Jim's sphere of Solar and Lunar energy was growing to the size of a boulder - glowing with swirling gold and deep blue, crackling with celestial power.
Jim(strained): "Please...bear...for...a.. little bit... until...the...finisher
...is...ready...Dad...Mom...."
His arms burned, his mind strained - balancing the Sun and the moons' energy without letting it collapse was like holding an unstable star.
He clenched his jaw, glancing at his parents, arms trembling.
It was expanding slowly, way too slowly.
Even after so much duration, the attack wasn't ready yet.
He needed 10 more minutes.
But Heatsun and Moonsalt were barely holding on.
Despite the overwhelming strength of Mega Sunburn and Mega Moonfreeze, Heatsun and Moonsalt fought on, their bodies battered, their powers weakening.
Every blast of blackened fire from Sunburn sent Heatsun reeling, but he'd get back up.
Every icy strike from Moonfreeze knocked Moonsalt to her knees, but she'd stand again.
The corrupted siblings were getting irritated every second- their mutations may have made them stronger, but the couple's unrelenting will was something they couldn't crush.
"Why won't you stay down?!" roared Mega Sunburn, flames twisting violently around him.
"We've hit you with everything we have!" Mega Moonfreeze snarled, frost spilling from her mouth like poisonous mist.
Breathing heavily, Heatsun wiped a trail of blood from his mouth.
"Because this is the power of parents protecting their child," he growled, flames flickering along his broken arms.
Moonsalt, swaying but unyielding, added: "When you fight for family, you go beyond your limits."
As more time passed...
Jim's heart pounded with only one thought in mind:-
"6 minutes... just...bear for six more minutes... please don't leave..me... after I...finally....met..you."
Jim closed his eyes, tears threatening to drop as he was forced to watch it.
The battle raged on, Heatsun and Moonsalt were still holding there ground.
At the 4-minute mark...
Heatsun staggered - then fell to his knees.
A second later - Moonsalt collapsed beside him.
Jim's heart stopped.
"NOOOO....this..can't..!"
He gasped for breath, as no sound seem to come out of his mouth.
Mega Sunburn and Mega Moonfreeze grinned, stepping over the fallen couple.
Jim's fingers trembled - the Solar-Lunar sphere was still unstable, still forming, but his mind was spiraling into panic.
"How? What am I supposed to do? I couldn't even get a chance to experience the touch of my parents. Why? Why am I so useless as a son? I guess I never deserved to have parents?"
Then-
A thunderous roar echoed through the sky.
Jim's head shot up as he saw spaceships - sleek, futuristic Celestic Justice vessels suddenly surrounding the planet.
Laser cannons aimed down from the ships, locking onto the corrupted siblings.
A barrage of energy blasts rained down from the heavens - bright streaks of white and blue light slamming into Mega Sunburn and Mega Moonfreeze.
The surprise attack forced the corrupted siblings to shift their focus, blocking the blasts rather than attacking Jim.
"What-?" Mega Sunburn hissed.
"Who's-?!" Mega Moonfreeze growled.
As the smoke cleared, a loud voice echoed across the battlefield:
"Looks like we arrived just in time."
Edward.
Jim's eyes widened.
Edward, the Celestic Justice commander, stood at the forefront of the battle, surrounded by 100 cadets clad in advanced combat gear - each holding scientifically enhanced weapons.
They began firing precision shots at the siblings - not powerful enough to deal heavy damage, but each hit sent small surges of engineered energy blasts into Mega Sunburn and Mega Moonfreeze's bodies, limiting their movements.
Jim's mind raced.
"I can't fall to emotional trap right now. My first priority is to take care of these beasts. The ones who seperated me from my parents, made them suffer..made them go through.. suffering..pain...I will make sure they don't get to experience...the satisfaction..of victory...Edward...thanks..for.. opening..my..eyes."
Edward, standing tall amidst the chaos, turned to Jim.
"Jim!" he shouted. "How much longer until your attack is ready?"
Jim, still holding his glowing sphere of swirling celestial energy, responded hoarsely:
"Four minutes!"
Edward gave a firm nod.
"We'll buy you that time."
But then, Jim's gaze fell back to his unconscious parents.
His eyes slightly distracted in that direction.
Finally, after a few moments of hesitation:-
"Edward," Jim pleaded, "take them back to the spaceship - get them to safety!"
Without questioning, Edward dashed toward Heatsun and Moonsalt, gently but quickly hoisting their collapsed bodies, dodging past every attacks of the corrupted siblings in practiced and professional leaps and somersaults.
"We've got them," Edward assured him.
Jim could only watch as Edward sprinted back to the ship, handing his parents off to medics before returning - his jaw clenched and eyes burning with excitement.
Now, Jim stood alone - still gathering energy - as Edward and the 100 Celestic Justice cadets formed a line of defense between him and the corrupted siblings.
"Hold the line!" Edward commanded.
The cadets unleashed a continuous stream of energy bullets - bright projectiles that, while not lethal, slowed Mega Sunburn and Mega Moonfreeze's movements every time they struck.
The siblings snarled - enraged by the constant barrage - but they couldn't push forward easily.
Every time Mega Sunburn tried to launch a flame attack at Jim, cadets formed a shield wall - deflecting the blast.
Whenever Mega Moonfreeze sent a frost wave towards him, Edward himself intercepted it - unleashing a burst of Solar-Lunar energy from his weapon, pushing the icy attack aside.
Jim, watching all of this unfold, felt a spark of hope.
He wasn't alone.
His parents fought for him - and now Edward and his team were giving everything they had to protect him.
2 minutes left.
The sky was cracking with intense pressure.
Jim's muscles burned, his body strained under the sheer power he was holding, but he couldn't stop.
Edward glanced back at Jim. "Just hold on a little longer."
And Jim, teeth clenched and heart pounding, whispered:
"I will."
The battle raged on.
_ _ _
Jim's Solar-Lunar sphere was massive now - swirling with blinding green light but still unstable.
He could feel the sheer pressure of the energy - like sun and moon locked in a violent dance - ready to explode if he lost control.
"Just two more minutes..." Jim said to himself.
Meanwhile...
Edward and team were holding the line, but they were showing to breath raggedly, uniforms bloodied.
Their bullets were keeping Mega Sunburn and Mega Moonfreeze at bay - slowing them down but not stopping them.
Every time Sunburn roared, his blackened flames melted part of the battlefield.
Every time Moonfreeze struck, jagged ice spikes shot out from the ground - sharp enough to pierce metal.
The cadets were fighting hard, but some were already injured - some shields cracked, some suits burned.
Yet they kept going passing resolved and assuring glances to Jim.
But then - Jim noticed something terrifying.
Mega Sunburn and Moonfreeze were getting more agitated - more desperate.
The longer the fight dragged on, the more erratic their attacks became.
Thoughts were racing on his mind like a marathon race:-
"Their mutation isn't stable. The dark aura that had transformed them into these monstrous forms is clearly taking a toll - their bodies are twitching unnaturally, black veins are bulging beneath their disfigured skin."
"They are running out of time too."
"ENOUGH!" Mega Sunburn roared, his voice cracking the air like thunder.
"WE'LL BURN THIS WHOLE PLANET IF WE HAVE TO!"
His entire mutated arm ignited - flames no longer just black, but twisting into an infernal storm of dark fire.
Mega Moonfreeze's eyes glowed an unnatural blue. "LET'S FREEZE THE SKY ITSELF!"
Her mutated limbs gleamed with frost, and a bone-chilling wind howled across the battlefield.
And then - in a horrifying burst of speed - the siblings attacked together.
Mega Sunburn unleashed a firestorm so intense it shattered the cadets' energy shields - sending several of them flying back.
At the same time, Mega Moonfreeze froze the ground beneath the others, trapping them in icy chains before blasting them away with a shockwave of frost.
Jim's heart rate beat faster than Draxon.
The line of defense was crumbling.
Edward rushed forward, his weapon glowing trying to push them back - but even he was thrown aside by a combined blast of fire and ice.
Jim gritted his teeth, the Solar-Lunar sphere crackling violently above him.
One minute left.
But now -
"It is just me. I can't fail. For my parents, for Edward and Celestic Justice who raised me and for... MYSELF...but... still..why..do..I..feel..not..so...confident..so.. lonely." Jim muttered.
Edward too was struggling to stand.
Mega Sunburn and Mega Moonfreeze, still monstrous, slowly marched towards him - their corrupted energy spiraling out of control.
Jim's hands trembled, the sphere slowly slipping from his grip.
But then-
Edward, coughing blood but still standing, shouted:
"JIM!"
Jim snapped back to reality, his eyes locking onto Edward's fierce gaze.
Edward's voice, firm and unyielding, cut through his fear:
"You're NOT alone! Finish what you started!"
Even with his suit damaged and his body hurt, Edward was still fighting - still protecting him.
Jim's breathing steadied.
He remembered his parents' words.
He remembered Edward's arrival.
He remembered the Solar-Lunar bond - the connection between sun and moon, family and allies.
"Only Thirty seconds left. I can do it...I have..to.." Jim said with confidence.
The Sphere now roared with cosmic energy - the size of a mountain - flickering with warmth of Sun and cold of Moon.
Jim's body screamed in pain, but his mind was calm now.
Jim: "I am ready."
Mega Sunburn and Mega Moonfreeze lunged - both preparing their ultimate attacks - aiming straight for Jim.
Edward and the few standing cadets formed one last barrier in front of him.
Jim whispered softly - not to his parents this time - but to himself:
"This... is for everyone."
Ten seconds.
The Solar-Lunar sphere pulsed, about to reach its limit - and Jim's final attack was imminent.
Five seconds.
Mega Sunburn and Mega Moonfreeze were charging their ultimate attacks - a fiery inferno and a freezing blizzard, both corrupted by their dark aura.
Edward and the remaining Celestic Justice cadets held their ground, forming a final line of defense - their suits barely functional, their weapons flickering, but their resolve unshaken.
"DIE, JIM!" Mega Sunburn roared, unleashing a blackened solar storm - an explosion of fire so intense the very air distorted.
"FREEZE INTO NOTHINGNESS!" screamed Mega Moonfreeze, summoning a massive wave of ice spears aimed straight for Jim.
The combined force of fire and ice twisted together, forming a chaotic blast that would annihilate everything in its path.
Edward and the cadets braced themselves, trying to shield Jim - but the sheer power of the siblings' attack was too much.
"NOW!" Jim roared, his voice echoing across the planet.
The Solar-Lunar sphere reached its peak - glowing like a miniature sun and moon fused into one.
Jim's hands trembled as he gathered the last threads of energy from the sun and the natural satellites orbiting the planet.
He thrust his arms forward - and with a final cry -
"SOLAR-LUNAR FINALE!"
The massive sphere shot forward - a swirling cosmic blast of golden fire and silver ice - colliding with the dark combined attack of Mega Sunburn and Mega Moonfreeze.
The moment the two forces met, the sky split open with a deafening crack.
The clash of two powerful forces created a catastrophic explosion - battling for dominance.
A shockwave tore through the battlefield - uprooting trees, shattering rocks, and sending both Edward and the cadets flying back.
The ground itself fractured, glowing with the residue of the Solar-Lunar energy.
Jim stood his ground, teeth gritted, pushing his Solar-Lunar Finale with all his might - the force of it threatening to tear his body apart.