Nehken wakes up in a fog. He had passed out half dead on the couch- after the day he had, he'd definitely needed it. Cross' rental isn't as spacious a vessel as Sant's was, the halls a cold and unfamiliar companion compared to the cabins he'd grown so accustomed to. Shrai and Primo, as well as Cross himself don't even seem to notice him as he passes- too busy planning their next move in what may be the hardest stretch of the journey yet. Nehken walks on, not needing the reassurance. Facing things as they come up has always been his way of life. Why bother changing it now?
For now, the reaper heads down to one of the few bedrooms on the boat, softly rubbing his metal-plated knuckles across the door. It swings open, his girlfriend embracing as if she hadn't seen him in months when, in reality, it had been only a generous twelve hours.
"Morning." The fox looks more like a sopping wet towel than ever. He can't blame her.
"Are you okay?"
"I-… I'll live. How about you? How are your wounds healing?"
"Most of them have scabbed over at least." They start walking down the hall, continuing their conversation. "It's hardly anything."
"So, this is the final isle, huh?"
"Yeah… how long has it been, a week?"
"Oh my gods… yeah it has. I've only known you for seven days, yet it feels as if I've known you for as long as Shrai or… Sant." The grieving ball of fuzz rubs her arm.
"We'll set up a proper funeral for him once we get that final blade. I promise." He puts his hand on the fox's shoulder. She smiles, ever optimistic even in the face of such tragedy. The admiration in Nehken's eyes borders on envy.
"If ya wanna bury the guy, should've carried his corpse onto the boat." A familiar voice rings behind them. He's back, yet not in sight as they turn around to search for the devil.
"...Davanak." The beast's voice growls, filled with malice. "Why are you here?"
"What? You're not done with me until you get all of those pointy sticks. I just needed to… get some fresh air after verbally exhausting myself."
"And psychologically with all the mind-games you've played."
"Very observant of you, blood hound."
"...Are you at least going to help us?" Famiko forces out the words- not wanting to even speak to him, but still forced to accept his position in the group, however treacherous.
"Of COURSE, Miko! Why would I abandon my friend at such a dire hour?" He mocks her. This is when he shows his face, the mug that Miko had gifted to him. It has shown to be one of her most regrettable gifts ever given.
"We're not friends." She scowls. It finally came to her attention that the akuma is beyond her help. Took me long enough, she almost wants to think. He tilts his head, a wince-inducing crack accompanying the movement. He grins.
"Glad you finally have common sense."
"No. I've just learned how to meet people halfway. You won't walk all over me."
"You're welcome."
"I'm not thanking you." She leaves the scene before he can get under her skin more.
"WOO! Haven't had banter that good since you were an edgy teenager!" He looks over to the girl's prince charming. Nehken doesn't make eye contact, simply asking a question.
"Hell's your motive this time?"
"Honestly? Haven't a clue yet. I usually come up with a scheme on the fly. I work best when left to my own devices."
"Stop this."
"What? Scared you won't have a girlfriend anymore-?"
"I know you better than anyone else. You have a heart. Even if it's small… It's still there. This isn't me seeing good in you. I still hate you, despise you with power that only Amaterasu herself could comprehend. I'm just calling out your hypocrisy."
"Pft! Name one time that I've-"
"Aeon."
Upon hearing that name, the demon's smile fades. He still remembers? That was nearly a decade ago.
"…I don't know what you're talking about, mortal."
"You remember her too. I can tell it's a core memory of your immortal life." Nehken recounts the events that had transpired nearly ten years prior. "You'd never forget that tundra."
"What's there to remember?" The spirit plays dumb with a wave of his hand. "You were just as weak as you are now, after all. Who was it that time, some girl? You couldn't kill her no matter what I said, anyway."
"But that's not where the story ended. She told me about the Brimstone Buster."
"And you thought that'd save you." It might've been a chuckle that escaped his lips.
"Dumb as it was, I did. An artifact of unknowable power… maybe it did sound like a fairy tale, but then again, so would you. I believed that girl. I thought given the name it might at least have some chance of removing your curse. That jog your memory?
"Sounds more like you're misremembering. Why would I let you go looking for something like that?"
"Because you knew it wouldn't work. Because you knew I'd just be running in circles looking for a meaningless trinket."
"Kinda like now, huh? …That does sound like me."
"Maybe you were right to assume I was a fool… but what you couldn't have predicted… was her."
The boy stands before a white tenrec with green stripes in her hair. Her lime scarf flows in the harsh wind as she stares daggers into the young wolf's eyes. She stands in his way, whether she was a guardian of the fabled crimson sword, or someone else trying to claim it, it doesn't matter. She is in his way, and the reaper-in-training needs to fix that.
"Move."
"Is there a reason I should do that?" She tilts her head, not intimidated in the slightest.
"You know damn well why." The young cub is trying everything in his power to seem imposing. The oversized farming tool doesn't help his case.
"If you want me out of your way, then make me move."
"Ooh! This is a feisty one! Allow me to get the popcorn." The demonic spirit's teeth rotate in intrigue as the boy grits his teeth. He doesn't want this. But if it'll free him… if it'll stop further violence from happening…
The young Nehken rushes towards the albino tenrec, propping himself up with his scythe and trying to use that momentum to kick her. Aeon simply blocks it, following it up with a knee jab to the child's gut. Irritated, the inexperienced claimer of souls sprints towards her, swinging his scythe around aimlessly in hopes of getting a singular stray hit. This is to no avail.
Catching him off guard, the scarfed rogue vanishes, reappearing behind him. She holds an arm out towards him with her back turned. Suddenly, a blast of energy comes from her hand, the troubled teenager not being able to react. She's the exact same age as him. How is she so much more combat oriented? He is blasted off the cliff of the mountain, his opponent grabbing him by the ankle and throwing them down the slope of the mountain, riding his body almost like a surfboard.
"Fight back! Surely you can't be outrunning law enforcement if you can't even put up a decent fight!"
They soon find themselves in a relatively level part of the mountain once again. The needle-toothed hellspawn can only feel pity for its puppet. It almost makes him want to take control, but what fun would that be?
The wolf gets up, the tenrec eyeing him down yet again. He's getting infuriated by being made a fool of. He will get that broadsword. He needs to get it. He wants his life back.
"AUGH! I'M THROUGH PLAYING GAMES!" The wolf cub screams, conjuring hundreds of sword constructs, all pointing at his adversary as the akuma teasingly laughs.
"Oh! Using the little gift I gave you?"
"Shut up. I'LL GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD!" In the blink of an eye, all of the blades shoot towards Aeon. She's barely able to dodge each one that comes her way. They're so fast, so destructive, the way they stab into the icy rock around them like they were soft fruits.
It then clicks for her. This is black magic, demonic ki even. This isn't someone like her finding the fun in adventure and combat, this is someone who is battling their inner demons in a literal sense. This isn't some sort of friendly sparring match, it's a fight for control. She needs to pacify him now.
That is not a simple task since once the swords have let up, the screaming wolf covers their arm in dark ki, his arm turning into a black and red gun. The rogue takes out her arm cannon and they both fire at the same time. They both struggle against each other's beams, yet the wolf's anger and his instincts to kill for survival overtake him. The light grows larger as Aeon is running out of stamina to keep the beam going, and soon enough, she is engulfed in darkness.
She coughs. White smoke is all she sees, except for the shadowy silhouette of a cloaked figure with a scythe. This kid really is the reaper personified, she thinks. He stands over her, raising his scythe, ready to finish the job, but something stops him.
"You stopped me from killing her. You told me she didn't need to die yet. You told me to focus on getting that big hunk of scarlet metal to see my hope be shattered into pieces. You could've just let me stab her to death. She was helpless, yet you stopped me. You have morals, sometimes they're a bit backwards, but they are still there."
"So what if I'm a little bit of a hypocrite? What does that matter to you?" The goat's body is sweating a little bit. The wolf's come far when it comes to intimidation, the demon will give him that.
"It means you can feel, and if you can feel regret, or remorse, you can feel the same despair that you invoke." Nehken goes to follow where Famiko had run off to. He peers over his shoulder to look at the goat as he climbs the stairs. "So when you're sent back to that pit of suffering, I'll be the one grinning ear to ear when I push you down there myself, knowing well, you'll feel every single bit of that emotional agony."
Davanak's host smirks at him, climbing the stairs out of his view. The demon stands alone, chuckling to himself.
"We'll see about that, Nehken." He sinks into the floor, the grin on his face reforming like a rapidly healing wound.
The wolf soon steps out onto the deck, the rest of the group still sat around a table. He sits down next to Miko as Cross outlines what they had come up with.
"From what Primo has told us about what Hemlock's base is like, as well as how the target is in general, we're going to need a brute force approach. His security system is far too advanced for Shrai to hack into."
"The emissaries were only able to be hacked into because their builds were more rudimentary compared to the base itself." The chameleon seems to be focusing on the mission at hand, the easiest option for him.
"So what? Go in guns blazing and expect to get to him like that?" Nehken raises an eyebrow.
"Not entirely." The caretaker taps his caine with his fingers. "When we say we need a brute force approach, we aren't going to be knocking on his front door. Far too formal for that madman, as well as too predictable. No, what we have planned is that we can launch a few of us up to the top of his spire. The rest will need to find another way of catching up."
"And how will those people be launched?"
Primo points behind himself, a large slingshot-like contraption is stationed at the end of the boat. He walks over to it. Two metal polls stand snuggly stuck into the flooring, stretchy, silver, thick silk layered excessively to form the sling. Just to be sure, the marionette wraps a few more strings of silk around to secure it.
"And you're sure this'll work?"
"We don't have many options, nor do we have the time to think of anything better. You, Miko and Shrai will be launched, me and Cross will find an alternative route to aid you."
"Alright." While skeptical, he accepts the terms of the plan. He stands in between the fox and chameleon. The three stand back, Cross using his ferrokinesis to pull the silver-coated string back until it's being strained. He aims, then releases.
The three are shot into the air with exceptional force. Such a stretch of an idea, but it's the best they have. The deer and raven watch as they are shot to the top of the large, black spire on the final destination of their quest.
"So we need to fight our way in, huh?" The ex-detective looks at the wooden buck.
"Indeed. Hopefully those three can divide his attention enough for us to get to them quick enough. Let us not waste time." He walks off, the bird still staring into the sky.
"It's almost over, Nehken. Just one last hurdle." He follows the button-eyed man onto the sandy beachside of the island.
The air whips the three, Shrai and Miko justifiably freaking out, all the while Nehken's been through weirder things than being shot from a giant slingshot. He waits until they meet the top of the tower, only for the cloaked one to realise something dire.
"WE'VE OVERSHOT IT!" He desperately tries to yell past the loud sound of the wind rushing past their ears.
He grabs onto his girlfriend's wrist, who then grabs the nerd by the collar of his shirt. Nehken, using the power of black magic, turns his arm into a large gauntlet. He shoots the gauntlet's arm, connected to a chain, he barely gets a good grasp onto the flat top of the spire, the chain pulling them to their intended destination. They hit the ground with a large crash, sandy mist spawning from the impact.
They cough, checking to see if anyone got any wounds, or well, reopened wounds from the impact. Luckily everyone seems to be fine. What concerns the trio the most is their surroundings- some sort of arena grounds. Why is this here? Primo never mentioned anything about a stadium on top of the spire. Was it added recently? Before they can come up with any more questions, the smoke clears to reveal a throne, a reptilian tail atop one of the arms of the fancy chair, and a mask they know all too well.
It's him.
"Bravo! Congratulations on making it to the top, you three! Truly I am impressed." The master claps, his voice is raspy and bold. He chuckles beneath his mask.
As more smoke clears, the three can see that the arena has stands filled with emissaries. They act as if they were viewers, raising their fists, playing sounds of people cheering through their speakers. This is an odd display of his power and control of this area. He stands from his throne, standing high on a pedestal above the arena flooring.
"You have been a constant pain in my side since you've made your way here. So much work undone, just because you wanted something I hand-crafted." He booms. "How arrogant of you."
"...You made the blades? That can't be true. Everything written on them confirms they've existed for millenia." The cyborg tries to comprehend what the reptile is saying to them.
"Yes, chameleon, that is indeed true. Do you want to know how old I am?" Nobody responds to his question, for they know they'll get an answer anyways. "I am five million, sixty two thousand, nine hundred and fifty seven years old. I have existed long before you were even a blip in Izanagi's mind." He continues to monologue, seeming to love the sound of his own voice.
"S-so why? Why make the blades? What are you still doing with them after all this time?"
"I made these blades for one purpose- to warp reality, granting unimaginable power and making fiction into fact. Of course, power like that can't be in the hands of anyone. Thus I had chosen, and made these bladeholders. All of my work, reduced to ash in a mere week's time. So, as punishment for your meddling, you get to face me in combat."
"Really? That's it? You're just going to beat us up?" The wolf is disappointed in the lizard. "Starting to wonder how worthy you are of these things yourself."
"Ohohohoho! No. That is not the full extent of this. You see, you will have to work your way up to me. Do you see this arena? Do you see how little you can comprehend the power it holds? Arcane magic and technological advancements the wider reaches of Avaxis wishes they had access to. This stadium will simulate every notable past encounter you've come across on these lands, only then will you have the chance of facing me."
"And if we win?"
"Oh trust me, child. You won't." He snaps his fingers with a dark chuckle, the stadium lighting up as wireframes form the silhouette of a hunched figure, gaping jaw, a mane of moss. The beast of the first isle they've visited. "Of course. What kind of doctor would I be if I let the three of you fight together? Cooperation would only make test results inconclusive." In an instant the arena shifts, Nehken separated from his cohorts.
The wireframes form two other entities for each of the three to fight on their lonesome. Miko is horrified to see the form of bebek once again, while Shrai can only watch as the polygons try to feebly replicate the incomprehensible form of bendalu.
"Commence final test." as if the system itself can hear its creator, the wireframes spring to life, holographic recreations of their past adversaries rushing towards their designated opponent.
Lower down at the bottom of the spire, the deer and avian break through the door, emissaries activating as they walk past them. Hemlock had anticipated them coming through the front door as they'd predicted. Metallic manipulation definitely is coming in handy for the raven, being able to keep the large robotic insects in check if they get too close. Even then, it's not easy to handle crowd control at this scale.
The spire is that of a labyrinth of labs, test tubes, testing chambers, containment blocks holding failed experiments. Mounds of flesh, grotesque hybrids, beastly entities. As primo looks upon all of them, he realises how much Hemlock didn't actually care for his workers. He had already known he didn't care for him, but this puts everything into an entirely new perspective for him.
As they climb the stairs, seeing more failed experiments and unfinished projects, something catches the deer's buttoned eye. He looks into one of the manufacturing rooms to see more like him. A woman, a boy, and a girl. All deer, all wooden, all like him.
He stands there, staring at the lifeless bodies. The one that looked to be made to be his wife is dawned in a purple gown, as beautiful as a wooden deer could be. The boy is covered in decals of bandaids and sporty clothing, while the daughter, the little angel of a daughter, pink dress, an adorable smile painted on her muzzle. This was the family he was supposed to have. These designs are better than anything he had conceptualized.
He puts his hand on the glass, that sense of longing returning to him like a sickness that subsided before coming back worse. He pulls out his snow globe, holding it as he looks upon the family he never got. No. That isn't his family. It's all a fabrication, vessels for more of the doctor's victims. He scowls beneath the wooden mask, so much you could hear the wood cracking beneath his faceplate.
Enraged, he throws the snowglobe into the floor, shattering it into millions of tiny glass shards.
"I've found my family. I don't need to dream anymore. They are more than any fabrication you could've made for me."
He runs off to catch up with Cross, leaving the broken snowglobe on the ground.
The smell of moss fills the air. Nehken tries to keep pace with the rootborn. He's pushing himself to the limit trying to ensure his victory. He doesn't care about upholding that grudge against that blasted akuma, using his dark ki to its fullest potential. What he hates is that it feels good. Letting himself let loose like this, it's almost cathartic.
"MAKE! HURT! PAAAAAIN! YOU HURT!"
"No. You hurt." He'll let himself indulge in the bliss of combat, just this once.
His arm becomes a gatling gun, shooting holes into the translucent recreation of the beast. It roars, barreling towards him, he welcomes the tree to try to hit him. He shifts into the floor, reappearing from darkness behind it, jumping and cleaving a construct of an axe into its neck. Its head falls onto the ground.
He has little time to recover, hearing the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching from behind. Cockily he simply takes the axe construct and blocks the incoming attack. The blade of the axe meets the blade of a sword. He opens his eyes, only for his cocky smirk to fade as he lays eyes on his opponent. A construct of Lucea. She glares at him with a blank stare. How did that lizard do this? Does the system adapt to their minds? No matter. She's not real. He just needs to fight through her.
Frostfire isn't cutting it here. The Bebek construct laughs, throwing the fox around like a child throwing around a toy. She thought she was done with clowns. The rabbit pulls his hammer from his mouth, whacking her with it over and over again.
"FOX FIGHT BACK! FOX FIGHT BACK! BEBEK WINS! BEBEK WINS!!!"
"SHUT UP!" A blast of freezing flames engulfs her, for a moment she doesn't care that she's scared.
Her hands are covered in blazing blue, grabbing the clown's head and shoving it into the arena below. The crowd boos but she doesn't care. What matters is that this memory of Bebek be erased. She never faced him head-on because of the fear but now she can't do anything but that. She lets all of that pent up anger from Kainas, her parents, Davanak, everything in her life guide her movements. No more running. No more hiding under tables. She wants this clown gone, and that's what she gets. Bebek's construct is reduced to an ice sculpture. She grabs its head, and smashes it. She's done with clowns.
"Well. guess the rabbit outta the hat with that one." That stupid goat.
"Of course Hemlock would've made a construct for you."
"Construct? Hell no. I'm the real deal. You see, there was a fatal flaw in giving me this body. The magic that gave me this form can be undone by someone that knows the arcane arts that had created it. Translation, I'm off my leash, vixen." He rushes at her like a bull to the color red.
The chameleon isn't the fighting type. He's not really good at this whole combat thing. This fight in particular isn't taking it easy on him. The shuffling mound of grey shifts and cracks. Every time the techie blinks, it's somewhere else, in an equally unflattering position. It grabs Shrai, contorting itself around his arm, bashing it into his visor repeatedly.
He throws it off, it slithering across the ground like some sort of worm. It doesn't speak like the original, which is both much more eerie, and much more beneficial to the cyborg's mental state. He still needs to find a way to best it. He hadn't defeated it on his own. That was all Manyufest's doing. He needs to think, what did the shikigami do to put the entity at a disadvantage?
"Airborn combat!" He gets an idea.
The cyborg goes to the edge of the arena, placing his arm onto the lime colored grid around his segment. He starts to induce rumbling within his cybernetic arm. The grid, not knowing what to do to keep him in, shoots him upwards into the ceiling of the grid. Not exactly what he expected, not that anyone would expect to get stuck in the ceiling.
The Bendalu construct stands under him, unable to reach him. This is his chance. With a yank of his arm, he breaks loose, falling down to the ground. He puts his leg up, not dissimilar to what Davanak had done on the first isle. He needs to get as much momentum as possible, his body spinning vertically. He feels sick, but he has to keep it up. Soon enough, his foot meets the twisted mound. It fizzles out, the thing being reduced to powder.
He wheezes, his body aching. He hopes that was everything Hemlock had to throw at him. To his horror, it wasn't. From behind the smoke, he sees the wireframe of a familiar silhouette. Not of any past foe, but of himself. It looks at him, its body entirely black, its eyes a solid red and blue with a white flaming head.
"Tch. Hemlock couldn't come up with anything better?" He mocks it, not expecting a response.
"What were you expecting? Hemlock isn't the issue here. It's just that your life is so boring that the only other adversary the system could think of is a manifestation of your own insecurities, in the form of the person you loathe to face. Yourself."
Hemlock sits atop his throne, watching the rather impressive display of stamina from each of the three. It'd be impressive if it weren't so infuriating to him. He hears footsteps, and before he can react, a gunshot. No matter, he catches the bullet with ease. From the sound alone he knew the exact velocity of the shot, the exact angle, and the specific type of material it was made of. He crushes the bullet in his palm, slowly turning his head to see the raven and Primo within the stands.
"Well, if it isn't the detective, and the traitor." He snarls from beneath his mask.
"What is this? Some sort of-" Cross can't even finish his sentence before the entitled reptilian doctor answers.
"Final exam. Rigged of course, making sure they can't face me with ample stamina. I wouldn't try and help them if I were you. I could easily turn all of these bystanding emissaries on you two with the flick of the wrist. Just observe, and maybe, you'll live." All they can do is oblige. The raven could handle a group of the metallic roaches, but this amount he couldn't control even if he tried to push himself.
The goat lands blow after blow on the vulpine. He can't hold himself back because he's having so much fun being able to use his abilities against her again. He's practically dancing with her the way he's playing around with her. She tries to use her frostfire against him, but the akuma merely fires actual fire back at her. Mist clouds the arena, allowing for him to land even more cheap shots onto her.
"How I've wanted to do this for so long! I can feel the fiery catharsis in my veins!" He outclasses her in strength. This isn't a fight, it's his way of playing with her.
"Why are you working with him?" She asks a simple question to the madman.
"I worked with Primo, why would Hemlock be any different to me?" He shrugs.
"I guess that checks out."
"Ha! Even now you're trying to justify my- Wait- What?" His sadistic smile lessens, his three eyes staring intently at the fox in confusion. Why isn't she trying to justify his actions? This isn't right.
"You're pure evil. You put yourself at the opposing side by default. It's in your nature, so I'm not going to try anymore. You don't want help, so I won't give it to you."
The goat is stunned. She's backing down? No. No, that's not how this game works. It's not how it's supposed to go. He needs to do damage control. At this rate, he'll have nobody to vouch for him to stay on the surface world.
"Heh. Clever girl. Guess it worked."
"What worked?"
"You've grown so much from my teachings. Glad to see you not falling for the tricks anymore. Honestly, I thought you wouldn't get this far. I'm happy you exceeded my expectations, Miko."
"This- No no no. You aren't tricking me again. You have zero redeeming qualities! You've told me yourself."
"Do I, or are you trying to forcefully distance yourself? I can understand why. Truly, I can. Truth is, when you gave me this body and tried redeeming me, I was scared. Yet, the more I got to know you, the more I felt that I had to give you a reality check. Not everyone can be redeemed."
"This was a-?"
"Way of teaching you to meet people halfway, and since you've learnt, I have no reason to push back anymore." He holds his arms out, asking for a hug. "C'mere, you deserve a hug after all of this."
Flabbergasted, the fox is overwhelmed with emotion, yet in that moment, she can only do one thing. She rushes towards the fabricating Davanak with tears in her eyes, embracing the goat that she had tried to find in this whole venture. The akuma has done it. He rubs the back of her head. She is so easy to fool. Hold on. Why is his stomach hurting? He looks down, only to see a large icicle stabbed through his gut.
"Theres one thing you forget, Davanak. I'm lenient, not stupid." She twists the ice spike within his gut.
"AUCK!" He screams in agony. This is the most amount of pain he had ever felt in this form.
She pulls it from his stomach, the goat falling to his knees gripping his gaping wound. She pushes him over onto his back, grasping his throat as she slams his head into the ground.
"You're nothing but a ruthless monster that preys on others' emotions. There is no use saving someone that doesn't even think they're in danger. I gave you this form, and I can take it away just as easily."
"Stupid girl- Y-you don't have the-" He gasps for air. "-the balls!"
"Got a hell of a lot more than you." With that, she twists his neck, a loud snap so loud it echoes throughout the entire stadium. The goat vessel goes slack, red mist rising from his former body.
He can only let out one last sentence from the dying body.
"You're… broken…"
"I'm not broken. You just can't understand how I'm built."
The chameleons trade blows, the hologram of him being much more capable of combat. It throws him into the wall, bashing his head against it a multitude of times, all the while speaking to him.
"You're nothing. You waste time sleeping and playing video games, you're unemployed, and the only friend you have barely knows shit about you. You're a disappointment to the very face of Avaxis."
It throws him to the ground. He can't fight back. No matter how much he tries to, he can't stop thinking about all the things in life he hasn't done, the opportunities he's rejected in response to the fear of failure. It continues to verbally and physically beat him.
"You're a failure! You can't do anything meaningful even if you try! You're lazy! Apathetic! There is nobody out there that will care if you die!" The cyborg's shadow goes to punch his body yet again, only for its hand to be caught by the real one.
"YES. THERE. IS!" With all of his strength, he throws the black manifestation into the floor. He's done being a punching bag for his own insecurities. The techie fights back with all of his determination, all his will, and all of his drive. "The ONLY reason I didn't throw myself off a bridge was because Miko was there for me. Without her, without Sant, without anyone, I wouldn't be where I am today. I can be someone."
"You're reliant on your friends- it takes that much for you not to up and die? That's pathetic! You don't even care about them!"
"I do. It's because I choose for their sake to fight that I'm strong. It's because I value their happiness even above the pain. Something tells me you wouldn't understand."
"You're- you're incapable! You're NOTHING on your own!"
"I don't need to prove to myself that I'm capable of making a difference in this world, and you want to know the funny part? You can't even match my strategic mind if you tried." The chameleon grabs the head of his double, plugging wires into its head and running a program, causing the shadowy creature to bluescreen.
The wolf struggles, not being able to harm his former love no matter how much he tells himself she's not the real deal. The face of Lucea slashes at him with a rapier, the very sword she said she'd use to defend him with. Every attack feels just like how she used to be. He'll never be able to get over her death, but that's okay.
He takes a breath, forming a sword in his hand. The two clash blades, the raccoon's face never changing from the blank expression he associates her with in his mind. Steel meeting ki, Nehken starts to feel calm throughout this as he lets the fight play out as if she were a stranger. He controls his breathing, not letting grief control him, not letting guilt dictate himself. Soon enough, he lands a fatal blow. She falls into his arms, the canine simply smiling at her.
"Even if you're not real, it was nice to spar with you one last time, Lulu." He hugs the body as the body fades away. "I hope the afterlife is treating you well."
Hemlock clenches his fist, standing up from his throne and walking down the stairs leading down into the stadium itself. He claps, letting out a shivery sigh.
"Never let holograms do the doctor's job, I guess." He steps onto the stadium himself, the emissaries turning their speaker volumes to their maximum capacity as they cheer for their creator. His scaled tail swishes behind him, the doctor tightening his rubber glove, ready for this final operation. "Now, to keep this fair, I will choose only one of you to face me. When you lose, I will see to it that all of you are executed." He pivots around at the three, each battered and bruised in their own ways. The blank stare of his mask lands on Nehken.
"You. You're the reason they're all here, aren't you?"
"So what if I am?" He is so tired of this already.
"That means you're the catalyst, and the only catalyst that should be a part of this company, is the one who operates." The masked man claps his hands together, a dome forming around him and the irritating fool. The wireframe dome pushes the others back, launching them into the stands. Primo luckily catches them before they can aggravate any of the drones around them.
The reaper and the scientist stand face to face, the wolf scowling at him. This is the final obstacle in his way. He just needs to push himself a little more and he'll finally be free of this curse.
"No more tests. This ends now, you arrogant canine." He hunches over, spewing green gas from his mask.
Nehken rushes at the lizard, forming a sword and slashing at him. Before he can land the blow the reptile snaps his fingers, creating sparks that ignite the gas causing a deadly explosion. The cloaked one is blown back, the toxic fumes filling his nose. He coughs, his vision blurring. He shakes his head, trying to get the dizziness to wear off, but before he can, he finds the mastermind's boot in his face.
He is sent flying into the wall of the dome, Hemlock not wasting any time to follow up. He calls upon the power of ancient magic to summon a pillar of fire beneath the wolf's feet. He can barely dodge out of the way, a bit of his tail being singed. He is then hit with a giant rock, then another, and another. The scientist has control over all elements. This puts the reaper in a rather helpless state, yet he fights on anyway.
The two of them trade blows, the doctor pulling fast one after fast one to keep himself at the advantage. He spits out puddles of toxic acid from his mask, Nehken trying his best to evade them. He tries to close the distance yet again only for the doctor to put him in a telekinetic chokehold.
The rest of Nehken's anterotage watches in fear as he seems to be put at a disadvantage. They cannot do anything to help him. This is a fight nobody thinks he can win, yet through it all, he still tries to break free from the lizard's grasp.
"You honestly think you can beat me? These blades, this power, do not belong to you. Even if you could hit me, I'll just keep getting back up. Avaxis is one giant testing ground, my testing ground. You are but my test subjects, my toys, my puppets."
Upon hearing that word, something inside of him snaps. His hopes, his dreams, his desire to keep going, it cannot be quelled. This is heard by something, or rather an assortment of objects. From aboard Cross's ship, five of the six blades all shoot towards the spire, they circle it, reaching the top as they price the orb containing the wolf. The sixth blade, Hemlock's prized possession, follows suit as well, rising from its spot on the wall, meeting the rest of its brethren.
"What?" The rest stare in awe at the events currently transpiring.
"WHAT?!" The lizard tries to choke the reaper harder to no avail.
"I'm… finished… being… a…" the sacred weapons start to circle him faster, picking up speed like the wheels of an automated vehicle. "PUPPET!!!!"
White light engulfs the wolf. Its blinding, a spire of light shooting up so high it could pierce the high heavens itself. Hemlock is blown back from the gleaming pillar. Everyone watches in awe as Nehken steps out from the light. His body had changed, his body pitch black, his body covered in armor that shines in all colors, white ribbon flowing behind him. He opens his eyes, no pupils, just pure white shining from the sockets.
"Did he just-..." the raven is stunned by the display. He's glad to be on their side.
"The blades of desire responded to his will. They have chosen him to harness their power." The deer nods knowingly.
The lizard stands up, grasping his face and throwing his mask to the side.
"YOU INCOLENT HEAPS OF SCRAP! I AM YOUR CREATOR! YOU ARE BOUND TO MY WILL! NOT THIS WRETCH OF A WOLF! I AM YOUR MASTER! YOU WI-"
"Silence."
Ki can be felt shuddering throughout the air, his very words being able to shake the ground with ease. He reaches out in front of him, a circular rune forming in front of him. He takes his other hand and shoves it through the rune, a beam of light darkness intertwining. Hemlock just narrowly dodges it, only for the holy wolf to appear right in front of him. The doctor can't even react as the celestial entity circles him. He can't tell if he's hitting him so fast he can't tell, or the sheer velocity around him is causing his body to think he's getting hit.
"THI-... THIS MAKES NO SCIENTIFIC SENSE! HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!" The mad scientist tries to find any sense of logic in this situation. The empowered Nehken grabs him by the throat, holding him up.
"Sometimes, things don't need to make logical sense. Sometimes, things can just be." he throws him into the air. He appears above him, forming his hand into a large gauntlet. "It's time that you finally clock out, doctor."
With all of his limitless strength, Nehken punches him, the two hurdling into the arena floor, breaking through it and every other floor beneath it. The wind becomes a knife from the shockwave of his blow.
The spire starts to collapse, all of the emissaries deactivating and joining the rubbing. Everyone braces themselves for the fall, only for each of them to be engulfed in a rainbow colored bubble, all except for Famiko. She opens her eyes to see the wolf carrying her in his arms. It's hard to believe that this is the man she had fallen in love with, one with such a strong will he was able overcome odds thought impossible.
They all float down, softly stepping onto the ground, ash and ruble being the only thing left of the tower. In an instant, the magical blades leave Nehken's body, the reaper falling onto his knees exhausted. The weapons scatter across the ground, the fox holding Nehken close.
"W- we did it. We did it!" he exclaims in disbelief. Everyone runs over to him, Shrai and Miko helping him to his feet.
"No… NO!" From the rubble, the doctor breaks out, his clothing ripped, and body bruised. He rushes towards the group, his blank yellow eyes filled with rage. "I WILL NOT LOSE ALL OF MY WORK TO YOU! ALL I'VE BUILT UP! CATALYST INC WILL BE ETERNA- a-..."
At the sound of a crack, Hemlock looks to see red dripping from his chest. His eyes dart to the source of the sound- a lone gunman spilling out six empty casings onto the ground, his final round fired.
"For clarification, doctor. To be immortal does not make one invincible." The lizard falls back, his breathing stopping, his body going limp.
With nothing else left to do, the group gathers all six of the blades and places them in a circle. The axe of obsession, the glaive of dreams, the spear of longing, the dagger of will, the halberd of impulse, and finally, the sword of yearning. Together, the blades create a blinding light, one that hums a low, calming frequency. It's time for them finally to state their wishes. The tired wolf steps forth first, his eyes heavy.
"I wish for this curse of mine to be gone, permanently."
The wolf watches as a light shines, his mental timer for his life disappearing. For once in his life he feels relieved, but there's one last thing he needs to do. He turns to see Davanak's spirit form, fear in his eyes. A demonic portal opens beneath him. Everyone can see his spirit form, the akuma's true ugly mug. His elongated fingers dig into the ground, desperately hanging on for dear life.
"HELP! HELP ME! I- I'LL BE A GOOD BOY! I WON'T PSYCHOLOGICALLY MANIPULATE ANYONE, I PROMISE! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK!" He pleads, the wolf walking over to him, glaring into his disgusting eyes. "N- NEHKEN! BUDDY! I- IS IT TOO LATE FOR ME TO SAY SORRY?"
The wolf holds his hand up, forming a blade of dark ki once again. He grips it with both of his hands, a devilish grin appearing on his face for a change.
"Yes."
He stabs the sword into the specter's third eye, the devil screaming in pain as his hands lose grip, being sucked back to where he came at long last. He breathes a long sigh of relief, finally being done with that idiot.
The fox sheepishly steps up next, at first not really knowing how to word her wish. She takes a deep breath and speaks.
"I wish every innocent person killed by Nehken, Hemlock and anyone else we've met throughout our trip here was brought back to life." Light gleams once again, the fox seeing a pillar of light in the distance of the island. She sees a grey hedgehog, a mossy green creature, and oddly enough, a stretchy clown.
"Ugh. What happened?" The spiny royal holds her head, jumping in fear once she sees the bark-made beast in front of her.
"Live… but no… hurt. Feels… nice."
The clown looks at his hands, grinning ear to ear. "BEBEK LIIIIIIIIVES!"
"Oh my god, why him?" The fox asks in fear.
"Eh. I guess the guy did only want to entertain, as weird as his methods were. I guess he's innocent in the eyes of the blades." The wolf can only guess the reason as to why the clown lives.
"Well they need to get they're metaphorical eyes checked! He made me relive my childhood trauma!"
"BEBEK SORRY! BEBEK GO A LITTLE COOCOO WHEN GIVEN POWER LIKE THAT"
"Yeah. I can tell. Be sure to stay five feet away from me or else I will start hyperventilating." The fox stands her ground.
"At least give him a chance." The wolf shrugs.
"Three feet. No lower." She grits her teeth. Her attention is then taken away from the elastic rabbit, realizing someone is missing from the list of fallen allies.
"BEBEK THANKS YOU!!"
Nehken more than notices.
"Miko? What's up?"
"Where's Sant?" she looks around, thinking that she could've just not seen him due to his small stature. "Did I forget to clarify something in my wish?"
Only the ambient chatter of their surroundings responds.
"S- Sant?" She calls his name, to which she gets no answer. Primo puts a hand on her shoulder.
"The blades can only revive those who want to be revived, it works similar to necromancy with the added benefit of not being a reanimated corpse. Sant… didn't want to come back, it seems." Miko goes silent hearing this, looking down at the ground sadly. Some wounds cannot be healed. This is one of those.
The birdbrain steps up next, taking off his fedora and holding it as a sign of respect to the sacred artifacts.
"I wish… for Nehken's criminal record to be wiped clean, for the name of the reaper to be lost to time, for nobody to remember his actions except us." The light blares again, this time without a noticeable way of seeing it worked. The raven knows it did. The raven takes out his badge, something prized to him, dropping it onto the ground and smashing it with his talon.
"Wow, look at you. How's the first step into being worthy of life?"
"Funny thing to take after you die."
"Maybe what they say about dead cops is true after all, huh?" Nehken snickers as the zombie rolls his eyes and spins his forty-four.
"In any case… the reaper is no more. All that remains is you, a symbol of hope draped in crimson cloth. A black knight." He places his hand on Nehken's shoulder, giving a smile to him. The wolf can't help but return it.
Shrai steps up next, still not knowing entirely what he wants. After pondering to himself for what felt like a few minutes, he comes up with something.
"I wish for ten million dollars! That should be enough to keep Nehken afloat, and be more than enough to afford tuition."
"Tuition? Does that mean…?" The fox tilts her head.
"I'm going back to college. What for? Dunno. I'll figure it out once I get there." The fox embraces her best friend, the cyborg petting her head. He checks his bank account, ten million dollars being added to his funds. It's almost surreal to look at. He might still take a job as a fast food cashier for the experience, though. It sounds fun to him.
Lastly, the marionette steps in front of the light. He can wish for a body back, yet, something else weighs on his mind. He wants to be a real man, yet, he decides to do something else.
"I wish… for these blades to not exist anymore. You are a threat to the balance of life itself. Let the world not have any records of their existence. I want Catalyst INC to be a faint memory of our past." The light shines one last time, the blinding white fading away, the six blades of desire damned to nonexistence.
Silas walks over to him, rubbing his lower back.
"Don't rub too fast… you might get a splinter. Hehe… heh…" A part of him regrets this decision.
"You did a good thing, my friend." She gives a soft smile.
Nehken rolls his shoulders, stretching. "Well! Time to ditch this place. Silas, tree thing, Bebek, you wanna come with?"
"My… people will find a better leader." She nods, wanting to not have the burden herself with being a person of power anymore.
"...Yes, and call me… Willoss."
"BEBEK AGREE." He gives a large Bebek-style thumbs up. The fox glares at her lover for even giving the option to the rabbit.
With that, they set off to board Cross's vessel, leaving the rubble of Hemlock's spire and his corpse to rot. They have to yearn for change no more. They board, Willoss being a little scared about being on something that isn't made of dirt or stone. They make one last stop before they set off to acquire the body of a small dalmatian.
A car pulls up to the graveyard of Tolokov, rain pouring from the sky. The chameleon steps out, umbrella in hand. He passes the many graves of those who have passed, the gloomy storm adding to the atmosphere of the place. He stops in front of a tombstone dedicated to Sant, sitting down, legs crossed.
"Hey Sant. been a bit, huh? College has been goin' aight. I might get back into game development but I can't say for certain. Primo got a job recently, working as a night guard for a pizza restaurant. Glad the guy can get work despite being a… big ol' wooden boy. Silas has actually been attending college with me, being my roommate in our dorm. She's very polite, almost to the extent where it's weird to talk with her, but that's enough about me." He talks to the slab of rock as if he were still alive. He pulls out a couple things from his coat, a stack of cash along with a bag holding a burger from a fast food place.
"Here's the rent I owed ya. Totals to twelve hundred roughly. I also got ya that burger ya wanted. Double paddy, extra cheese. I know ya can't really eat it since… well you're dead, but it's the thought that counts, right? Heh." The only thing he can hear is himself and the rain hitting the umbrella above him. He places the burger and cash roll next to the grave.
"Welp! I'm off! I promised Miko I'd meet her at Mizu World since it's in town this week. Surprised she'd wanna go to a theme park after Bebek happened… I wish you could be here, bud. Even if we barely talked… it just isn't the same without ya, y'know?" He stands up, stretches, then walks back to his car. He turns his head, looking at the grave one last time.
"Sayonara, Santiago."
As Shrai drives off, something appears before the grave. Tall, pink spikes across its body, a singular blue eye. Manyufest takes a knee, holding his head down. A tear falls from the shikigami's eye, mourning the loss of his friend.