Chapter 35: Final Strike

Armin quickly handed Hannah the gauntlet, scooping her off the bed and walking quickly down the staircase. “But I don’t get it,” Hannah questioned, “What does this glove have to do with stopping that creature?” “The only way we can beat him is if we fire. A regular blaze isn’t gonna cut it, but that gauntlet is capable of natural lightning and using it as a weapon. As long as it can come into contact with him, it’ll burn that bastard to a crisp.” Hannah was still confused, “How do you know it’ll work?” “Because I’ve seen what that thing can do. Believe me, it’ll work.” “Well, how much time do we have before that storm gets here?” “From when I counted, about five minutes.”

Ferral and Leona were knocked far across the ground, the two struggling to get up. “Aaagh!” Leona groaned, “My whole body is on fire. This poison shit is getting really old.” Ferral huffed, “At least you still have all your body parts.” He looked at his severed arm, blood slowly dripping from the wound. “Why do we even keep getting up?” He sighed. Leona spat out some blood, “Because we’re a couple of stubborn S.O.Bs. Now, come on!” The two charged at the clone. He stuck out his hands, unleashing tendrils from his forearm. Ferral scoffed, “This guy is really a one-trick pony. He’s pretty predictable." He dodged the attack, then, using his right arm, wrapped the tendrils around and pulled them.

This put the clone off balance, Leona ducking hers and running to Ferral’s side. She socked the clone across the right side of his face. He growled in anger, swinging his tail at her. He wrapped tendrils from the ground around her legs before she could run. Just before the tail hit her, Ferral jumped in the way and sliced it in half. The clone sneered, using his free arms and grabbing them both by the head. He slammed them together, spinning around and throwing Ferral far away.

His body slid across the ground, eventually stopping by the destroyed complex entrance. Ferral groaned, exhausted and in pain. He looked up at the sky, feeling dizzy, but that was most likely from the blood loss. Amrin’s head popped up over Ferral, glancing at his missing arm. “Hey, I think you lost something.” He joked. Ferral looked at him unamused, “Skip the jokes, Atlas, or I swear to God.” “You know, the forecast said it was supposed to rain.” He showed Ferral the gauntlet, “Brought you an umbrella.” Ferral rolled over before getting up, “Ugh, just start with this.” He heard the distant rumbling of the thunder. “How much time?” “Last time I checked? Roughly three minutes.” Ferral looked off at Leona and the clone’s battle. She was getting some decent hits, but didn’t stand a chance alone.

Ferral told Armin, “Keep it on standby.” He cracked his neck, “Wait till about the last minute, then bring it. That way, we lower the risk of it getting destroyed or losing it.” Armin stood next to him, lifting the tray of Awakening Pills. “You guys might wanna pop another one of these.” Ferral shook his head, “That’s not how they work. I specifically made them so that an experiment can’t have more than one ever. That way, no one can just abuse them.” Armin asked, “What happens if someone takes more than one?” “Full bodily shut down.” After saying that, Ferral looked at the tray again.

“Actually, give me those, but leave one.” Armin shook all but one out of the tray into Ferral’s hand. “Why did you want me to leave one?” Ferral clutched the pills tightly. “I don’t think she’s dead, Armin.” He looked up at the sky. “Who?” Armin asked. “Nia, I don’t think she’s dead. But, she still might be close. Promise me, if something happens, you’ll bring her that.” Armin closed the tray and held it to his chest. “You have my word.” Ferral chuckled, then gently put his fist on Armin’s head. “Thank you, Armin. Thank you for being my friend.” Arming grinned, “Of course, Mr. Ferral.”

Ferral started to run out, but before he rejoined the fight, he quickly stopped next to Everett’s body lying in the snow. He placed his head over her heart, hearing the faintest beat. He spoke quietly, “If you’re able to move properly, make a sound.” “Mn.” She replied. “Good, stay here for now.” He stood up and ran off.

The clone stomped down, Leona catching his foot, struggling to keep it from crushing her. Ferral came rushing in, leaping into the air and kneeing the clone in the face. He quickly shoved the pills down his throat and fell. The clone stepped back, confused by what Ferral did. Nothing happened at first, so he began moving forward. However, he stopped, feeling an upset feeling in his stomach. His body started to shake violently, his mouth frothing while blood streamed down his bottom lip and eyes. He fell to his knees, gargling on for a while before falling to his side. His body is still shaking.

Ferral ran over to Leona, helping her up, but she headbutted him. “What the hell took you so long!” She scolded him, “Did you go take a shit?! What’d you do to him?!” “I know, I’m sorry. Look, he’ll be down for a bit, so listen. Armin and I have a plan; in about less than a minute, he’ll come bringing the Lightning Claw. There’s a storm that’s approaching, and we’ll use it to stop his guy for good.” Leona turned around to see the dark clouds that were quickly approaching. She looked at Ferral, “And you’re positive this will work?” Ferral nodded, “Yes, one strike and it’s over.” Leona got up and stretched, every part bone in her body cracking. She loudly sighed with relief, “Okay, let’s stall for less than a minute, then end this.”

The two took the few moments while the clone was convulsing to regain their breath. Ferral rubbed his temples, “My head hurts. I’m so tired and hungry.” Leona lightly chuckled, “Yeah, me too.” The clone started to slow down, gasping for air. He got up, roaring murderously at the duo. “Let’s go.” Ferral said. “Way ahead of you.” The two charged, engaging in a bone-shaking clash with the clone. They used all their strength to go on the offensive, pushing him back for a short while. He fought back, backhanding Leona away, grabbing Ferral’s leg with his tail, and slamming repeatedly against the ground. He threw him away, Ferral’s body crashing into Leona.

Storm clouds started rolling over the battlefield, the sky erupting with the loud boom of thunder followed by the crackle of lightning. A flood of rain poured from the sky, heavy and loud. The clone flew into the air, becoming a dark and menacing silhouette. He hovered over the duo, lightning flashing behind. As the two started getting up, he dived down, readying his claws to cut them down. But just before he could strike, a pair of feet came from the side, slamming into his face and sending him crashing to the ground. They were confused until they saw it was Everett. She limped over to them, carrying the gauntlet.

“Armin said you needed this!” She shouted, but the sound of the rain nearly drowned out her voice. He nodded, and she slid the gauntlet on his hand. “What is that thing supposed to even do?!” “You’ll see!” Ferral loudly replied. Everett gave Ferral a small kiss on the cheek, “Good luck!” She stepped beside him, Ferral looking at Leona. “I’m not kissing you!” She joked. Ferral smiled, then turned his attention to the clone. He started walking toward him, raising his hand into the air.

The clone got up, staring daggers at the group. “Hey!” Ferral called out, “If you’re so invincible, let’s see you take this!” A bolt of lightning struck down, igniting the gauntlet. He brought it down, the glow lighting his face. Ferral grinned at the clone, and his eyes widened in fear. He flapped his wings, taking to the sky.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Leona shouted, sprinting toward the clone. She jumped into the air, snatching his tail, and climbed up. He noticed this, stabbing spines into her hands. She fought through the pain, climbing up to his back and slicing off his right wings. They started descending, the clone bashing Leona in the back with his spiked tail. He finally managed to knocker her off just as his feet touched the ground. He quickly started growing new wings, but Everett came rushing in and sliced off the left side. He roared in fury, the ground erupting in red spikes. One of them stabbed Everett’s right leg. It broke off, and she fell to the ground in writing pain.

The clone continued reforming his wings, Leona coming back and slicing them off. She jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his shoulder. He trashed around, trying to smack her off with his tail, but she wouldn’t budge. “FERRAL!” Leona shouted, “DO IT!” Several spikes shot out from the clone’s back, impaling Leona’s body. She coughed out blood, “FERRAL!!! NOW!!!!!” Ferral burst forward, cocking his arm back, his fingers pointed out. The clone gasped, shooting spines from his tail at Ferral. The ones aimed at the gauntlet burned away instantly, but the other stuck into his body. He threw more and more, but Ferral refused to stop. The clone roared in terror, impaling Leona with more spikes, managing to knock her off. She hit the ground with a thud.

“NO MORE!!” Ferral roared, the clone in a panic shot out the tendrils from his forearm to stop him. They went straight through his body, but Ferral pushed forward even faster. Blood soaked his body, “YOU’RE THROUGH!!!!!” He threw his arm out, blowing straight through the clone’s chest. His body instantly burned up, turning to a charred crisp.