FSE

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THIS IS IT, THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! HOLY CRAP!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~CHAPTER 28~~~

"On your left, sludge wave! Dodge it, jump out of the way!"

"I don't see any---"

"No, your OTHER left!"

KSSSH!

"I KNOW, I was also blocking that ice blast meant for YOU!"

"Oh... Well thanks!"

For a while, everything seemed evenly matched. Even though anybody could hardly call a four-on-one fight 'even,' they had obviously never met George H. Stryker, who currently possessed enough power to make up for the missing three people. I was still unsure of how he had captured Evan and drained his telekinetic powers earlier, but taking the abilities of both of the women I loved made the whole situation ten times worse. Because while there was plenty of emotional disarray from the sheer fact that he was indirectly using Cali and Kyla to hurt us, I couldn't help but realize how their abilities, despite being opposites, worked so well with each other.

If Stryker's ice attacks missed one of us and hit the walls or ground instead, the concrete would become brittle and smash easily, allowing him to use Cali's oil-trapping ability more effectively. Or because Cali's teleportation ability took a lot of energy to pull off multiple times in quick succession, Stryker would compensate by using Kyla's ability to launch himself into the air with ice blasts, or create a giant ice tower to use as leverage or for blocking attacks. It was as if he absorbed parts of their battle memories, intentionally or otherwise, and was able to use them as efficiently as the girls.

However, Stryker as an individual lacked the clairvoyance that the four of us, including Cali cheering and guiding us on the sidelines, possessed as a group. We had already learned that some of our strongest attacks were ineffective, even something normally fatal like a spear through the heart. But as the fight dragged on and somebody got lucky and landed an attack, somebody else would notice a small opening, or a moment of preparation... ANY opportunity to wound the beast was something we had to take. Stryker was showing no obvious signs of weakness, but noticeable signs of exhaustion. It was possible that all we'd have to do to win was wear him down and make him waste all that power.

Frankly, I just figured chopping his goddamn head off would work fine.

"HA! Does that hurt, Hulk!?"

"You insolent little---"

"Well don't answer that, 'cause HERE COMES THE HAMMER!"

But then... the turning point came. And not the good, lucky turning point we'd hoped for. Everything started to slowly go downhill once Harry took a crazy shot at Stryker's gut. He missed his punch, giving Stryker ample time to sidestep and deliver a forceful punch of his own. Harry reeled for a second, trying to catch his breath, but before any of us could pull him aside, Stryker seized the opportunity and pinned Harry in a tight full-nelson headlock.

And then, of course, came the snark.

"Like I said before, nothing is out of my reach. Unfortunately for you, pest, Miss Greenlaw's teleportation abilities are slightly... different than your own. Even if you will yourself to a different location, my higher presence of mind can will us to stay in place instead."

The realization and panic immediately hit Harry. "WHAT? Wait, no no no no no no n-MMPH!!!"

Using one hand to clasp his mouth shut, it and the opposite hand began to glow with the same pale green aura as Stryker siphoned the cheetah hybrid's abilities. "Not so hyperactive now, are you?" he chuckled.

Harry could only scream in response... it was muffled, but we could hear it loud and clear anyway.

"Dammit, LET HIM GO!" I yelled. I charged forward to try and free Harry with Isaac in tow, though Smith had seen the situation several seconds beforehand and was well ahead of the two of us.

Despite the intense pain, Harry managed to put up a good fight. Twisting and thrashing madly, he did his best to pry Stryker's hands away from his body to stop the process. When that didn't work, he resorted to kicking the titanesque man in the groin with his heel, though it did nothing except make Stryker wince. As a final attempt at freedom, I could see him reaching for Stryker's head with his hands; more specifically his eyes. It might've worked, but the deed had already been done and Harry's lack of energy had left him too weak to react any further.

But by this point, Smith was within striking distance. With his one window of opportunity, I could see him forming a sharp ice spear in his hands, ready to do whatever he had to to break the connection. Unfortunately, Stryker saw him coming from a mile away. Deciding that he'd taken enough of Harry's power, he grabbed my friend by the waist and hurled him towards an unsuspecting Smith, crashing them both into the ground in a heap.

"Isaac, hold off Stryker for a second, I'm going to help them!" I shouted.

The wolf hybrid nodded in agreement and prepared to re-engage our enemy, deflecting a freezing attack and a burning attack from Stryker in quick succession. The first blast harmlessly struck a far-off wall, but Isaac unintentionally redirected the second one just a little too close to where Cali was standing and tending to Kyla.

"HEY! Watch the napalm!" the redhead shouted after shielding herself and Kyla from the blast.

"Sorry, it was an accident!" Isaac replied just before swinging at Stryker. And missing.

"Yeah... I'll bet..."

A small part of me wanted to contemplate the irony of Cali dodging her own attack, but I shoved it to the back of my mind as Smith and I finally reached Harry's limp form and prepared to help him.

"Harry, are you okay? Come on man, get up!"

Slowly, the two of us pulled the cheetah hybrid to his feet. Unlike Kyla, he strangely wasn't unconscious after suffering the full effect of Stryker's absorption ability. "Ugh... I feel like I literally just got turned into a hybrid again... like, it's the same exact feeling..."

"Do you think you can fight any more?" Smith asked while quickly checking Harry for any serious wounds.

"No way, man. I'm totally drained. I dunno how I'm even standing up right now, my legs feel like Jell-O..."

At his words, I remembered that Kyla told me how she passed out almost immediately upon being transformed into a hybrid, which I decided was enough to answer the question. I quickly explained it to him as Smith finished his inspection and deduced that Harry had no major external injuries.

"Heh, so I'm just too tough and macho to pass out like gal-pal number two, huh boss?"

"Harry, I swear to God---"

Then we heard it - a massive explosion from behind us. We simultaneously turned around to see that Isaac was suddenly face-down on the ground, disarmed and moaning in pain. There were several large, jagged chunks of ice all around him, some of which were showing blood. Stryker may have had Kyla's powers, but his fighting style with cryokinesis definitely resembled Francis' more - fast and brutal. It was obvious that Stryker had bested Isaac relatively quickly, though it probably had more to do with Isaac being so worn out from all the fighting from today.

Isaac! I shouldn't have... dammit!

Before I could berate myself any further, however, Stryker suddenly rematerialized right in front of us, kicked Harry out of our grasp and on onto the ground, and grabbed Smith by the neck.

"---URK!"

I responded quickly by swinging my sword at just the right angle to chop his head off without hurting Smith, but the former teleported away at the last second with the latter still in his grasp.

"Where did---"

For a very nervous three seconds, nothing. But then we then heard a sharp yell from the opposite end of the arena... and not a yell that suggested Smith was able to overpower his captor. A flash of green caught our attention as Stryker stepped out of the shadows, clutching the moaning and exhausted-looking husky hybrid by his neck.

"More fire... and now more ice. That just leaves but one ability left to take - ferrokinesis."

Shiiit, that's me...

But FUCK! Just as we were kind of slowing him down, he's completely recharged! And probably stronger than EVER! What the hell are we gonna DO!?

Using his telekinesis, Stryker unceremoniously flung Smith towards us. Not necessarily to hurt him any more than he already had or with the intent for Smith to crash into somebody, but as if he was an empty can of Red Bull to be tossed into the trash after the energy drink inside had been consumed.

Regardless, it was despicable to me.

NO! I can still fight, no matter the odds! This has to end; right here, right now!

I charged forward; David against the mighty Goliath, hoping that like the biblical hero, I would be able to find the weak spot in my seemingly invincible enemy.

Stryker attacked. I swung left, I swung right, spinning my blade all around like a helicopter rotor to deflect anything I could away from myself and right back at him. Whatever was launched back at Stryker hit him hard enough to make him wince and stagger, but nothing more than that. Whatever missed its mark hit the walls and floor behind him as he slowly walked towards me, threatening the structural stability of the room further and further.

But this wasn't a good strategy, as I soon found out. Because with every hit I swatted away, the impacts got more and more forceful as Stryker got closer. I realized that in all likelihood, my arms would tire out before his energy would deplete, especially considering he still had a fresh supply of power to tap into. Eventually, one icy blast hit my sword in just the wrong angle, making it fly out of my hands and jab right into the wall like an arrow.

Unarmed, I brought my fist back to punch Stryker right in his smug face, but just before my fist made contact, I found that I suddenly couldn't move my arm. Just as Harry had done, I tried switching to kicking, but I inexplicably couldn't move my legs, either. It was as if I'd been strapped me to a table and then vacuum-sealed underneath a sheet of plastic, like someone would do to ship packages. At first I thought that Stryker had already used his abilities on me and I had been paralyzed as a side-effect, but then I saw that it was his telekinesis doing the job instead. It wasn't like before, when he picked me up and made me slam into the arena's walls... this was a feeling of pure restraint and helplessness.

It was like some of the nightmares I used to have as a kid... when I could only move incredibly slowly, or not at all, while the boogeyman could take his sweet time catching up to me and do whatever horrible thing would wake me up...

But this was worse than a nightmare - this was real. And there was no chance of me waking up.

I could hear Cali screaming in terror at what she knew would follow. "GREEEG! Do something, you've gotta DO SOMETHING! Don't let him do it to you, too!"

SHIT! Not like this! Please, not like THIS!

"Don't do it, Stryker! Please don't hurt him!"

He wrapped his fingers around my neck. Even through my fur, his fingers felt like ice. Whether it was because of Kyla and Smith's stolen powers or not, I didn't know.

Stryker grinned wickedly and chuckled to himself. "You will NOT escape me a third time. Goodbye, Mr. Ossland."

His hand began to glow green. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst...

"---!!!"

...but JUST as the initial burst of pain hit my neck and a fatigued, draining feeling began to spread through my body, it abruptly stopped. Stopped, and just as quickly my entire body felt as right as rain, if not just a little tired from all the fighting. Because Harry was right; that feeling of having my superpowers forcefully absorbed was EXACTLY like being back in that transformation pod over a year ago. But now... Something good or bad had happened in that one instant, and I couldn't tell what it was. Landing on my feet, I also found I was suddenly able to move again. I sensed that the danger had passed, and my eyes shot open, allowing me to finally able to see why almost nothing had happened.

"Oh holy crap..."

Stryker's hand was still grasping my neck, but that hand - and forearm - was no longer attached to his body.

"Leave. My friend. ALONE."

I didn't know how, since I shut my eyes in anticipation of pain, but Isaac had managed to finally land a hit on his tormentor. And by 'get a hit,' I mean he had chopped Stryker's goddamn arm clean off!

The severed hand's grip on my neck loosened and the hand fell to the ground, leaking blood all over my chest plate and legs. Cali kept muttering "Oh my God" under her breath over and over, sounding both relieved and positively grossed out.

"Isaac, you just... thank you" I stuttered as he retrieved my blade for me. I honestly had no idea what to say; my own mind was wrapped up in both extreme gratitude and extreme amazement at what had just happened.

But Isaac sensed my sincerity regardless and grinned. "You can thank me by chopping off his other damn arm, Greg."

The two of us stared at the crippled monster, who began to show signs of clear panic for the first time in the entire fight as the realization hit. But he didn't let it stop him. With his one good hand glowing red, Stryker grasped the stump of his opposite arm and used Cali's powers to cauterize his wound. The steady trickle of blood stopped in an instant, but the sizzling sound it made was uneasy to the ears, even after seeing Cali and Harry roast their fair share of zombies within the past few days. And the smell... it was disgusting; like roasting rotten meat with rusty copper.

"Geez, doesn't that HURT you, big guy?" Harry taunted, though there was a layer of genuine curiosity underneath the sarcasm. "I'll bet it does, 'specially since this means your powers are a little... stumped, now!"

...And THAT hurts my ears way more than the sound of a man melting his own arm...

A mutual roll of the eyes was shared between all of us, but Harry had made an excellent point. I had a feeling that even if Stryker's arm actually could regenerate, it would take far too long to do so. The simple fact was, most hybrid superpowers, especially the ones he had stolen, were channeled through the arms. With one arm gone, his power output had been effectively reduced by half.

This time, the fight had actually definitively turned to our favor.

"TOGETHER, Isaac! Let's finish him off, once and for all!" I shouted as I raised my sword.

He was running on fumes by this point, but Isaac raised his own weapon in agreement. "Together! For our teammates!"

"Go, guys, GO!" Cali cheered, thrusting her fist into the air. "Strike down Stryker!"

"You're so close; give him the coup de grâce!" Smith yelled.

"FINISH HIM!" Harry shouted in his best Mortal Kombat-announcer voice.

With the cheers and encouragement of my closest friends fueling the both of us, we charged forward; our blades at the ready and our minds completely in sync. His calm, arrogant and condescending demeanor completely thrown out the window, Stryker replied with a final defiant shout of his own: "I... will NOT be destroyed!"

Determined not to go down without a fight, he teleported behind the two of us and prepared an ice attack in his one good hand. He fired without hesitation, but Isaac and I were more than prepared. I deflected the frozen projectile with my sword as Isaac jumped up, twirling himself 180 degrees in the air. The attack I had deflected exploded into a million sharp little pieces on the ground right underneath my friend, who ignored the shards and used the sheer force of the ice blast to propel himself forward at Stryker. If he still had the other arm, a counter-attack could've easily annihilated Isaac at such a point-blank range. But instead, the wolf hybrid had an ample opportunity to slice deeply into Stryker's torso; the sheer force of his attack causing a gush of blood to drench his sword.

Whether from growing panic or from pain, Stryker screamed and clutched his side, stumbling backwards and losing all focus. The two of us, however, weren't willing to give our enemy even a second to recover. We charged again; me swinging high and Isaac swinging low, scoring a considerable amount of hits all across Stryker's body. It was a fast, brutal dance of blades... We saw nothing but drops of blood and glimmering flashes of steel flying before our eyes as we attacked, because nothing else mattered. We channeled all our rage and all our righteous fury towards the man who dared to use our loved ones for his own sick goals.

Every time I swung my sword, I flashed back and saw myself fighting against Cali's murderous alter-ego, both from before and after I knew the identity of whom I was fighting against. Every time I had hit her while she was wearing that black helmet, I had no idea I was striking the very woman I had spent over a year grieving over. I could distinctly remember not holding anything back during that fight, I was hitting her hard! And then today, I had to endure the SAME DAMN THING, except now with knowingly being forced to fight against my lost love. Who, this time, WAS fully aware of the situation and what her body was doing without her approval! Every time I remembered involuntarily hurting her was an extra bit of power in my slicing and dicing in the present. Was I fighting Stryker right now exclusively for Cali? No, of course not; there were plenty of other people in my mind to consider. But Stryker involving her in his sick game made it personal.

That woman... that fluffy redhead has given me so, so much in my life. Even in the space of only about a year. We never fought about anything when we were going out, not even over who would pay the bill or what movie to go see! But then... in the ruins of that HAC testing arena, when her helmet came apart and I saw her new face... the face I had been trying to kill...

Shit, I remember ALL of it. I remember my head feeling like it was going to explode once I realized the truth! And the worst part is, I'm ALWAYS going to remember it. I know I will. As long as I live, some small part of me is always going to feel guilty over what I had to do to her, both back then and today. Even if it was neither of our faults... I can't forgive myself.

It wasn't us... it was Stryker. Indirectly the first time, and absolutely on purpose the second time!

I mean... the first love isn't the ONLY love, I understand that completely. But whether it be Cali, Kyla, or anyone else, I will NOT let Stryker's actions go unpunished.

From quick glimpses at Isaac's face I managed to take between attacks, I could tell he was going through the same thought process as I was. With every swing and every hit, he channeled his rage towards his false savior's atrocities. I could practically hear him mentally screaming his lost love's name over and over with every swing; "Elizabeth! Elizabeth! ELIZABETH!!!" It was so easy to think he had gone completely insane with grief, but now I had to keep reminding myself that what the two of them had together was, in some ways, actually more than anything I had with Cali or Kyla combined. They had been together for three years if my memory served, and had simultaneously gone through the losses of both families and everything else in their lives. But through it all, they still had each other. They survived together, became HAC hybrids and trained together, and worked together to push the zombie population back as far as they could. Frankly, to Isaac, Liz was both the first true love and the lifesaver. They never told me or made it publicly known back then, but I always knew there was something special between them.

...I promise that, when this is all over, I'm going to help you find someone else, Isaac. Let all your rage out at Stryker for taking Liz away and hopefully it'll help you get the closure you deserve. Then maybe you can move on...

It's not easy, but if I could do it, so can you...

Isaac screamed and thrust his sword forwards, impaling Stryker clean through the stomach and making a wide, disgusting trail of gore spurt out on the opposite side. It... eerily resembled how he killed Francis... But I couldn't let myself focus on that; I had one final opportunity to act. As Stryker grasped Isaac's sword and tried his best to turn it against its wielder with my stolen abilities, I leapt over his head and somersaulted in the air, landing right behind both of them.

This is it!

Most of my ferrokinesis was still there; I could feel it. Stryker only managed to steal a little bit of it, which explained why he didn't drain all of my vitality like he did Kyla. Harry and Smith didn't pass out, despite having been completely drained, but it was most likely because they were more used to heavy combat than Kyla was. But I didn't have the time to think about the logistics of the situation. All I knew was that I was very thankful for Isaac's quick thinking in severing Stryker's arm and connection to my body, or my next action would've been impossible.

"Take THIS!"

Exactly like Isaac had done, I impaled Stryker through the back with my sword, taking care not to accidentally stab my friend on the other side. And with a firm grip on my weapon and with all the concentration I could muster, I flashed back to one moment - to that one thuggish zombie I killed a day and a half earlier. More specifically, the method I improvised to dispatch him with... what I had dubbed the 'Scarecrow.'

With a single thought, my sword exploded inside Stryker's body, transforming from a solid metal object into a writhing mass of barbed tendrils and spikes that ruptured throughout the metahuman and completely shredded his insides. Metallic bits and pieces randomly jabbed out from all over his body, made easier by the dozens of quick wounds Isaac and I had already inflicted that hadn't healed yet. It was like hundreds of invisible claws were simultaneously ripping out entire chunks of his flesh and muscle, exposing the bones underneath in more places than none. As a finishing touch, I forced the tendrils sprouting from his legs and non-stumped arm and dig into the ground, anchoring him in place and making escape impossible. Didn't exactly look like a scarecrow, but I sure as hell didn't care. The job had been accomplished nevertheless.

It was a spectacularly gory sight to behold, though... The big, powerful, intimidating metahuman had been reduced to something disgustingly indescribable; a misshapen lump of flesh, blood and metal that looked way worse than any victim of a zombie attack. I half-expected someone to gag, particularly Cali, but the look on everyone's face was only slack-jawed amazement.

Even Stryker himself. The only look on his face was pure, unadulterated disbelief. His mouth was silent in a slack-jawed 'O' shape, as if he wanted to scream out in horror but couldn't do it because there was no air left in his lungs. Or for that matter, not much lung tissue left intact at all. From the look of it, the fleshy bits and pieces making a mess all over the floor could've been ANYTHING.

Maybe he wanted to convince himself it was all a dream; that after stealing literally all of our powers there'd be no possible way he could lose. But anyone could guess that that had been his downfall - his hubris.

I groaned weakly and clutched my head, immediately feeling the after-effects of such a burst of mental activity. My head throbbed and my palms felt like they were on fire, but I didn't care. The handle of what used to be my sword broke off in my hands, so I carelessly tossed it to the side; there would be no further need for it today. Isaac released his grip on his own sword, not bothering to withdraw it from Stryker's body, and caught me just as I was about to collapse from exhaustion.

"What... did you just do!?" he gasped.

"Uh... I think he did what they did to create Wolverine in the comics. But, you know... more of that. A LOT more" Harry suggested.

"Did it to... an advanced zombie yesterday..." I wheezed. "You two... woulda loved it."

"Probably, yes" Harry agreed.

I could see a quick flash of nervousness on Isaac's face, presumably from thinking that if it came down to it, during one of our fights I would've had to do the same thing to him.

"Is he... is he dead?" Cali asked as she made her way over to us with Harry and Smith.

"Looks like it" the latter answered. "That was pretty fucking brutal of you, Greg. Brutal, yet completely justified. Nice job."

Harry smirked, but shook his head in disagreement. "I dunno, man. I think I saw his eyes moving... Hey Stryker, are you dead?"

Stryker's eye did indeed dart towards Harry's general direction and his mouth twisted into a cold sneer, but it was the best he could do in retaliation. He was technically alive, but only because of all the power he absorbed. Sure, it would all eventually leave him, assuming he wasn't lying about how his powers worked, but that would translate to a slow, painful death. And even though he had drained a very small portion of my own abilities, there was no way he could use them to undo what I had done.

"Don't worry, he's not going anywhere" I explained, having recovered enough composure to walk around freely. "It's easy for us to break out of chains, but not when those chains are inside your body. I made sure of that. And even if he wanted to escape all that metal by teleporting, the massive internal bleeding would start once he re-materializes. So I wouldn't recommend that, either."

"You... You..."

Coughing up blood, Stryker tried to get another word in, but couldn't.

"Shhh, don't talk, big guy" Harry taunted in a creepy whisper. "Just clooose your eyes and fucking DIE already. It's better this waaay..."

"For God's sake, man---"

"Oh shut UP, Smith! We WON, right? I'm just rubbing it in is all."

Heh... you know, you ARE right about that, Harry... I'm just gonna sit back and let you have this one.

Though after a few more hard-earned taunts from the cheetah hybrid, Stryker managed to find his voice and assumedly decided what his final words would be.

"I... I do not understand... After everything he did, every atrocity he committed in my name, why on earth would you be so WILLING to forgive a broken, worthless individual like him?"

You know what? I think I finally figured that out myself...

I knelt down to properly address my defeated adversary face-to-face. Not out of any kind of respect, seeing as he was permanently fixed to the ground, but simply to drive my point home.

"I know you don't understand, Stryker. But if you want an answer, I can give you one. It'll probably be the corniest thing you've ever heard anybody say before, but it's because Isaac is my FRIEND. And friends help each other. When one friend has been morbidly depressed for almost an entire year and can't get used to the tough changes in his life, the other friend steps in and helps him make the best of what he's got." My eye quickly darted over to Kyla, who was looking more like she was merely sleeping at this point. "Which leads to much better changes in life that don't make the world we live in today seem so bad..."

Isaac, however, refused to meet Stryker on an eye level. But with a hopeful grin, he shared my desire to explain to our foe why he had lost. "Or, when one friend has been led astray from what he believes is right and tricked into servitude; transformed into something unrecognizable, the other friend beats the crap out of him to remind him what's real and what's fake. And then he realizes that even though things seem hopeless, there's always something to keep living and fighting for..."

Stryker glared hatefully, but said nothing.

"Well, that's the best explanation I've got. Take it with a grain of salt, or don't take it at all" I shrugged.

But when it became apparent neither Isaac nor myself had anything left to say, Stryker chuckled. Defiant until the end, just like we were. "You're both fools... There are explosive charges all over this building, linked remotely linked to my brainwaves... courtesy of your technopathy, Mr. Deneia. Should my signal disappear, then the charges will detonate. It's a prototype contingency plan that your generous donation helped make into a reality. If you kill me, you'll be killing yourselves and everyone else present..."

"Your brainwaves...? How would that even---"

"It's a bluff" Smith replied, answering my question for all of us. "That initiative was scrapped a long time ago, and he KNOWS it. When I was inside the mainframe, it was just another one of the random tidbits of information I picked up."

Stryker seemed to consider his options for a second, but conceded upon realizing that there were none. No other wild cards, no other tricks. Nothing.

"Then do what you will." He said nothing further.

But despite finally admitting defeat, he kept his gaze on all of us the entire time. He never shifted around or dejectedly glanced at the ground, he just stared with a mixed expression of anger, sorrow, and... disappointment. I had no idea why, but a part of me wished I could see things from his point of view, just so I could better understand the logistics of everything he had put us through.

Isaac, however, had no desire to let things go on any longer. With one final swing of his sword, he swiftly chopped the metahuman's head clean off. The dull thwack sound echoed across the entire otherwise silent room; the weight of the impact shaking every single one of us deep to our cores. The body stayed in place... but the head fell to the floor and began to leak excess blood from the neck, pooling into a crimson puddle. And even in death, Stryker's eyes were still fixated on us; the hybrids that beat him.

But he could stare all he wanted, because I didn't care. We had won.

WE. HAD. WON!

Isaac dropped his sword to the ground and slumped to his knees. "It's over... All of this insanity is finally over..." He turned away for a moment and sniffled while wiping his eyes, not trying too hard to hide his emotions.

"Greg... and everyone else, I am so sor---"

Suddenly, there were loud banging sounds echoing all around us throughout the entire arena. One after another, it was like hearing a cannon firing right next to my head. The ground shook, the walls cracked and crumbled, and it only meant one thing.

"So... it wasn't a bluff..." I muttered. Smith, wide-eyed at realizing he had assumed wrong, nodded in agreement. "Th-The data in the mainframe was outdated... O-Or he just had it done in secret?"

"Apparently not. So save all the sentimental BS for later, we've gotta MOVE!" Harry shouted.

And move we did. With enough strength between Harry and I to carry Kyla, the six of us scrambled for the elevator. It was a risky move if the building would self-destruct as badly as Stryker made it sound, but unfortunately it was our only means of escape.

"Come on come on come ON!!!" Smith yelled as he kept mashing his fist against the elevator's UP button. "Why the hell won't this thing start!?"

The cart budged slightly several times, like it wanted to move, but had something keeping it rooted to the ground. I peered down and off to the side, and saw the problem. "Look there," I pointed. "There's that junk right there that's keeping us from moving."

Everyone else turned and saw it; a large pile of concrete bits, metal framework, and other parts of the arena that had fallen from the ceiling and oh-so-conveniently landed in a prime location to jam the elevator cart in place.

"What do we do, Greg?" Cali asked.

I thought for a moment, but got an idea just as another large explosion rocked the entire room. "I can reach down and use my power to separate the metal parts. That should be enough to shake us loose."

Smith looked like he was about to say something, but Isaac drew his weapon and interrupted the husky by jumping out of the cart instead of me.

"Isaac, what are you doing!?" I shouted.

He jammed his sword into the pile of rubble, vigorously twisting the weapon around and around to loosen everything up. "This is faster; I'm manually dislodging the rocks keeping the cart pinned down. There's way more of them than metal stuff. But it doesn't look like too much, I should have this cleared in just a---"

Suddenly there was a sharp CRACK through the air, like someone violently cracking a whip. In an instant, Isaac's sword shot out of the pile and landed somewhere far away as the elevator cart was unexpectedly freed from its constraints and immediately shot upwards.

Shot upwards, unfortunately, with Isaac still outside of it.

Isaac!

But I found the time to react. I threw myself to the ground and grabbed my friend's arm just before it went out of my reach, and began to tow him right on up with us!

"WOAH, I didn't expect that!" he yelled.

"Neither did I, so just HANG ON!" I shouted. It was easier for him than me, however, because my arm was still exhausted, like the rest of my body. It felt like it was slowly being pulled out of its socket. "Slowly but surely, we'll get to the top! I won't let you go!"

It was meant to be encouraging... but Isaac only laughed at my words. "Sadly, man, slow and sure isn't quite enough..."

"Not with THAT attitude! We're gonna be fine! We're gonna be fine..."

The entire chasm shook suddenly and violently, and the very distinguishable sound of a cable snapping could be heard above our heads.

Isaac sighed. "I'm sorry Greg, but I'm going to have to hurt you one last time."

Wait, wha---

With no warning or any further words, he let go of my arm.

"WA-WA-WAAAIT! ISAAC!!!"

With a satisfied, guiltless smile on his face, my friend descended further and further down the elevator shaft as the darkness swallowed him whole...

~~~

He just... He just...

He just fell. He was there one second, and then he was gone. Just... gone.

He let us go... He let me go...

...why...?

"...I can't believe he just did that..." Harry muttered. "I... part of me wanted him to die a horrible death for what he did to Francis, but the other part just doesn't know what to think..."

"Me neither..." Cali replied. "He attacked us. H-he swore his loyalty to Stryker... I only saw him as a bad guy. A monster... I mean, I know I shouldn't think that way, but that's what every nerve in my body still wants me to think..."

I shook my head as the elevator began to slow down, nearly arriving at its destination. Peering down through the cracks in the floor, I couldn't see a single glimpse of the wolf hybrid amongst the rubble. What he did was so stupid... but both my friends were right. None of us knew what to think. I had forgiven him, at least partially, that was for sure. But did he deserve this fate at the end of the struggle, even after being instrumental in our victory?

"No... he's not a monster. Not anymore."

Except for that. That much, I knew for sure.

"You knew him better than any of us did, Greg" Smith said. "Do you think he at least redeemed himself for what he did?"

The doors creaked open, displaying the maze of corridors that stood between us and our escape.

"I do... Maybe he sacrificed himself to clean his conscience once and for all, maybe he did it because it was simply the only logical choice... Maybe it was both. But when he let go of my arm and I saw him fall... I saw a happy look on his face. I... I think he found his peace."

No sorrow, Greg... You need to be strong and brave right now. For Isaac and for everyone else!

I stepped to the front and beckoned to my comrades behind me. And immediately after everyone had exited the elevator, true to Isaac's words, the cable holding it snapped from the rapid change of weight and sent the cart racing down the shaft. Two seconds later, we could distinctly hear the crashing sound it made from the impact with the ground.

"Either way, we won't let his sacrifice be in vain. It's the home stretch, everyone. Let's get the hell out of here."

~~~

All around us, the building was tearing itself apart. As we traveled further and further towards the exit, we encountered OGD scientists and newly-freed hybrids; freed from either paid or mind-controller servitude. How exactly they were freed from the latter, I had no idea, but I assumed it had something to do with Stryker's death. Regardless, everyone unanimously agreed to put the shock factor aside and escape the crumbling complex as quickly as possible.

After Smith had guided us towards a less confusing part of the building, he decided to break off from the group to assist some of his former peers in evacuating. But not before telling Harry exactly where Evan would most likely be held captive, prompting the cheetah hybrid to go on his own search-and-rescue mission. That just left me and my two girls, one unconscious and the other only strong enough to barely keep running.

We ran, we jumped, and we hurdled through debris and anything else in our path, determined to break free of OGD's death grip.

Though as we moved, my thoughts had their own way of racing through my head...

I still can't believe it... he's gone. Isaac's gone. I know I told myself not to fixate on it right now, but that look on his face... that satisfied grin... Goddammit, that's going to haunt me for so long...

There was a sudden sharp sound in the air. A large, rippling CRACK.

"GREG! Above you!"

"Wha---"

Before I could react, a huge chunk of the ceiling above us cracked apart and broke loose, threatening to crash right into my head. I was caught completely off guard, and the fact that I was still carrying a wounded Kyla in my arms meant that I couldn't just recklessly dive into the ground to avoid getting hit. But at the last second, Cali saved the both of us by tackling me out of the way, making me crash into the wall back-first and not harming the unconscious Kyla in the process.

"Urghh... Cali, are you---"

"AGH! MY LEG!!!"

The dust cleared, and I could see that the leopardess was buried from the waist-down.

"Shit, Cali!"

I gently placed Kyla on the ground and threw myself at the pile of rubble pinning Cali down, trying to move it with all the strength I still possessed. Under normal circumstances, it would've taken me only about thirty seconds to clear the rubble. But after everything I had been through in the last few hours, I found that I was completely drained. Plus if I moved a piece in the wrong way, it would dig into Cali's hurt leg and make her shout in utter pain. I managed to slip a few times in my increasing panic, and the sounds of my first love's wails were like taking a dagger to each ear.

"Uh... Cali, nothing's working! It's too heavy and I'm not strong enough..."

WHAT!? Screw that, you CAN do it! Just fucking TRY harder!

"No... No, I CAN do this! Hang on, Cali, I'm going to get you out of there! I'm gonna... gonna..."

But it was no good. The severe strain on my muscles from earlier, especially my right arm from lifting Isaac, made every push feel like an entire year's worth of labor. I tried with all my might for what seemed like an eternity to dig the redhead out from the debris, even though in actuality it was only another minute or two. And all the while, I found myself taking frequent glances at Kyla's limp form off to the side, just to make sure that no debris was hitting her, either. All I was trying to do was look out for both of my girls of course, but it was drawing my attention away from an already losing battle against a freaking pile of rocks.

"Greg... stop."

I felt myself doing a double-take at Cali's sudden and unexpected request. "Stop? Why?"

She sighed deeply, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I want you to stop this because it's not worth it. I don't think you can save me in time..."

"Cali, I---"

"No, Greg. Don't. Don't try and be the hero... you've accomplished more than enough of that today already. But this is where it has to stop... heroes have to make sacrifices..."

Now I was getting slightly hysterical. "W-W-What do you mean!? Are you saying--- Oh no... No, NO, CALI! It... It doesn't have to end this way!"

"Greg... it has to end this way. She's out cold, and I'm trapped under here. And I'm pretty sure my leg is sprained or broken, too... You're still worn out... you can't carry both of us..."

"I can TRY!" I shouted as the full weight of Cali's words began to sink in. My eyes were already watery from all the dust floating in the air, but I couldn't help but start bawling as my first true love had apparently resigned herself to her dire fate.

"Cali, please! Don't make me do this, I... I CAN'T! I can't LOSE you again!"

A huge piece of the ceiling fell and crashed somewhere close to us, sending an extra tremor into the ground and making both of us shudder. "Greg... it's okay. You lost me once; you CAN do it again. But when you lost me, you found someone else; someone who made everything better. You found Kyla; your one true soulmate. And I know she's the one whose heart belongs to you now. You need to let me go. You need to move on and be happy with her... But you know I'll always love you..."

I peered down at the unconscious snow leopardess and clumsily settled her back into my arms, unintentionally pelting her with heavy teardrops. I couldn't even THINK of leaving her to die in a place like this, if I opted to save Cali instead. But... I didn't want to abandon Cali, either! It was as if the universe was fed up with my indecisiveness and was now forcing me to make my dreaded choice right at this moment, as we were slowly being buried alive.

I LOVED them, I loved them both! I didn't want to lose one of them both metaphorically AND physically! Having to make a lifelong decision like this while death loomed over all three of us just wasn't fair!

But this goes way deeper than that. You know it in your heart; you know what the truth is. You've known it for a while.

"I... You... She..."

Admit it, Greg. Admit it to Cali, and admit it to yourself.

I sighed deeply. "You're right. About everything."

The tremors around us grew more violent. "So you---"

SAY IT.

"I... Kyla is my one, true soulmate... I'm so sorry, Cali..."

That was it. With those few short words, the love-triangle had officially been resolved.

Another loud crash echoed through the air, much closer than the last one had. But Cali paid it no attention; she was entirely focused on me. "It's okay, Greg. I completely understand. This is the right thing to do, for all three of us. And heh, you're not the only one who loves her," the redhead forcibly chuckled, though wincing in pain from her leg all the while. "She's the sister I never had, but always wanted... Now get OUT of here, you big dummy..."

I tightened my grip around Kyla and rose to my feet, unable to even rationalize what I was about to do. I felt like it was only a deep-seated instinct for survival that was pushing me forward and forcing me to comply with Cali's final wishes. I took one last look back at the woman who had given me so much, still beautiful even as she patiently waited for the end. She wiped away a tear and smiled at me, and I somehow managed a warm smile back.

"I love you, Cali."

"I love you too, Greg. I love you so much..."

~~~

Kyla and I were the last two people out of the base. There was a huge crowd gathered outside, consisting of both surviving HAC and OGD members. Melanie had waited outside with the others for us, and was now checking for any wounds on Smith and the other hybrids. Looking around, I could also see that Harry was successful in finding and rescuing Evan, who was unconscious, but alive. More than likely as a result of Stryker using his abilities to absorb his telekinesis.

Once he saw me, Harry ran over and slapped me on the back, careful to not accidentally make me drop Kyla.

"Hot damn, you made it! I was beginning to think we lost you there for a moment, man."

"Yeah... you didn't lose me..." I sighed.

Harry looked like he was about to question why my demeanor would be so low, but upon closer observation he seemed to figure it out. "Wait... Greg, where the hell is Cali!?"

I couldn't give him a straight answer. I couldn't even look him in the eye and try to let my expression do the talking for me... Dropping to my knees on the heated desert sand, I could only sob loudly as I clutched Kyla's still-unconscious body harder than before. Not just to comfort myself, but to reaffirm that the one life I had to trade for another was still with me and that what I did wasn't in vain.

"She's gone, Harry... She's gone..."

"You... You LEFT her in there!? W-WHY!?" Harry stuttered.

"I had no choice... fuck; I had to make a choice. I always had to make a choice... But... but I damn well didn't want it to happen like THIS!"

"I don't get it, what happened? What went wrong...?" Melanie asked as she overheard the conversation and tried to help me to my feet.

"Last I saw, Cali was right behind him," Smith explained, "But something must've happened... Dammit, I KNEW we shouldn't have ran ahead of everyone else! I could've... Oh God, Cali..."

I shook my head. "No... you chose to help everyone else out. You made the better choice and saved whom you could... and so did I..."

For an entire minute, nobody said anything further as my grisly revelation sunk in. No further second-guessing, not even any explanation as to why. Gazing around, I could see that a good majority of my comrades had managed to escape, along with more freed OGD hybrids and personnel than I first thought. Most observers obviously had no idea who or what I was talking about, but the aura of mutually shared depression was thick in the air regardless. Similar to if one went to a funeral and felt mournful even though they never really knew the deceased to begin with.

First Isaac, and now Cali...

It wasn't a victory... not even a Pyrrhic victory. It just felt like nothing.

The only outlier to the sorrowful group was Harry, however. There was no discernable expression on his face, only a sharp glare at the crumbling OGD facility. He didn't even seem to breathe. He just stared as if... As if he was thinking about---

"Wait, Harry, DON'T! DON'T DO IT!!!"

Too late. No sooner had the words left my mouth than Harry began to sprint back towards the building with all the speed he possessed. I gently placed Kyla on the ground and tried to chase after him, but I was so exhausted that my super-speed refused to kick in. I couldn't even run more than twenty feet before collapsing to the ground in a heap, getting an unfortunate mouthful of desert sand that made the existing fire in my lungs burn twice as hot.

"What the FUCK, man!?"

"Why did he...?"

Everyone in the background was trying as hard as I was to contemplate Harry's unbelievably stupid decision as the minutes passed by.

"Do you guys feel---"

The ground suddenly began shaking, seemingly radiating out from an area within the base. Without any kind of warning other than a loud explosion, the entire front of the complex collapsed in on itself. Wherever Harry was inside there, there was no way he'd ever come out.

Oh my God.

Harry... please... not you, too!

I... I can't...

NO! WHY? WHY!? WE WON! Why can't everything just STOP being so BAD!?!?!?

Why does my life have to be such a... a... an APOCALYPSE!?

Memories vividly began to run through my head like a--- well, fuck, like a cheetah. I flashed back to that dance club and my first, albeit accidental encounter with Cali. The music... her dancing... and of course that amazing first kiss; just the two of us at her parent's house, rolling around over each other on her living room couch. And then waking up the next morning in her bed... Basking in the afterglow of our first time, feeling only warmth and giddiness... and love.

Even if she's not my soulmate, I love her still... but I didn't want to LOSE her!

I saw myself meeting Isaac for the first time again, when life had taken an unexpected turn to the crazy side. I remembered his warm, honest smile as he reached out to pick me up off the ground both literally and metaphorically, showing me that my new life as a hybrid soldier wouldn't be so bad. Not so bad, as long as I had a friend to talk to every now and then. A friend that would eventually indirectly lead me to the true love of my life...

He betrayed us... He was tricked, but he still betrayed us and killed another of my close friends... but I didn't want to lose HIM, either!

I screamed and slammed my fists against the ground... finally, painfully flashing back to the first time I met Harry. When despite Isaac's best efforts, I was having a loneliness episode... right within Harry's vicinity. All he had tried to do was walk over and cheer me up, but I only responded by slamming him against a wall and demanding he left me alone. Even when he became my teammate later on, he didn't stop just trying to make me laugh, even if for one second. And when he finally did... I still wanted to punch him. But I didn't. I laughed back and realized then and there that I'd made another friend.

You idiot... You giant IDIOT! You never used your brain, not even for a second. Literally every decision you've made since the day I met you was rash, reckless... but you always had the best intentions at heart.

But this... now you've just gone too far! I had to let Cali go, why couldn't you?

I was so caught up in the moment that I didn't hear the faint whoosh from behind me.

"Not gonna lie Greg, I think I might be Jesus..."

That voice---

It turned and saw that famous shit-eating grin. HARRY! He was alive! I couldn't believe it, but he was beaming widely and standing RIGHT THERE!

And he...

"HARRY! You--- Oh my GOD!"

~~~

~~

~

Well... It had to be done. You knew it, and I knew it. Maybe... But did Greg make the right choice? Move on to the Epilogue, and you'll know, along with everything else :)