel’ on his gauntlet spinning it the whole way around and slamming his hand down on it. Naucrate suddenly opens up every door and fires out EVERY remaining pod just in time for Ra’s sunball to crash into the massive structure and send it crashing towards the ground below. Icarus suddenly feels a strong heatwave erupt once more, dropping to his knees. Ra looks around at the pods flying all over the place, calmly shooting as many out of the sky as he can. Icarus grits his teeth as he rushes at Ra attempting to tackle him to the ground! However the heat is rendering his muscles weak and he barely manages to budge Ra as he grapples around his waist. “AAAAH! Just… FALL ALREADY, you asshole bird!” Icarus yells out weakly punching the sun god in the side.

“Hmpf. Still kicking?” Ra grabs Icarus’s wing, forcing him to his knees. He winds back his knee. “No weapons left, no strength in your muscles! No tricks up your sleeve!” He knees Icarus in the face, and immediately strikes him with his staff, sending him tumbling to the ground. “Truly. You have lost. In every sense of the word. I am beyond you, worm,” He says as Icarus tries to push himself off the ground, but fails. ‘I AM beyond you. I am beyond your entire SPECIES… so what is it…? That irritates me so?’

Pandora feels tears well up in his ears. “Oh no… Icarus…”

Tyr closes his eyes solemnly. “You did all you cou-”

Ichiko however howls at the sky. “HE’S NOT GIVING UP! ICARUS FIGHT ON!!”

Ra seems to have noticed the same thing as Ichiko as he looks into Icarus’s eyes as the human stares up at him, while trembling in every limb as he stands. ‘What… is with those eyes? Those DAMN eyes!’ He thinks as he grits his beak. “YOU WISH TO DIE ON YOUR HILL OF DELUSION!? So be it! But I would like you to PERISH!” He suddenly shoots into the sky. “OBSERVE! And realize your powerlessness,” He focuses his all into his raised hand, a sunball unlike any other forming. More brilliantly white, more bursting with power. And it grows. And grows. And grow… Until its size equals the diameter of the arena itself. RA’S SOLAR DOMINUS! He swings his arm as hard as he can, launching the massive sphere down towards the arena. “BE TURNED TO ASH!”

Pandora tightens her grip on the railing. ‘I should… do something! No… he’s going to di-’ However her thoughts are interrupted as Icarus looks over at her and… smiles?

Sun Tzu elsewhere has settled down amongst humanity, with Houdini at his side. “Hehehe…”

“What??! You’re LAUGHING at this?”

“Appear weak when you are strong… and strong when you are weak…”

“... aaaaah.”

Icarus’s wings begin to rev with power, every single bit of energy they have left pouring into them, drowned out by the massive crackling of the sunball. He shoots off the ground at IMMENSE speeds. STRAIGHT into the Solar Dominus!

All Ra sees moments later is Icarus BURSTING forth from his Solar Dominus, bursting it apart like a particularly hot soap-bubble, foot aimed DIRECTLY at him. “WHAT?! HOW!?”

“CAUSE I GOT GUTS, RA!” BOOOOOM! Icarus STRIKES! RISING PHOENIX: SPEAR OF CRETE! The echo of the kick to Ra’s stomach reverberates into the arena and makes several gods grab their own stomachs in turn. The speed of a bullet and the full weight of Icarus, concentrated into Ra’s chest! More force than any of his previous strikes!

As Ra’s vision blurs from the pain and sudden pressure in his solar plexus he looks into Icarus’s eyes again. “You… fucking piece of shit,”

https://preview.redd.it/ipw1z3yl5g1h1.jpg?width=4961&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d3f60fe1573e32779f5bbfa118cb61108f57db7

https://preview.redd.it/jcxf81um5g1h1.png?width=2480&format=png&auto=webp&s=8f67e2d8383ee83584aad575b54ca77ed54a50f8

Ra practically EXPLODES backwards, as if the laws of physics required a moment to compute the accurate force with which to launch him. He drops his staff as he flies off, Icarus catching it as he begins his clumsy descent.

Panting and heaving, the Cretan touches down on the ground.. “Haaaaaah… Got him,” He simply whispers as he raises his fist to the sky. 

Tyr looks closely at the boy. “It is a wonder he can stand. But that was clever.” Pandora and Ichiko look to the war god, both tilting their heads simultaneously in identical manners. “The medallion didn’t break. Only the ‘glass’. He turned it off manually.”

They both go wide-eyed. “But… He got so hurt!” Ichiko barks. “Hurt is BAD!”

“Yeah! But…” She puts the pieces together. “He endured ALL of that just to make Ra lower his guard for this big attack! TO LAND THE FINISHING BLOW!”

Humanity erupts in cheers and even the gods are impressed as applause joins the cheers. “The kid did it!?” “That’s CRAZY!” “Ra was DEFEATED!?” 

Icarus looks to Pandora giving her a peacesign and a toothy grin. “Looks like I got him, finally!”

https://preview.redd.it/him57xpo5g1h1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=cc8f46119e0652defd1874415ea9d011274af86f

Heimdall lets out a sigh of relief. “It seems that it is OVER! With a decisive blow Icarus has DEFEATED Ra! The winner-”

https://preview.redd.it/gywb1gnp5g1h1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=98a9f52492222c708a368561fd83bad176575160

“Who defeated me, exactly?” Ra’s voice echoes as he crashes down into the arena, behind Icarus who can barely muster the courage to turn around. Ra has a massive footprint on his stomach, torn through his skin and bleeding slightly but it appears the sun god seared it shut with his own flames. “You? Defeat ME? Such accusations will not be tolerated. The only one who decides anything in this tournament… is ME!”

Icarus’s fear flashes for only a few brief moments before he inhales sharply and turns his head around. “... Back… for more huh?”

Icarus and Ra clash in midair, sword to staff. “You truly believe you can defeat me? When you are this WEAK!?” Ra easily pushes Icarus back. Ra holds his free hand out. “Behold the power of a TRUE GOD!” He blasts a massive beam of sunfire at Icarus. The young boy recovers from the push and is instantly putting up his shield to block, the beam pushing him back against one of the floating audience platforms. Icarus grits his teeth, before slowly rising above the platform, as Ra focuses the flame on him. As he rises above the platform, Icarus SHOOTS off into the sky. “Bothersome pest…” Ra scoffs as he sets off in pursuit. 

Icarus spins in the sky looking down at Ra. He’s panting and heaving, his sweat slowly starting to evaporate the closer Ra gets. “I really could use a plan right about now…” He mutters under his breath before shooting down towards Ra!

The sun god stops mid-air on a dime, pointing his staff forward. RA’S BLINDING RAY! The sunfire collects and once more shoots forward, far faster being channeled through his staff rather than his hand! Icarus swerves around the beam even as Ra corrects his aim. However as Icarus approaches him using this strategy Ra smugly smirks. “You are naive…” He grins sadistically as he grips the staff tighter and the beam widens in an instant, swallowing Icarus up within it. 

Pandora gasps. “ICARUS!”

Ichiko growls angrily. “Grrrr! Sun is meant to be bright and NICE! Not evil! Bird is evil!”

Wukong pats Ichiko on the head. “You got a real way with words, pup. But yeah… That Ra is no joke…” Icarus shoots out from the beam, flying away from Ra, out of control and plunging towards the ground. “Woah woah wait… is he… unconscious?” 

Pandora’s eyes widen. “N-no… Icarus?” However as Ra breaks his beam and shoots towards the young boy, Icarus seems to wake up and shake his head back to reality. He corrects himself just in time for Ra to wind his fist back, taking aim at the emblem on his chest. With only a split second to react, Icarus simply LAUNCHES himself as hard as he can further down, Ra striking him in the stomach instead and sending him hurtling towards the ground even faster!

Ra, continuing his pursuit, holds his arms back as he shoots down! Behind him a trail of sunballs begin to form. Icarus corrects once more, RIGHT before hitting the ground beneath the arena! Gritting his teeth and firing himself back into the air. If he touches the ground he loses. He CAN’T allow that! Ra stops his charge, as if using his momentum to swing his staff, sending the 50 or so sunballs that have trailed behind him down at Icarus. 

Icarus pants and heaves as he shoots himself up and away dodging and cutting the spheres as he does! 

Up in the arena the crowd is muttering amongst themselves. “This is… brutal. That kid really doesn’t stand a chance anymore does he?” “He should just give up…” The gods mutter. “Yeah but also… he kind of kicked Ra’s ass before.” “I’ve NEVER seen Ra use this transformation power. Didn’t even know he had it.” 

“Ra really got pushed this far by some random human?” 

Another spectator shakes his head. “No he’s not a random human. Remember when that human tried to fly to the top of Olympus? By flying? That was him. I’m pretty sure anyways…”

“Well… still. Ra might not be as powerful as he seems.”

In the shadows Osiris stands in dead silence, a dark expression fallen over his face as he looks at the screens of the fight. “... Hm,” He suddenly steps into the light and raises a fist. “YOU DARE think such lowly things about THE Ra!? The mighty King of the Duat!? His heat-wave alone would have been PLENTY to defeat ANY previous member of humanity’s chosen! But Icarus CHEATED! That emblem on his chest is absorbing all of the heat! If he did not he would be ASH!” He declares with vigor and righteous fury!

However the gods look back and forth. “Well yeah. But he’s got it… and Ra hasn’t taken it off of him yet.”

Osiris scoffs. “Suit yourselves. However when Ra wins this bout you will ALL be in for it!”

Suddenly both fighters zoom past the audience stand Ra lands on the arena grounds again, Icarus continuing to soar. Ra looks up at Icarus who circles the arena like a vulture. “Such a nimble little gnat…” He grumbles as he grips his claws into the floor crossing his arms. “So be it. If you truly wish to feel the full-” However a voice cuts through the crowd. 

“GO, LORD RA! DESTROY HIM!” Osiris calls out and Ra’s eye twitches.

Ra suddenly points and a small sunball forms on his fingertip, firing past Osiris’s head and burying into the seat behind him, luckily missing the audience member who ducks in time. “You DARE order me around, Osiris!? You think I require a CHEER!? You think I care about the words of this foolish audience.”

Osiris nervously laughs and sculks back into his seat. “N-no of course not, Lord Ra. How foolish of me. Please. I beg your forgiveness.”

“Tsk. I was about to destroy this annoyance regardless,” Ra aims into the air and begins rapidly blasting sunballs into the sky! Each one floating around and forming a veritable minefield for Icarus to navigate. Eventually collecting his hands, Ra forms another large ball in his hands and fires it at Icarus. “GET DOWN HERE, YOU WORM!”

Icarus zooms around in the air. ‘I’d really love to! But I can’t get close right now… I need a plan… something… anything! There HAS to be a weakpoint to exploit!’ He glances to Naucrate looking for an answer but finding nothing.

Ra furiously screeches as Icarus keeps expertly dodging his attacks… even when he’s struck he just won’t fall again. Ra stops his attack and prepares to shoot into the sky after him again, but he pauses.

The voice of the audience once more in his ear. “Mommy I’m worried for mister Icarus… will he be able to win?” “That bastard Ra. How bottomless is his power!?” “Ra would even attack his most faithful advisor for annoying him?” 

A creepy smile forms on his beak. “Hmmm… I see…” He thinks back a little. “Get down!” Icarus’s voice echoes in his ears. “Lord Ra. might I ask you… refrain from disturbing the audience?” Heimdall’s voice repeats as well. “Hope of Crete… fighting for the sake of others. Hmhmhmh. HAHAHA!” Ra laughs out loud. 

Icarus pauses in the air hearing Ra… laugh. “What’s so funny!?” 

Ra however doesn’t answer, simply holding his hand out towards Icarus forming a sunball, larger than the small mines he was placing. Icarus prepares to dodge it when suddenly Ra aims to the side instead. Straight at the audience. “Your weakness… has been staring at me this entire time,” He fires the sunsphere at the audience, Icarus’s eyes widening and he zooms down as fast as he can! The humans all shield their loved ones before Icarus stops the attack with his shield. 

Ra follows up the attack with a barrage of sunballs! Icarus slashing at the sunballs with fervor using his sword, deflecting with his shield. A few of the spheres striking him, feeling to him like solid spheres of metal being thrown at high speeds.

Ra smiles cockily. “You truly are predictable. And weak. I do not even need to aim at you like this. You will simply fly into the way of my bullets. Watch,” He then fires at the next platform over, filled with gods. Icarus once more shooting from his perch to block the attack, not quite making it in time to block with his shield, throwing his wings in front of them instead, gritting his teeth as he stands on the railing. 

Ra unleashes another flurry of attacks at the platform, forcing Icarus to block, dodge or allow them to strike him, lest they strike the audience who have nowhere to go due to the platforms floating away from the exits! 

“... Everyone alright back there?” Icarus mutters as more blood drips from his body than before. The parent of a young god in the front row, who was shielding his son, looks up from their ducked stances only to see Icarus still in front of their platform, shield and sword in hand, both with plentiful scorch-marks, Icarus himself having a few burns on him. “He… protected us?” He mutters under his breath. 

Icarus wipes the blood off his lips. “You scumbag… You really don’t have any integrity do you?” 

Ra holds out his clawed hand collecting tiny sun-spheres on the tips of his claws. “Integrity? What for? Those weaklings you so foolishly protected? Why should I, a mighty chief god, concern myself with the well-being of those beneath me!? But since you care SO VERY MUCH-!” He clenches his fist and the five spheres form a bigger one around his hand. He holds it towards Icarus who quickly flies up and away from the audience. “Then I see no reason not to exploit such failings!” His aim breaks from Icarus and instead points towards the human audience who all panic and try to move away, but the arena is densely packed and people are tripping over one another.

“YOU-!” Icarus launches from his spot as fast as he can, intercepting Ra’s beam with his shield, forced to stand on the railing to hold back the beam, the shield slowly but surely bending and distending from the heat, melting away. Icarus jumps forward, travelling up the beam with his melting shield until he reaches Ra who takes a swing at him with his staff! At the same time Icarus goes for a spinning kick to the head, both landing their strikes, but only Icarus goes flying, recovering as he hits back on the arena ground! “Every time I think you can’t get lower… you start digging,” He growls in annoyance taking small hops back, slicing apart the sunballs with his sword. 

“The judgement of a human, nay, ALL humans, all gods. It means NOTHING to me. THEY mean nothing to me! Only their subjugation matters,” He blindly points to the audience once again. Icarus, through gritted teeth jumps in the way again. “What FOOLISH heroic instincts. They will be the end of you. AHAHAHA!” 

Pandora and the gang all look on in horror as Icarus is forced to suddenly expend all his energy protecting the crowd! “This is bad… those fireballs-” Sun Tzu starts.

However Pandora interrupts him with a quick twirl. “Ichiko! Come on!” Ichiko quickly jumps off his perch to follow.

“Yes Friend Pandora! We go! … Where are we going!?”

Pandora stomps down the hallway with purpose. “We’re going to go help!”

“How!? I wanna help!” Ichiko calls out with an affirming bark.

“I don’t know just yet…! But we have to DO SOMETHING! That’s NOT fair!” 

However Houdini is on the other side of her. “Wait, we don't have a plan? We’re just… going?”

“Houdini!?”

“Yeah? And the others too obviously!” Pandora looks behind her as she runs through the halls seeing the rest of her present company following behind her.

“At your command, general!” Wukong says with a boisterous laughter. “But… please make a plan!”

“Benkei and his legion of followers are at your command,” Benkei adds stoically.

“I… I have an idea! Wukong! Ichiko! I need you two to-”

Hephaestus looks down at Pandora’s determined look as he strides after the group. “... you really have grown a lot in such a short time…” He whispers, feeling a single tear trickle down his chin. He feels something against his foot and looks down seeing Beethoven giving him a reassuring pat.

“ON IT!” Wukong calls out, speeding ahead, Ichiko leaping after him, followed by Benkei.

“I will save everyone, Friend Pandora!” Ichiko barks.

Houdini splits off from the main group. “Mister Hephaestus. With me, please.”

Hephaestus blinks in confusion. “Me? Very well. Pandora!” He calls out and Pandora looks over her shoulder, walking with Beethoven and Sun Tzu. “Please take care, my dear.”

“Of course! But I WILL save Icarus!” She calls out, before disappearing around a corner. Hephaestus follows Houdini, easily catching up to him given the sheer size-difference.

Icarus floats in front of the audience, panting as Ra has been striking him with his sunballs over and over. Even if he has struck most of the spheres and beams out of the air… he cannot deflect them all and has had to take some of them on his body. His sigil is fine. He taps it. “Haaaah. Is that… the best the Almighty Omnipotent Ra can do? Hold the audience hostage? You’re pathetic…” He mutters silently.

“ME!? Pathetic! It is YOU who is the pathetic one! I am Ra! If you wish for me to stop taking it so leisurely on them! Then I would like you to beg for my mercy!” The sun god focuses his power on his staff, a massive sunball forming on the tip of his staff. He fires it to the side, Icarus pressing a button on his gauntlet and Naucrate whirls up, blasting several pods out, one of which intercepts Icarus as he lands on the attacked platform, folding around his gauntlet into a gigantic metal shield. PROJECT NAUCRATE: POD 41: SHIELD OF PALLAS! The shield expands with extra plating into a near towershield which Icarus uses to block the giant sunball. “Hmpf. As expected but…” Ra points to the other side. “What will you do if I fire a second one?” He hovers the second one at arm’s length with a sadistic grin. 

Icarus grits his teeth. “Please… Ra… they have nothing to do with this…”

“A good plea. But… Not. Good. Enough.” Ra smugly says, firing the second EQUALLY large one at another audience platform, Icarus gritting his teeth as he can barely hold this one back.

He feels a tear forced from his eye from the pressure as he finally manages to flick the sunball above the audience. “I’m… sorry…” He whispers almost timidly looking at the other platform about to be struck.

“Do not be sorry, Boy!” A voice suddenly erupts as a loud CRASH falls onto the other platform. “Steel your heart! And place your trust in US!” Benkei stands tall reaching both hands out, CATCHING the sunball with his bare chest and hands. “Just as we have put OUR trust in YOU!”

“B-Benkei?!” Icarus calls out looking up at where he came from seeing Ichiko rushing down from his flaming flowers. “Ichiko!?”

Ra scoffs. “You interfere with the fight!? You DARE!?”

Benkei scoffs. “Nay. Benkei merely stands here. And will continue to stand here.”

Ichiko perches himself on another platform. Ra angrily grits his teeth at the sight of the sun-wolf. “YOU?!”

“ME!” Ichiko proudly says howling. “And US!” As Ra attacks another platform, it suddenly MOVES out of the way.

“Hello Hello? I really hope that worked? Had to hack into the arena controls. Sorry Heimdall. I got this done a while ago,” A voice echoes over the speakers. Houdini’s.

Ra grits his teeth. “What… is this?”

“This is… the Einherjar,” Icarus says feeling a wave of relief washing over him.

A bunch of chariots suddenly arrive, driven by Pandora, Sun Tzu, Beethoven and various monks from Benkei’s legion! Parking near some of the platforms. “Everyone who’s injured. Get on board! Let’s get you out of here!” Pandora calls out and some of the humans and gods alike get onto the chariots.

Ra’s breathing intensifies. “Haaaaah!? YOU?! Little Pandora!? YOU DARE!?” His hands are covered in intense flames and he BLASTS a beam at her, but she doesn’t even flinch just glaring at him with an intensity that makes his eye widen. “That look…” His gaze to Pandora is interrupted by Icarus appearing in between them and blocking the attack with his new shield. “No matter… YOU CANNOT STOP ME! Even ALL TOGETHER!”

However a new voice joins the fray. “We don’t need to BEAT you together! Little Birdy’s got THAT covered. We’re just making it FAIR!” Wukong calls out as he falls from the sky on his cloud along with someone else! “Sorry I’m late! Had to go PRETTY far to get this guy!”

SHIELD OF VANAHEIM! Tyr lands on one of the godly viewing platforms, next to Ichiko, enveloping it and all the others in his shields.

“TYR?! You dare betray me!?”

Tyr sits down and focuses on his magic. “This is no betrayal. It is a favor. For Wukong. The man who allowed me to prove myself. Young wolf. If you would?” He says and Ichiko nods, instantly sitting down and Tyr pats his head gently. Ichiko glows brilliantly. SHIELD OF VANAHEIM: SUN-PROTECTED! 

Ra grits his teeth and collects another massive ball. “SILENCE! THE LOT OF YOU! I AM RA! I AM THE SUN HIMSELF! AND YOU WILL NOT CHEAT ME!” The sphere explodes into countless smaller spheres, that begin to rain down all over the arena. RA’S RAIN OF GLORY! However they all strike Tyr’s shields making them all shake and tremble but the shields hold strong with pained grunts from both the war god and sun-wolf but they hold firm. “TSK!” Ra grits his teeth looking around frantically to the Einherjar helping out the audience, Tyr and Ichiko holding up the blockade. He prepares a massive sunball at the tip of his staff as his eye lands on Pandora! Outside the protected shields. “PANDORAAAAA!! You DARE OPPOSE ME THIS BRAZENLY?! THEN PERISH!”

However LONG before he can launch it, the sun god feels a fist connect with his cheek, sending him tumbling back in the air. “Hey! Remember me!?” Icarus calls out. “It’s just you and me now! As it should be!” He looks back at Pandora who is helping an old lady up on the chariot. “Thanks…”

Pandora smiles at him. “No problem! Go get him, Tiger!”

Icarus turns back, revving his wings. “ON IT, GENERAL!” He calls out, reinvigorated as he feels the warmth from behind him, and the searing glare from Ra in front of him.

Icarus stares blankly at the newly transformed Ra. “I… was really REALLY hoping I could finish you off before… this happened…” He takes a fighting stance. “Well at least I pushed you to this!” he takes a deep breath, wincing slightly at a sharp pain in his chest. “Alright let’s do this!”

Ra holds out his hand. “You did not push me, you pest! You CANNOT push me! Now DIE!” A large ball of orange and golden flames which he fires out, another forming before it has even hit its mark. RA’S SACRED BULLETS! Icarus lowers his stance, moving forward through the barrage Ra is blasting out! However as soon as he gets remotely close Ra covers himself in a pillar of flames. RA’S SACRED PILLAR!

Icarus does not waste time leaping into the flames with great haste, zooming through the pillar, kicking Ra out the middle of it, zooming off the edge of the arena with Ra stuck to the end of his kick. “Tch. That burns… guess I’m heatproof but not… fireproof.”

Ra does not seem particularly bothered by the kick to the stomach. His remaining good eye focuses down on the emblem on Icarus’s chest. “Of course you are! And I am finished with not trying to destroy THAT!” He says his clenched clawed fist erupting into burning orange and red flames.

Icarus’s eyes widen and he swiftly alters course, but ducking FAR back to avoid the strike from Ra, barely not being grazed by the attack, before zooming away. Ra begins falling towards the ground below, the arena above the both of them. “Lucky dodge! Just try to dodge THIS!” The flames bursting from his hands collect in front of him into another gold and orange sphere of fire. RA’S BLINDING RAY! He throws both hands forward, the sphere firing forward into a massive beam. Icarus’s eyes widen as he zips out of the way, Ra following him with the beam.

Up above the stage Heimdall is fiddling with the screens. “A-apologies, everyone! I did not expect this fight to end up like this! One moment and I’ll have it back onli-” However his thoughts are interrupted as the beam of fire shoots clean through the arena’s floor into the sky, dragging around as Ra aims it somewhere beneath. “YEEP!” Heimdall ducks as it drags over the audience, barely missing them, a few screams of terror echoing into the air.

Icarus, hearing the screams quickly realizes what is happening. “Hey, big guy! Down here!” He shoots down further, making Ra fire down at him instead, avoiding the audience stands. Ra’s sphere finally runs out of juice and the sun god clenches his fists and suddenly begins to hover in the air. “Come on then! Let’s take this up to your territory!” Icarus shoots up through the hole Ra put in the arena, Ra flying after him. As they both enter the general view of the audience once more Ra opens fire on Icarus again, the Cretan ensuring he is not putting the audience in the line of fire, by flying higher and higher!

Pandora grits her teeth. “That Ra. First he broke his word and did not let Icarus win from hitting him! And now he’s using even MORE power! This is… this is not a fair fight!”

However before she can panic further, Beethoven feels something warm by the door. “...” He knows that feeling. He goes to open up swiftly. “!!!” As he does Ichiko SHOOTS through the doors at Pandora in full sun-wolf transformation.

“FRIEND PANDORA! Do not be sad! Icarus will win! He will!” He cheerfully calls out as he jumps up at her and licks her face excitedly.

“Ichiko!? Y-yeah! YEAH! We trust him. I know. It’s so good to see you!”

“You too! All of you are good friends!” His tail cannot stop waggling as he looks between the group. “I can watch with you guys, right!?”

Wukong laughs. “Sure thing, pup!” He sets down Ruyi Jingu Bang and it distends into a stool of sorts. More like a big drum which Ichiko jumps onto to sit and watch over the railing.

“Icarus is strong! I trust him!”

“Speaking of trust-” Houdini starts pointing to Sun Tzu, almost passing the torch to him.

Sun Tzu smiles. “Know your enemy and know yourself and you need not fear the result of a thousand battles. Quote: The Art of War.”

Before Pandora can even act confused, Houdini interjects. “He means that Icarus knows Ra. Probably better than most on account of all the hatred for that nasty fall of his.”

Wukong laughs. “Yeah there ain’t no way Feathers TRUSTED Ra wasn’t gonna lose it if he hit him.”

Pandora gulps. “So why did he let Ra WAIL on him that hard…?” She starts, putting a hand on her chin to think.

“Well you see-” Sun Tzu starts before Beethoven puts a hand on his shoulder and gesturing for him to quiet down for now. “...” The two share a nod. 

Pandora smacks her fist into an open palm. “Oooooh I see! Because Ra’s eye was his strongest weapon!”

“Exactly!” Sun Tzu says excitedly.

“You’re a bright little one, aren’t you?” Houdini adds and Wukong just leans back laughing a little looking at Pandora proud in her revelation.

“He knew Ra would KEEP fighting more SERIOUSLY after he got that first hit in! And so he needed that hit to even the playing field instead of being a meaningless strike!” Pandora continues. “That’s the ONLY thing that makes sense… after watching you all fight I mean…”

Ichiko howls. “Friend Pandora is so smart!”

Pandora smiles and hugs Ichiko tightly. “T-thank you guys…” She looks back up to Icarus who is dodging and flying out of the way of Ra’s attacks still, the sun god furiously launching his sunballs and fists at him whenever an opening arrives. “I feel better knowing… he has a plan for this.”

Icarus who swerves and weaves, turning in the air and kicking one of them to make it disperse, the sparks flying past his wings. However as soon as he finishes the kick Ra is up in his face with a hand, burning with heat so intense it’s glowing bright white. RA’S ALMIGHTY PALM! He aims for Icarus’s chest again, Icarus quickly flapping back just out of reach, tucking up his knees and kicking off Ra’s palm to create some distance, the sun god scoffing at the feeble attempt! “Pathetic worm.” He clenches his fist as the dirt Icarus left behind is incinerated. 

Icarus smirks. “Heh. You want my emblem? Gotta do better than that. COME ON!” Icarus suddenly takes a dive towards the arena again, easily able to tell Ra follows by the near constant low growling in annoyance. 

“There is NONE better than RA!” He calls out firing more sunballs towards the ground, each one burning a deep hole in the floor. Icarus zooms towards the ground, swerving out of the way of the bullets, only getting grazed in places. He takes a swift falcon-like movement to correct himself and zoom along the arena floor, picking up the Theseus sword and shield along the way, Ra doing the same for his staff. 

Ra does a full frontal flip into a standing position and swings his staff along the ground with immense strength. Icarus’s eyes widen as Ra digs into the arena stone like its melting soft butter, and flings a massive hail of lava shards at him! Icarus ducks behind his shield letting the pellets strike the shield rather than him! However as he peeks over the shield once again Ra is right up in his, the head of his staff glowing with heat. He grabs Icarus’s shield with his free hand, TEARING it away from protecting the young boy before hammering at him with the staff! 

Icarus BARELY manages to throw his sword in front to block the strike to his chest, feeling the vibrations shoot through his entire body as he is launched back. He flips a few times, before correcting himself, right above one of the many platforms containing the god audience. “Hey there,” He waves at a young god who points towards Ra. Icarus is already looking back at Ra who tightly grips his staff with both hands. RA’S DIVINE ARRAY! The tip of the staff emits sunballs which all float around the sun god.

“Get down!” Icarus calls out before shooting into the air out of the way as Ra swings his staff at the air sending the many spheres at him. Icarus blazes a trail forward, dodging the spheres as they explode around him, knocking him around a little. However with a few rolls and swings of the blade and shield he manages to stay in the air. Ra points up with two claws, another sunball forming at the tips of his fingers. He blasts it off at immense speeds, the young Cretan getting his shield up just in time to block but gets the wind knocked out of him, flying further upwards!

As he finally recovers from his spin Ra is floating just above him. “What was it you said, Pest!? For old time’s sake!? Then allow me to remind you of your DOWNFALL!” He raises his staff and slams Icarus down towards the arena, the Cretan not managing to get his shield up in time. 

Icarus spits up blood as he hurtles towards the arena at immense speeds. ‘Dammit… he’s… so fast now too!?’ He thinks as he recovers, zooming away from the arena as Ra unleashes a barrage of sunballs that rain down all over the arena. Icarus manages to dodge them all! He surges back towards Ra trying to dodge the sunballs and approach Ra at the same time! 

However Ra simply redoubles his efforts, making MORE sunballs than Icarus is capable of dodging. “Fall again if you WISH!” Icarus’s wings are struck again and again, the glass-like crystals shattering from being chipped over and over. As he closes in on Ra the sun god smirks, winding back his fist, several of the smaller spheres rotating and melding into a disk. “You are a FOOL to approach THE SUN!” He launches the disk at Icarus with fervor, the whirling heat practically distorting the air around the two of them. 

Icarus grits his teeth, spinning around the disk, grinding along it with his sword to get within range of the mighty Sun Himself once again! ‘I’m close again! But-’

“If you’re close to me! Then I am close enough to YOU!” Ra says a look of pure joy on his beaked face, as he clenches his fist, moving back slightly in the air, dodging Icarus’s sword swing! Ra then moves back in his fist erupting in flames and attempts to strike Icarus’s emblem on his chest, but the young man twists his body slightly merely getting struck straight in the gut! “I outclass you in every sense of the word! You foolish, WORM!” Ra calls out continuing the rain of sunballs as Icarus hurtles towards the ground.

Pandora clenches her fists together. “Icarus…” She mutters as the other fighters see Icarus attempting to recover but his wings are somewhat in tatters so he’s quite unsteady. 

She feels a few hands on her shoulders from the others. “Don’t worry, Friend Pandora! Icarus will WIN!” Ichiko calls out.

Icarus lands with a rather ungraceful stumble and roll, looking up to the rain of sunballs, forced to dodge around. Gasping for air, sweating like crazy. “Oh no… he’s…” Pandora starts. 

“Exhausted beyond conventional measure… The young Icarus has been pushing himself beyond the limit since the very beginning,” Yet another voice starts. The floor practically rumbles as the giant Benkei enters.

“Benkei! W-why are you all… here?”

“The Young Icarus has fascinated Benkei. After his display against the odds… Benkei has come to respect him. So it is only right that we show our solidarity by observing from up close?”

Pandora nods. “Yeah… but… if he’s so exhausted… What can he even do?”

Benkei gestures to Naucrate with a headnod. “He does not fight alone.”

And sure enough Icarus taps a few buttons on his gauntlet as a fresh pair of wings, wrapped up in a pod shoot from Naucrate. Icarus sidesteps several sunballs resting his hand over the eject-button on his gauntlet to replace his wings. 

Ra however focuses a larger sphere of sunfire in his palm. “I think not! These toys have annoyed me LONG ENOUGH!” He fires it at the pod exploding it in the air. Icarus grits his teeth as the debris crashes onto the audience located beneath the point of impact. They manage to move out of the way or shield themselves mostly. 

Heimdall gulps. “L-Lord Ra… might I ask you… refrain from disturbing the audience?” He tries but Ra scoffs.

“They chose to be here!” Ra calls back his focus remaining purely on Icarus, blasting down at the ground over and over. “HAHAHAHA! That’s right! Run! You’re TRAPPED! This is YOUR END!”

Icarus tries once more to summon a pair of wings but the same thing happens again. He shields himself from an exploding sunball as he gets knocked around. ‘Dammit… Dammit dammit! I can’t get close… I can’t stay far away… What do I do!?’ He thinks before looking up at the stands seeing Pandora’s worried face, gripping the railings and he smirks. “Heh… how stupid of me… To even think that for a moment… The answer’s so obvious…” He suddenly takes a full sprint through the minefield of exploding sunballs. “I’m just gonna have to WIN THIS!” He presses a button on his gauntlet as he leaps off the edge of the arena, spinning to face Ra with a double middle finger and sticking his tongue out childishly.

Ra scoffs seeing the pod he summoned try to blast down after him. He shoots after the pod and Icarus, knocking it out of the way with his staff. “You are a FOOL!” Ra prepares a sunbeam before he notices a second pod coming from the side. ‘He summoned two sets of wings?’ It is far closer than the other got. It has been moving for longer! “Hmpf! Worthless trash!” He shoots the second pod. “One or two. What is the difference? You will still never-” Ra turns his gaze back to Icarus before needing to dodge Icarus’s sword! Grazing up his chest, Icarus follows up the missed strike with a kick to the face. His back has gotten a new pair of sharp metal wings with large propulsion engines on a few of the elongated feathers. PROJECT NAUCRATE: POD 1: FEATHERS OF ICARUS MK. 4! 

“The difference is that you’re not thinking TWO steps ahead, Ra!” Icarus goes on the offensive! Wildly swinging his sword and chasing down Ra as he backs away, not allowing the sun god an inch of distance to prepare a sunball or even the time to concentrate and form a sunpillar to shield himself! 

Ra grits his teeth as his body flares up. “You persistent INSECT!” He takes a swift swing at Icarus, the young man deflecting it with his shield and stabbing a Ra, his sword digging into Ra’s feather-crown, Icarus attempting to swing down from here, but Ra moves back to dodge. “Why you…” Icarus follows after him but finds his energy dipping briefly, Ra gathering a fist of sunfire, uppercutting him straight in the jaw, sending Icarus blasting up through the arena again, the massive flaming pillar digging a hole through the arena for him to fly through.

-Babel-

Giza clutches onto Thoth’s arm. “L-Lord Thoth! Ra is so…”

“Powerful. Yes. Ridiculously so. In all honesty… he is still holding back. He does not want to admit he needs more power than he’s already used. It’s nothing but stubborn pride. But that emblem is intact so the damage from the sunflames is minimized…”

Sobek crosses his arms. “Huh… you think I could push him beyond that level?”

Thoth gives Sobek a slightly annoyed look. “You battle maniac… You would probably know better than me. If I had to say… yes. Just to get through your tough skin would require more than brute force.”

Sobek scratches his chin. “I guess the biggest trouble would be that he can fly somehow.”

“Heat is how. He directs the heat from his ‘Glorious Presence’ towards the ground primarily. Functions like a jet engine those humans created.”

“I-I don’t think Lord Sobek knows what that is Lord Thoth…”

Sobek nods. “Correct, little sphinx!”

“... Erich Hartmann’s machine. From the seventh round.”

“Aaaaah! Thanks for the explanation!”

Thoth nods. “No problem. Let us see how Icarus pushes through this. Mayhaps… in silence?”

-Valhalla Arena-

Icarus is on his back, panting and heaving. His body feels heavy. Even raising the shield and sword is a tough endeavor. However as Ra bursts from the floor, Icarus simply grits his teeth and leaps to his feet. “AAAAAARGH!” He angrily exclaims steeling his nerves. “You’re still here? Thought you’d be BORED by now!” 

Ra scoffs, shooting down at Icarus, with a strike from his staff, Icarus blocking it with both sword and shield, forcing the young man to his knees. “Do not mistake my anger for lack of joy. I am enjoying seeing you squirm, so helpless and pathetic!”

Icarus revs up his wing-jets to slowly push himself onto his feet and even slightly off the ground! He grabs Ra’s staff and opposite wrist, before headbutting the bird-god as hard as he can, sending Ra stumbling back. “And yet you’re flying around… shooting me with those sunballs… Not getting close… Are you that scared of a fair fight?” Icarus says with a tilted head, blood dripping from his forehead from Ra’s hard beak, his entire shape practically clad in a shadow except for his eyes which are still burning with fighting spirit.

Ra grits his non-existent teeth as he looks at Icarus’s almost… creepily doll-like posture. “I am not scared of ANYTHING! It is YOU who should fear ME!”

Icarus begins to float with his wings again, spreading his arms out. “Not. Happening.”

Ra shoots up after him, the two clashing weapons once again. “We shall see. I will break you and you will beg yet!”