Home Again 'Revised' 12

Final Chapter: Survivor

       For a while, I was in a standoff against my supposed alter ego, Hellraiser Fury. With a cocky glare, my eyes flickered to a golden color. Feathers surrounded me once more as I powered up. This match was reaching its final act. "You should feel honored, Fury," I said to him. "You’re the first to see both of my final transformations." "You son of a- Wait, BOTH transformations?!" Fury was stunned beyond belief. He wasn’t prepared at all for my inner secret. "You see, you barely survived against me in a Final Form, but unlike my other forms, my peak form has two sides to it. The idea is similar to a yin yang, I should say." "Then that must mean that…" I chuckled at his late follow up. "Finally pieced two and two together, eh? Here’s the answer: All this time, I was using the darker half of my Final Form, Black Strider. And now, you’ll come face-to-face with my other half. I call this Pure Strider!!" The wind around me pickled up stronger than ever, with Fury, Melodie, and that echidna watching. "Don't blink, or you'll regret not seeing the changes I'm about to go through!" Soon, the feathers created a whirlwind like before while my hair grew and changed to a violet color. Now Fury was to deal with my Pure Final stage. "Sorry for the long wait. This is the other side of my Final Form. This is the form of Purity and Light." "Wait! You’re not-" Laughing, I was cracking up since he was just realizing the effects of the other Final stage. "Fatigued? That’s the funny part about it. I progressively get tired as long as I remain as Black Strider during battle. But it gradually gets restored as long as my Final Form remains in effect. But it takes a great deal of energy as well. Simply give and take for both of them." "Tch, even so, you’ll die before you get the chance!! Death…" As he charged up for another attack, I saw my window of opprotunity. "That’s it. You’re mine, Fury!"

       It was then I warped in front of him, while he didn't notice a thing. "Canno- WHAT?!" Fury found himself wide open as I fired a quick, yet massive Chaos Fang. He held on as long as he could but then tossed it aside after using so much power to block it. "Damn you! I’ll send you to hell, Strider!!" "You gotta catch me first!!" Mysteriously, I warped behind Fury, and disappeared when I was attacked. Fury was being rallied, however I was using most of my energy to toy with my opponent. This form disappeared as soon as Fury was taken down, which proved somewhat of an inconvenience for me. "Damn it! My Final Form’s my worn out! I can’t transform anymore!!" Pissed off, yet amused by the sudden turn of events, Fury chuckled as he dashed directly towards me. "Now… you… DIE!!!" As he flew to strike me, I was in a bind on how to finish him off. Without either of my Final Transformations usable, I finally thought of a risky last ditch finisher, a move that neither of us thought of using before! "You’re finished!! Death Fist Deus!!" Slamming my face badly, I was motionless from the attack… or so it seemed. Instead, I was gathering energy. The last time I thought of doing this, Mist stopped my attempt just for him to blow himself up. This time, there was nothing holding me back. "That… hurt. NOT!", I taunted. "What the?!" I then clutched my body onto Fury as I absorbed all the energy collected around me. "Now for something that really does hurt!!" "Y-you don’t mean… THAT?!" Of course, he new what I was planning to do, yet all the same, it was too late for him to escape. "Bye-bye, copycat. Inferno Scream!!"

       In an instant, my body erupted into a powerful flame, taking Fury and his hideout with my own life. As the destruction diminished, the ninja and Melodie made it out okay. But, neither of us was left standing near the flames leftover by the attack. "I don’t believe it. He actually used a technique so fatal, his own life was doubtlessly taken with it. I guess the story of this fight will become a legend, right down to its tragic end," said the echidna. Melodie busted into tears. Trying to comfort her, the ninja noticed a presence amidst the flames. "That's absolutely impossible!! He shouldn't be able to suvive that!" "What? Is someone ther-" Who she saw surprised her. It was cruel to make her assume I died, but even I forgot about the side effect of mine. "STRIDER!!" "Ah, so he is the one after all. I finally found him!" Melodie ran towards me with tears of joy. As I landed, I was battle weary and excessively tired, but didn't have as much as a scratch on me. "So… did you miss me, Melli?" "Yeah, but what about Fury?" I felt a pulse on my left scar, like some sort of omen. Dunno, but this burning scar tells me that I’ll see him again someday. Hopefully, that day isn't soon." "Strider!" It was then I noticed that echidna calling out to me. "Do I know you?" "Strider-sama, this guy protected me throughout the entire fight." "So you rescued her? Thanks, my gratitude is endless for your efforts." It was then the glare on his face got serious. "Fight me and we’ll call it even!!" Not sure what his reason was for challenging me, but it was the very least I could grant. "Very well. Come!" The ninja had great speed, but I pinned him in an arm lock, proving that I was clearly faster than him. Letting him go, I decided to interrogate him. "Why do you resent me so much? You were fighting awfully serious for a mere grant." "Don't misunderstand. I don’t have any resentment towards you, I merely want to know if you were as good as my father says you are. The stories my father written about you are true after all." "Father? …I see." It was then I understood perfectly who he was referring to. "Was your father’s name Sai, one of the Resistance’s key members?" "Very perceptive. The name’s Ikkaku. But, how did you know about my father’s past life?" "Because my own father fought alongside him." Looking at her, he asked me another question. "By the way, who is she to you?" "Oh, her? She’s Melodie, an orphan like myself years ago. She and I lost our parents in just about the same way. She’s like a sister I never got to know." "I see. But how come you didn’t die when you used that attack? I thought it was suicidal." "You did your homework alright. But, there was one thing that kept me breathing: the fact that I can’t die." It was then he actually laughed, he wasn't all serious after all. "You really are something else."

       "STRIDER!!" I knew that voice anywhere. "Took ya long enough… Dawn!!" As my repaired Unity craft landed, Dawn was relieved to see that I was still alive, after a long time of not keeping in touch. I hugged Dawn with care, which made the jealous Melodie grapple my leg. This was going to cause some peoblems for me. "Oh, right. Some introductions are in order, but this isn’t the right place to do so. Let’s head back to the base. You coming, Ikkaku?" "Great idea, leader." Ikkaku was baffled beyond belief. "LEADER?! Heh, you really are something, Strider. Very well, as a friend and rival, I’ll join your crew. It’s never a boring day with you around, anyway." "I’ll join, too. I’ll be by his side forever and ever." Just hearing that sparked somewhat of a conflict between her and Dawn. "Not a chance, little girl. Strider belongs to me!" "Who are you calling little, you grown bimbo?!" "Wh-what was that?!" As we flew towards the base, the girls were at each others' throats, while Ikkaku was dying of laughter enjoying it. I just sat there to muself, holding my head, imagining what kind of mayhem would erupt if Night met her."At least this’ll liven up the base now… oh, boy…"

Chapter End