The Hero Eternal: Warrior Chapter 4/Epilouge

The End of the Battle, but not the End of the Fight-The Hero Eternal…

“So we meet at last, HoKaze no Flames. You have kept me interested for quite a while now, your constant determination, your rush to your allies’ aid, that recent trek through the desert and the confrontation with Phantom…I wonder what makes you such an able fighter? Such an ordinary little Anthro with such great skills…” Xan said in a tone that seemed to poison the very air we breathed, as we circled around each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

“I still haven’t forgotten, Xan…” I snarl at him, barring my teeth. “I may have forgotten everything else, but I haven’t forgotten what you did to me and the rest of the world!”

Xan pauses, tilting his weapon slightly and sliding his right foot into a different position before poisoning the air once more with his voice: “If your memory is in that state, I shall restore it to you by giving you some friendly reminders of what pain and suffering truly is…” He smiles maliciously, his very expression somehow freezing my blood. He sees my moment of weakness and soars forwards, ready to slash my body in half…

I only just roll out of the way in time to dodge the blade. I bring my X-Sabre into a defensive position, expecting Xan to follow up his previous attack the moment I got up. That was exactly what he did, moving with such speed that the air around me was knocked away. I blocked his attack and crouched, sliding my left leg in between Xan’s legs. His momentum brought him slightly off-balance and I took the rest of it by sliding underneath him further and twisting backwards in a very precise, yet swift manner; thus throwing him onto the ground. The moment he made contact with the floor he put his weight onto his free hand and flipped onto his feet. I stood still. He was good, alright. Had I rushed in after I had thrown him, he would have no doubt caught me completely off-guard and dealt a very destructive blow to my body. Simply rushing at each other wouldn’t work, as we were both too skilled and would end up parrying or reversing the attack. I didn’t have any time to ponder on the matter further as Xan had resumed his attack, this time, going for a series of short and swift attacks, trying to break my guard.

I leapt backwards to dodge one of the blows before getting into a low posture and storing up a small bit of energy. I only had a split second, so I had to time it perfectly. Xan’s furious cuts came down on me full force, but I waited. Time seemed to grind to a halt as the Crimson Shinigami approached me. I saw the moment and took it, forming a powerful horizontal slice that went past Xan’s defences. I roared as I made my way through, releasing my energy through the time-altering fog that had filled the room. Time resumed to normal as my blow prevented the strike from reaching me and Xan was knocked backwards slightly, an easily visible gash in his armour.

I had got a relatively good hit on Xan, but it was only a matter of time before Xan landed a counterattack. Xan stepped forwards and turned on the spot, slicing the air and managing to somehow knock my blade out of the defensive position. Evidently any fancy movements like this weren’t for show and this one actually used his weight to force my weapon out of the way. Xan then unexpectedly thrust forward, aiming for my heart…

I stepped back and bent backwards as much as possible to escape the thrust of the blade. Despite my efforts, the weapon just managed to connect with my torso, causing an ominously large crack in the armour and a slight feeling of pain in my chest.

I dropped to the floor and performed a sweeping kick, attempting to take Xan to the floor once more, but he leapt backwards instantly. I got up hastily and also leapt back, maintaining both my distance and my guard.

“Not bad at all for a lowly Anthro…” Xan stated in a cold tone, poisoning the air with his voice like he had done before the clash had begun. “…But I had expected a bit more power and rage from you. Your technique almost rivals mine, yet your power is somewhat…lacking…”

I show my sharp canines to him but make no comment. He is right in a way. I am not truly giving it my all, I am? I should be fighting like I’ve never fought before, but seeing him has made me lose my motivation, my hope…

Can I truly wish for victory against Xan? I have conquered the impossible before, but this is different…

Why must everyone put such faith and trust in me? I have made many promises, but can I keep them? Can we win?

Levi observed the screen with a sense of urgency. It seemed that while the first part of the mission had gone successfully and the droids had been dealt with, the other part wasn’t going too well. Flames had encountered Xan and the room had been closed off from the other troops. Flames’ signal was being blocked and their seemed to be no way into the room besides the door that had been sealed by Xan. It didn’t help that their prototype experiments weren’t going too well either. The new technology they were constructing kept on malfunctioning. There had also been numerous false alarms of enemies approaching. So far no enemies had been sighted, but it was only a matter of time, surely? Levi sighed and looked to her side, where some larger weapons were being kept for the time being.

Levi looked at the weapons for a moment before picking one up and glancing at the standard handgun clipped to her belt. She extended the retractable Plasma Spear and went to the training room. She had practice to do…

I stood there, surrounded by my own doubts and despair. I tried to endure it and look up, but I couldn’t. Xan was charging up energy into the Crimson Shinigami, preparing for some sort of energy-based long-range attack. I didn’t move. The blade glowed with a darkness that only amplified my despair as the energy within it increased. I couldn’t move. Xan prepared to unleash the energy, knowing my current state. I gave up.

The wave of crimson sped through the air, leaving shadowy afterimages in its wake before colliding with me and bringing me back to my senses somewhat. I was thrown back and landed on the floor, sliding back until I reached the wall. Xan approaches me, laughing. I don’t care. He is ready to end it. It doesn’t matter. He insults the resistance, particularly Levi and Omega. It doesn’t-

Memories flash before me of Levi, Omega and the Resistance. Of me and Levi discussing battle tactics, of Omega fighting an army of droids with naught but a standard handgun, of people, Humans, Reploids and Anthros complaining about the synthesized food, of what it means to be free.

I stand up. My armour has become an abundance of cracks and gashes, my chest is in agony and I see many small stains of crimson red before me.

It doesn’t matter. I will fight on!

I slash directly downwards, the energy rippling the air and creating a shockwave. The blow connects and I continue with another and another and another until, my arms and entire body become a blur attacking Xan with an intense fire. I rip through his body one last time, the combo sending Xan flying straight into the wall opposite with incredible force. Xan falls hard onto the ground bleeding heavily and revealing the large crater in the wall made by his body.

I speak to the crumpled heap as he tries to get up: “Your time is limited, Xan…”

I sheathe my X-Sabre and draw out Omega’s Blaster, aiming directly at Xan’s artificial heart. I pour all my remaining power into the blaster. A glowing orb can be seen pulsating at the barrel of the blaster, flexing the very air around it as the energy increases. Only when I cannot contain any more energy do I release the orb and all the energy from the handgun. The shot blasts its way through the space between me and Xan, forming a furious wind as it moves, before finally colliding with its target…

Levi returned to her computer after hearing that her team had found something. She observed the screen with interest. Flames’ signal was no longer blocked and the room he was in appeared to be unsealing itself. This was great! It was then a human next to her nudged her and pointed towards the bottom-right half of the screen. Something as happening inside Xan’s fortress that was clearly not good. But what was more worrying were the large disturbance several miles away and the humungous army of droids that had appeared out of nowhere and were rapidly approaching the base……

What had happened? My shot had clearly hit Xan, but straight afterwards he had vanished in a beam of light. An alarm suddenly began wailing as red lights blared.

“Self Destruct sequence initiated in Sector 5-Alpha-Beta…” A monotone voice stated from a concealed speaker within the wall. “T-minus 2 minutes until detonation.”

I swore mentally in Japanese before running over to the door he had come in through, which had unsealed itself. As I had no way of knowing which area was Sector 5-Alpha-Beta I would simply have to evacuate everyone from the building…in less than 2 minutes…

I saw a single Reploid waiting outside for me. To my surprise I suddenly recognised her. She was the same Reploid who had helped me fight against Yoh: Sakura.

“We tried to help earlier but the door was locked and then the alarm went off and everyone else ran off to try and evacuate and I decided to wait for you to see if you were okay after fighting Xan and…!” Sakura spoke in a rush, clearly worried about the time remaining for them to leave.

There wasn’t enough time for us two to escape the same way the others had so I was left with one alternative…

The Reploids stood outside the fortress, aware that the timer was almost at zero and that Flames and Sakura hadn’t returned yet. They too would have stayed behind, but there wasn’t enough time for them to wait for those two. They were all worried. What if…?

An explosion was heard and everyone looked up to see a wounded Flames leap from the third floor of the fortress with Sakura in his arms through a smoking hole in the wall. Half a second after they leapt out the timer reached zero and a wave of destruction raged through the fortress, causing many other areas to be destroyed and explode in a dark fireball. Flames landed on one knee, his back slightly burnt, before placing a perfectly unharmed Sakura on the ground.

I stood up and walked over to the Reploids, ready for us to make our way back to the base. No sooner then we all start walking back, Levi contacted us all with some urgent news:

“We need backup! A ridiculously over-sized army of standard droids is currently attacking us! We have reported a huge disturbance a few miles away as well as what could be a teleportation signal being sent to the location of the disturbance!”

This was startling information. We knew that Xan had managed to acquire some old design plans for teleportation devices, but we never knew he had completed it! This meant that he was still alive and plotting something big! And the Resistance was under attack by an army that was currently overwhelming. We were all silent. A moment passed. We all snapped and rocketed towards the base, drawing our weapons and preparing for anotherconfrontation with the enemy.

Levi smashed her way through the group of droids that had managed to sneak into the base before spearing each one of them with her Plasma Spear. She thrust it forward, extending it beyond its normal range using its extendable/retractable capabilities. She spun around to slash the droid that had tried, and failed, to sneak up on her. She looked around and made sure that there were no droids nearby that were still functioning before heading back over to her computer. She noticed the two new windows that had appeared on screen and waited for them to load up, muttering something about how useless Windows 24XX was. She read the data quickly and restrained herself from screaming out a string of unpleasant phrases. She would have to tell everyone about these new…developments…

I had a sudden cold feeling in my spine and I felt a strange urge to look up at the sky. It was a bit darker then usual and the winds high up were knocking clouds across the sky at high speeds. I ignored the cold feeling but I could not shake the feeling of mystery and apprehension that had flooded my being any more then I could relieve myself of the pain near my heart, as much as I try hide any pains I have…Levi’s voice confirmed my feelings as my helmet’s communicator came to life once more:

“Attention everyone! Our healing capsule technology has finally been completed and is ready or use in the field to heal wounds at an accelerated rate and repair your armour or weapons!” at this some cheering could be heard coming from various members of the resistance both at the base and away. But Levi was not finished:

“But the more important and more worrying announcement: We have confirmed that the disturbance at the site we believe Xan to have teleported to contains a teleporter capable of transporting the user off the face of the very Earth…and we have reported…” Levi’s voice grew weaker as she prepared to tell everyone of what she had almost screamed at.

“We have confirmed a large space station that was hidden behind the moon is currently heading towards the Earth and that Xan has teleported to it…Data suggests that the station contains near-inconceivable weaponry………Everyone continue towards the base to provide reinforcements…except for Flames…”

She did not have to tell me that I had to head towards my almost certain death to try and stop Xan’s plot involving the station or that I would have to risk my life in an impossible-odds mission for the resistance. She did not have to tell anyone else what she wanted, nay, needed me to do. She did not have to. I did not have to tell anyone that I would do it no matter what. They knew. The Reploids with me paused for a moment and we all glanced at each other before I dashed into the distance, following Levi’s instructions as I had always done, as she guided me to the teleporter and my likely death.

I ran, I sprinted, I dashed and I flew through the plains, through the badlands, up huge slopes which acted as ramps, I hurried to what would no doubt be my last battle. As I flew through the air I looked around and observed the world around me: Large badlands, the rare green plains, seemingly everlasting deserts, Neo Babylon in the distance and what might have been part of the sea many miles away…

For freedom I run, for the resistance I run, for my friends I run, for peace I run……

Xan was injured very severely, but the moment he had boarded the space station he had taken some “special measures” to ensure that he continued to live. He flexed his arms as a test as he stood before the station’s core. Soon…Soon he would halt his deteriorating state and he would become the Ultimate Being…Soon he would defeat all by using the space station “Eternal” and the incredible power it contained…

I was getting close to the location when a rocket zoomed past me and landed in the ground ahead of me. The rocket was not a weapon and was clearly a means of transporting small objects as it was slightly cube-like in shape and had a sliding door. I opened it to find an ominous capsule and a small metal plate. This was evidently what Levi had sent me. The capsule was their new healing device and the plate was going to be used to boost the range of my communicator when I was aboard the space station, which was apparently called “Eternal” according to some stolen data from the remains of Xan’s fortress. I held the capsule up to my chest and pressed a glowing button on its side. The capsule burst into many shards of light and spread across my body, mostly focusing on my chest. Within a matter of seconds I found that my pains were subsiding, my wounds were healing and the major damages to my armour had been fixed. Pretty impressive bit of technology then…

I continued towards my destination until I reached the ruined building that housed teleporter at long last.

The building would have been exactly the same as many other ruins I had seen had it not been for the large, tubular device that stood in the centre of the only room. My guess was that this was the teleporter. I attached the plate to the side of the device, which would allow transmissions made between me and anyone at the Resistance use the teleporter to extend their range and thus; be able to communicate as normal.

Levi had said that the teleporter would send me to Eternal by default, so all I now had to do was walk in and be whisked off to my final encounter with Xan…

I stepped in, saw a cover slide into place to block of the teleporter and before I knew it, I had become a beam of light that shot into the skies, into the upper atmosphere, into space, into Eternal.

Levi and a small group of people, Reploid and Human, focused their gaze on a singe screen which had confirmed that Flames was currently onboard the space station “Eternal”. Droids were destroyed as battle cries were heard around the base. Only when an unlucky droid managed to interrupt them did they break their focus and instead set their minds on destroying the droid and all others attacking the base. In other parts of the base, newly awakened and still injured soldiers protect the others who have yet to heal enough to regain consciousness…

I run through the station, not caring for the plentiful, yet damaged, technology around me. Only one thing matters: Xan. I draw my X-Sabre and run through Eternal without facing any droids. The occasional security system booted up and attempt to fire at me, but those barely functioning machines miss me and aren’t worth my effort destroying. Only when I reach a massive shutter that is closed and requires a password do I stop. I pause for a moment, looking around for some additional information. This shutter leads to the “Core”…Sounds like a place Xan would be in to me. I slash the keypad and iris-recognition system before blasting a few holes in the weakest parts of the shutter. I holster Omega’s Blaster and break open the shutter with my sabre before entering the Core Room for the space station Eternal.

I see a familiar face. “We meet again HoKaze no Flames…” The figure says, polluting the air once more. The figure steps out of the shadows and reveals what he did to prevent his death. I stare into the cold eyes of a now fully-mechanized Xan…

I can barely control my disgust as I prepare myself for the Ultimate Confrontation. For a Reploid to become partly mechanized to enhance their powers like Xan had probably been earlier was terrible, but to become fully mechanized and lose your status as a living being…It was truly sickening and gave me just another reason for defeating, no, killing Xan.

Xan could see it in Flames’ eyes: Disgust. Xan smiled at this, knowing that this would help fuel the Anthro’s rage all the more. Xan wasn’t technically 100 mechanized as he still had some traces of Reploid within him, but the amounts were enough for him to be able to escape death and extend his lifespan a few more hours…Not that it would matter, as he was about to become the Ultimate Being, immortal, a God. And he would tell every other living being on the planet how.

“Have you wondered why I would use an old space station filled with broken technology and spend so much time on setting up everything so that I could come here? Why I would go to so much just to enter the Core Room of the Eternal? Because…of this…” Xan spoke in an ominous manner and gestured towards the Core of the Eternal. He touched it and his hand phased right into the core like it wasn’t there. “By using this Core I can use the most powerful version of Project X…I can merge with the core and become an unstoppable being!”

I try to decide whether to listen to Xan’s rant or attack right now. I then notice a strange, nearly invisible barrier surrounding Xan and the core: A temporary force field. I have no choice to listen until Xan is ready to fight and lowers the barrier.

“As I speak everyone in the world, Human, Reploid and Anthro will hear me via communicators or speakers in Neo Babylon. Everyone will know that after I merge with the core and become part of the Eternal, this very space station will impact the planet with such force that all life on this planet shall die! Eternal shall take the lives of everyone and convert them into pure power and energy, transforming me into a God! The closer they are to the landing point, the more power I gain!” Xan told the world, as people no doubt started and gasped. Realisation suddenly hit me.

“Then the reason to try and bring all humans into Neo Babylon was to ensure the maximum power output!?” I asked Xan despite myself.

“Of course! Anthros and Reploids give me the same amount of power regardless of where they are and as they are resistant to my brainwashing I had to force them out of Neo Babylon so my plot could come to fruition!” As he replied, the core shifted and melted into Xan, forming a metallic structure that then merged with the floor of the room. “Right now Neo Babylon will be inescapable! My remaining droids shall prevent anyone from escaping the city, whilst my others prevent the Resistance from aiding you! In a matter of about 10 minutes the space station Eternal shall began to enter the atmosphere and all hope for you shall be lost!” He let out a deafening cackle of demented madness as his transformation continued, pulling apart the room and draining the station of energy before a blinding flash of light filed the area…

I opened my eyes to find us at the top of the space station, which had changed its shape significantly. With no roof or walls, this certainly made things different. I assumed that there was an artificial field of gravity and some sort of layer of breathable air surrounding the Eternal. But I was unable to think any further on the matter as I had spotted Xan. He resembled his Reploid form and was unconscious in a pod that quickly retreated inside a giant droid that was anchored to the Eternal and connected with it. It had a demonic head with eyes that blazed a burning crimson, more limbs then I could count and enough concealed weaponry to make a solar system nervous. I hoped that at least half of it would be unusable until the Eternal impacted the planet.

“And now…” Xan’s voice came out from the demonic head sounding more powerful and cold then ever. “Now I shall destroy the last hope of the world, the last of the Resistance’s elite Warriors, the most powerful Anthro from our planet…HoKaze no Flames…everyone and everything you have ever cared about is coming to an end! Don’t worry though, you won’t live to see it!”

This is it. The barrier is gone. No droids. No escape. “Let’s see you try!” I roar with all my strength, knowing that everyone on the planet will be able to hear us and maybe even see us through some advanced camera, knowing Xan and his ego.

I run towards my enemy. I run towards death. I run towards certain destruction. And I do it all with a confident expression on my face and not a doubt in my mind. No hesitation, no retreat, no holding back! I’m going to give it everything I’ve got and then give him some more!

The distance between us closes as a pair of claws rise from the surface and connect to Xan’s new body. I dodge the spikes that come up from the ground with ease, knowing where they will strike before they even appear. Missiles are launched towards me. I leap over one, slash one in half and either dodge the others or send them flying back into Xan’s face, distracting him.

I dash straight towards the torso where I saw the pod retreat and hack away at it with all my might, repeating the same fury of fleet strikes I used against Xan earlier. Just as he attempts to crush me with his giant claws I roll out of the way, leap back and fire a stream of shots at his shoulders from Omega’s Blaster. The shots bounce off and instead hit Xan in his eyes as I had planned.

I fight on. I dodge cannons, streams of plasma, lasers, spikes, claws, hammers, electrical shockers and more, only getting hit by some of the weaker, yet faster attacks or an attack that just grazes me. These begin to count up and before I knew it, I was back where I had been when the battle had begun. Xan was almost finished it appeared, with his parts damaged and no longer being able to use the surface of Eternal against me. Unfortunately, I had quite a few holes in my armour, my X-Sabre had a few flaws in its energy, my helmet felt like it was falling apart and my wounds were fatal. It would only be a matter of time before one of us died.

I paused for a moment as Xan spoke once more: “Tell me HoKaze…What makes you able to resist me so well? You should have died a long time ago when you were but a child…………It doesn’t matter though, as we are about to enter the planet’s atmosphere…You lose anyway…” Was all he could manage before his body stopped moving altogether for a moment to try and replenish some energy.

Despite the battle, my communicator was just barely working and I heard Levi’s voice for what would, one way or another, be the last time in my life:

“Flames…!” She sounded like she was close to tears. “If you continue any longer the Eternal will reach maximum speed and enter the Earth’s atmosphere. If this happens you can’t be teleported out! Please, leave, heal your wounds and we can sort out Xan somehow…! Somehow…”

“Levi…” I begin as I prepare myself. “You know as well as I do that not even you can figure out a solution to a problem like this in the few minutes we have before impact…!” I begin to walk towards Xan as I speak. “Levi, Xan…Both of you should know my way of life by now…:I won’t hesitate, if an enemy appears before me I’ll destroy it, even if costs me my own life! …I intend to keep my promises……Levi, believe in me!” I don’t expect an answer. The Eternal has entered the atmosphere and the communication is cut. I begin to charge towards Xan, yelling out:

“Like I said, Xan…I won’t hesitate! Prepare for the end!”

Xan fires a final laser beam and I fire a fully charged shot from Omega’s Blaster. Both blasts pass each other as time seems to slow down once more. My blast: rippling the air and creating a furious wind fuelled by my purpose, Xan’s beam: Freezing the air and creating an eerie darkness fuelled by Xan’s greed…

I am blinded as I ran towards Xan. My blast connects and forces the pod containing Xan’s true body out. At the same moment, Xan’s beam reaches me. I dash through the air despite the beam, raising the X-Sabre above my head as I fall through the air so very slowly and…!

Flames thrusts his blade into Xan’s body with incredible force, destroying the vile being’s heart and destroying the core. The destruction of Xan’s true body sets off a chain reaction of explosions throughout the space station. Flames wrenches his blade out of Xan’s body and collapses on one knee, clutching at the large opening in his chest which ran all the way through to the other side. Chaos and Destruction is all around him, it is only a matter of time before the entire station is destroyed, ending his mission. Flames wipes the blood of Xan on the ground before getting up and looking around. He utters two words: “Let’s go…” before he runs to the edge and leaps off, mere moments before the Eternal is completely obliterated…

The droids had suddenly all de-activated a few moments ago and right now everyone, regardless of their status or current condition, was staring at a group of screens that were either filled with static or showed images of the Eternal being destroyed. “Mission successful…” Levi said quietly, although everyone heard her. “Flames, do you copy? Flames, do you read me?...Flames?” After no response she turns away and walks off, her head down. The others either try to comfort one another and Levi or try and remain positive about their success, as Xan had finally been stopped………

I wake up to find myself lying face down on top of scorching sand. The desert. Memories of fighting through what had seemed back then as impossible odds. Strange…I don’t feel anywhere near as injured as I should be…I really should be dead right now…

As my eye adjust and I look around I see that I am on top of a raised area which allows me to see for miles around. But that wasn’t important in the slightest. I saw hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of Xan copies, in all of his forms, Phantom copies, and countless other large enemies that I had never seen before.

What sort of nightmare is this!? Am I dreaming? Am I dead?

I grip my X-Sabre and glance at Omega’s Blaster. Neither were damaged. It doesn’t matter if this isn’t real, if it’s a dream or if I am dead…I shall continue to fight for freedom no matter what the cost! I brace myself and prepare to leap down, but I feel the embrace of a memory and I regret that I need to sort out…

I lower my head and quietly say what I wished I would never have to say: “Levi……I’m sorry……”

I raise my head and remove any traces of regret I have before soaring into a battle with impossible odds, a confident expression constantly there…After all:

I won’t hesitate, if an enemy appears before me, I’ll destroy it, even if it costs me my own life!

Elsewhere, a planet celebrates newfound freedom and promises to become a planet of peace and equality where all can enjoy life to it’s full. They celebrate on, totally oblivious to a young girl called Leviathan Aquaous or “Levi” as she traverses the harsh desert. She suddenly stops and falls to her knees, clutching a broken helmet to her chest, which she found lying before her. Underneath the full moon, she weeps………