Moments before the Kirosian invasion, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso...
The young President walked up to the podium with an aura of confidence that put the people at ease. Crowded in an orderly fashion, the people waited for the words they needed to hear, patiently, as the first explosions shook the nation.
"My people, brothers and sisters of the motherland and those abroad. Like vultures, they are waiting to pick us apart when we've fallen. We have already been counted out. They think we have lost before the fight has even begun. However, we live in a different era than what our ancestors have been through, as Africans, we know who we are! Our swords are just as sharp, our weapons as automatic.
The new invaders threatened one of our own in outer space. Now they think they can just occupy us, kill us and pillage our land. Has history not repeated itself enough yet? When will we learn that for today, tomorrow, and for our future, we must fight and always show them that we are ready, for whatever demise they wish to bring on themselves!
Find a place to stay safe, still your fear. Your soldiers- no warriors will push them out before you know it. Let us show them why they must never threaten the will of Africa and never underestimate the people. Life began here, let us teach them what death means."
The roars seemed never-ending, as the broadcast was seen by everyone on the continent, stilling their fear and grabbing their weapons. Along with the rest of the Federation, the missile carrying Tobi's energy finally made it to the Solar System.
Sadira vs Sofia, Aminu and Amir...
Aminu was aware of what the Novas were capable of. To get a better grip on her abilities and training, she had rewatched the Novas fights over and over, especially Nur's and Helio's. She looked at the two standing fiercely beside her. She knew they were scared just like her, but nothing seemed to give it away.
"Frost: Makamai." She whispered as she raised one hand towards them.
Wings made out of snow lightly fell together on the Novas, along with a sleek armour of ice reinforcing them. She made a set for herself, as they both thanked her and returned to facing their enemy. Each of them knew that the Dai Hito would not be easy to take down, but they felt that all they needed was one moment.
Sadira raised towards her opponents. "I must assist my Prince at once. You all shall not delay me." As she delivered her words, dozens of compressed fireballs manifested around her, then one by one rocketed at them, with hypersonic speed.
The Guardian and the Novas leaped out of the way and began manifesting attacks of their own. Amir raised a hollow iron boulder, which Sofia immediately filled with fire.
The Dai Hito looked up at the looming attack unfazed by the danger, but as she pulled her fist back and reinforced it with blue fire, she noticed a platform of ice holding her down and creeping ice up all over her body. Freezing her still.
Sadira looked over at the Guardian and saw her clutching her right fist in front of her with a damning expression. 'They're resilient,' she thought as she shifted into first gear and burned the restraints off herself. Then looked back up and smashed the giant boulder into pieces. "But I don't have time to play with you all."
There was a moment of silence as the Dai Hito tuned out everything going on around her. Dozens of volleys surrounded her, stones, fire and ice, seconds from striking her, but what she was focused on was the position of her opponents, through the fire dust and smoke. Once she had a lock on them, the sonic boom she left behind was quickly drowned out by the volleys vainly crashing into her original position.
Two quick fireballs left her palms, as she jetted into Aminu, a little taken by surprise, but ready. With quick reflexes, Aminu blocked each strike thrown at her while using her wings to slowly retreat. The Novas were just struck by the balls of fire, knocking them back and keeping them from being able to aid her. Sadira's strikes were heavy, and seconds were all the Dai Hito would need to overtake her.
In a desperate attempt, the Guardian raised a rapid avalanche of ice out of the ground to separate them and give herself a chance to breathe. However, without hesitating, Sadira launched a blue ball of fire, melting a hole right through the ice as it burrowed its way towards the Guardian.
The light seemed welcoming as she knew this was the end. She raised her hand, wondering if she were to create a few ice sheets in front of her, maybe she could continue living. Yet, she knew the answer as a euphoric feeling took her over, while she let everything go.
In the nick of time, multiple iron walls appeared all around her, taking the brunt of the attack, before crumbling, then Amir landed right in front of Aminu and dissipated the remainder of the fireball with his lance. Stone armour shielded him from the blast, before he spoke."We've got your back." The words he left her with, before rocketing off and charging the Dai Hito, shook her back to reality. She wasn't in this alone.
Sofia flew by overhead and bombarded Sadira whenever Amir broke apart from her. Aminu watched as a wave of shame washed over her, then she gripped her fists to her side and took the sky. She stopped once she got to Sofia's side. "I thought I was dead."
Sofia looked her over. "But you're not. Her flames are too hot, but one way or another, we'll break through." She nodded ahead as she took the lead. "Keep us cool, can you?"
Aminu nodded back, as she covered their bodies with a light armour of ice. Then, they rotated in with Amir, each time he was about to be overwhelmed.
"This is pointless," Sadira said under her breath, as she parried an aerial strike from Amir, who took over the Guardian's rotation, as she was sent crashing into a nearby building. The Dai Hito found the armour of rocks, ice and fire, the Nova was covered in annoying, especially with the amount of energy she was trying to conserve. She needed to take Aminu out, but the Novas wouldn't let her, unless she took them all out together. "I'll admit, you humans are efficient at using borrowed power. Stronger than even the average Kirosian. But-"
She was cut off as Amir managed to nick a cut on her arm, as his lance whizzed past her. She jumped back angrily as she felt blood drip down her elbow.
"What was that?" The Nova asked mockingly before launching back at her on a stone platform, along with dozens of stone volleys, rotating around him, before he launched them. Surrounding the Dai Hito along with hundreds of both Aminu and Sofia's volleys.
Sadira shook her head, already anticipating the danger. She clenched her fists and assumed a stance before releasing a shockwave of blue fire with hints of purple, emanating from her feet. Walls of fire erased the volleys in all directions and engulfed the Novas and the Guardian. Yet, before the flames had settled, Amir crashed through and continued to charge at the Dai Hito.
Sadira noticed burns in each area where his stone armour had broken off. He was out of breath and winced every time she struck him, but there seemed no sign of him giving up. However, she knew one more push was all that was needed. "This is your limit."
The Nova jumped back and looked at the soldering half of his lance, the Dai Hito had just sliced apart. He stuck the part that he had been holding onto into the ground, then pulled it back out, as it repaired itself with the earth. "Maybe so, but I think I bought them enough time."
Sadira looked at him, confused. She knew the other two had been blown back by the wall of fire she had been emitting earlier. They couldn't have gotten back up so quickly. That's when she noticed it. With the amount of iko bursting around the city, it's difficult to focus on a battle without limiting your senses to a smaller area, especially in a lower gear. The Novas and Guardian knew she was underestimating them, and they took advantage of that.
An ice clone of Aminu floated two kilometres above them, while condensing together tons of ignitable rocks, within a miniature sun of fire. Turning the combined attack into a bright, hot sphere, as all three of them poured in all of their energy. Then, the clone flipped over and crouched on a platform that had formed above it, and faced the Dai Hito, still on the ground. It had the sphere, still condensing over, as the flames glowed brighter, hovering beside her.
The soles of her feet began to ignite with the rocks and dirt Amir laced on his feet. Helping it build up like a rocket beginning to take off, then, without delay, it launched itself off the platform and completely engulfed it in flames, as Sofia Amir and Aminu, telekinetically pulled it down faster.
"Combo series: Guardian Sun!" The Guardian and the Novas yelled in unison.
Sadira was surprised by what they had planned, but it wasn't enough to faze her. "All you are doing is dragging the inevitable." That's when she felt the clamp down of iron and ice chains holding her down. "Not this again!"
They were tougher than before and would require more time to burn off. She looked over at Amir, who had already broken into a run as Sofia set fire to his lance, before he threw it with all of his might. Flames boosted it faster as it rocketed towards her chest.
Facing both of these situations, the Dai Hito was left with only one choice. She was told to conserve as much energy as she could, since they may have to face the children of Atlas after conquering Africa. However, she realized she could no longer hold back. The human spirit needed to be crushed.
Her hair began to glow completely silver, as she ripped her arms and legs free from her restraints, then grabbed the lance out of the air, just before it struck her, before spinning around to throw it towards the incoming clone. The result was an earth-shaking explosion, reverberating through the entire city.
The Novas and the Guardian looked up in despair as Sadira rose the giant cloud of ash and smoke. Her hair continued to glow through it as the pressure around them began to rise. An intense heat wave had settled, choking them of whatever little air they had left.
"This has gone on long enough. Your petty tricks will not save you. Now..." She looked off in Dacaari's direction, confirming her fears. "Because you interfered in my duty, my Prince has been injured."
A massive violet fireball spun rapidly into existence above her palm, casting a shadow over her opponents. She did not want to miss. "I must be at his side at once."
The three below her stood paralyzed by the sheer amount of pressure the Dai Hito was exerting. All they could do was listen to her, then, when she was done and pointed the blazing attack at them, time seemed to resume once again. Aminu was the first to act.
She had a lingering feeling that she wouldn't survive this mission, ever since she put on her suit and stepped out of the base. However, she still wanted to keep her people safe. She looked at the Novas, realizing how much they risked to keep her country safe. 'They can win. The Novas always win.'
Without a second thought, she leaped up into the air and thrusted both of her hands forth, while manifesting a multilayered ice dome above her that quickly covered their entire vicinity. "Frost: Masaukin Kankara." She knew she couldn't protect any civilians nearby, not even the Novas she was already aiming to shield, but at the very least, she hoped to slow it down.
At the same time, Amir looked over at Sofia, after finally ripping his eyes away from the death star that would soon consume them. She was still paralyzed in fear. Any flames she tried to conjure would immediately go out, due to Sadira's domain, leaving her completely powerless.
Amir knew she was strong, both in will and in mind, but he knew certain things would petrify her to the spot. Something completely out of place to her character. He'd always tease her, anytime he'd have to rescue her from a spider, or if they encountered snakes on missions.
That's why he knew he had to protect her. Without any further thought, he rushed towards her, then grabbed hold of her, just as a wide tunnel opened up below them and quickly began to self-tunnel itself deeper into the Earth. Amir held her close and dove down, as fast as he could, as everything around them had started to turn into sand.
Then, within the next second, the very world seemed to shake, as the pressure of the ground above them began to cave in. It was only for a moment, but Sofia looked at Amir. His expression was frantic, but he seemed to be deep in thought, thinking of nothing else but his goal.
She wondered what it was, but unfortunately, wouldn't have a chance to ask because in the next second, everything seemed to go black. When she came to, the first thing she realized was that she was covered in soot. She was disoriented and couldn't stand for long, but grudgingly, she dusted her hands and wiped her face to avoid breathing anymore. Then, finally, stood up and glanced around to see glass and molten sand, making up the entire cave she was stuck in.
She started to heave as she remembered the situation she was in. The glass cave began to crack and break apart, pulling her attention above her, as she finally saw the confirmation of her fears. Her hair began to rise and glow silver as she took in the glass statue of Amir holding back a massive explosion from touching down.
Jagged pieces of glass shattered across the floor, as the leftovers of Tobi's energy raged across the room. Every drop had been redirected to her, as she felt the last of Amir's influence. She had just realized, he had used Tobi's energy to protect her, but was unable to use up all that was shared with him. So he gave it all up for her.
A loud crack snapped her attention, as the right hand broke off from the statue. She dove and caught it before it hit the ground, then held it close. 'All that's left of him.' She thought as she took one last look at the statue, collapsing under the weight of the roof.
Up above, Sadira was satisfied with the clearing she had created. The city was now marked by Dai Hito's presence, and it was only about time before the country would fall. She picked up Dacaari's iko and prepared to make her way towards him. She couldn't believe she was kept away from him for so long.
"These humans are strong." She concluded, before jetting off after her Prince.
However, three seconds into flight, she stopped hard in midair as she broke the sound barrier. "How did you get in front of me?" The shock of many things on her mind caused her to misprioritize the real question she wanted to ask. Which was, 'How are you still alive?'
Glowing orange and red vein-like marks seemed to race across Sofia's body, as she released a heatwave across the sky. Which shattered glass in buildings and melted everything in her vicinity. The Nova had a flash memory of Amir telling her how he wanted to be a great hero and that if they both worked together, they could both become one. She knew there were still people unevacuated below, injured and in danger, if their fight were to continue in the same area.
Sadira, on the other hand, had just broken out of her shock. Many had come to challenge her for her position, relentlessly and back to back, but she had always come out on top. She remembered how Dacaari would come watch every other one, whenever he wasn't in battle and treated her injuries after. Throughout her tenure as Dai Hito, she had always ended every conquest or battle in victory.
There were ones that had felt close, endangering her own life or the Prince's. However, she personally never pondered the possibility that the people of Earth were ever a threat to them. Or that one that she had already dealt with could come back. Giving her the eeriest reminder, as she felt the energy of another who had supposedly passed, helped catalyze Sofia's transformation.
Then, she heard the Nova speak, but not directed back to her. "Thank you, Tobi."