It's time for another chapter. Honestly, I've spent a lot of time watching videos, researching and getting inspired for this one. The dots will connect, and everything should come together. Long story short, I've thrown everything and the kitchen sink into making this part as packed with interesting ideas as possible.

I'm also opening the floor to my readers. A new poll has arrived on my profile. Which girl would you like to see more often in the Problems Series? Perhaps another story or a short romantic oneshot? Cast your vote and let me know! With that out of the way, let's begin!

Final Battle – Part I

"In the years of my childhood I trusted the people I called family… the same people who now see fit to send me off to a fate beyond comprehension. There is little left for me in the way of time. Soon I'll be overtaken, but before that happens… I shall atone for my failures."

A car with tinted windows sped along the highway. It overtook traffic with unforgiving efficiency, surging toward its destination with due haste. A goal, a mission, innocent lives in the balance. Tonight was the night the oppression would end. The prodigy remembered every transgression dealt against himself and his closest companions. The moon would bare witness to retribution.

Markus Jonathan Kane breathed deeply, fingers knotted around the wheel, taking a sharp right at the intersection back toward Glenberry. His heart pounded with nervous adrenaline, his eyes, shielded with sunglasses, gazed though the rear-view mirror toward the stack of weaponry piled upon the back seat.

"A submachine gun, two handguns, military grade knives, an excess of additional supplies and equipment. Yet I still fear they will not be enough. It matters not…. I can feel it within… the symbiont screaming for control. I've not the luxury of unease tonight. If I am to fail… there will be no more chances."

Fear slithered within his stomach – a sickening, cancerous omen. Exhaling stiffly, doing all he could to supress the demon inside, Mark reached for the radio, turning over to the nearest station. A song he remembered well, one akin to the life of his poisonous family, graced his ears.

"How ironic…. I find myself edging closer toward oblivion, and here I'm reminded… tormented… by the past I'd much rather bury deep inside."

'Well, you told me you were drowning. I've seen your face before my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am. Well I was there… I saw what you did. I saw it with my own two eyes. So you can wipe of that grin… I know where you've been. It's all been a pack of lies….'

Down an empty, open road, one from which there would be no return. The unease, the uncertainty, the abhorrent stink of failure, Markus remembered it all so well. Four weeks had torn his very life asunder, and left him in a place of destitution. The fallen child of a family with nothing but hatred. One thing however, was beyond all certainty. A silent tear in his eye sang a requiem.

"Momo, my darling, and Mike… my most trustworthy friend… I've let you both down. I've allowed harm to befall the two of you... and I can only pray to the powers that be for your forgiveness. I shall not allow that deplorable blue harlot… my nemesis, to cause you any further pain. On the shreds of honor I have left… I solemnly swear that I will bring you back safely."

He'd been anything but a malleable drone to the whims of his patriarch father, a shortcoming of which he was constantly reminded. Indeed, he'd done nothing but disappoint. With such a belief firmly in mind, the path ahead brought one of two options.

"Redemption or demise."

'I can feel it… calling in the air tonight… oh lord. I've been waiting for this moment, all my life… oh lord! Well I remember! I remember… don't worry! But I know the reason why you keep this silence up. Oh no, you don't fool me The hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows. It's no stranger to you and me!'

The decisive moment was here at last. Pulling to a stop at the roadside, Markus swung open the driver's door, stepping out, clad in long black coat and adorned in a bulky defensive vest, into the cool evening air. In order to free those dear to him there was little choice but to walk headlong into the unknown.

"This is it. The door behind me has closed…."

The sands of Turtle Bay Beach crunched underfoot. An oddly unnerving silence permeated the air on this, the hour after midnight. Exhaling, his mind ablaze with wary thoughts, Markus looked across the yellowy expanse before him.

"Usually this place is full to the brim with students and partygoers… even on week nights. It is oddly devoid of people… Not a soul in sight."

Celeste must've been up to her old tricks again. Perhaps a trap or some kind of ruse to throw him off guard? Whatever the cause, the fallen prodigy had no intent of surrendering. If Miss Luvendass tried to interfere this time, she would meet her end.

"Tonight I hold the tricks up my sleeve. Alien technology at your disposal or not… I have something you will not see coming."

Reaching into the pocket of his coat, Mark produced a dark metal container of sorts, his long digits wrapped tightly around the edges. He flipped the cubic object on its side, eying a bluish-grey square that buzzed with purple light.

"Providing fingerprint recognition now."

His forefinger upon the small square brought the sound of a gentle ping, its volume bouncing in the night air before fizzling away. The light of blue twisted into solid green.

"Access granted."

The box talked back – the lid of the container popping open. Inside, between a solid padding cushion and a metallic rim, there sat a sleek wristwatch, its face chunky and rounded, coal-shaded with a reflective screen.

Taking the object from its place of storage, Markus unclasped the cold metal buckle at the back and slid it around his wrist, powering on the device with another press of the finger.

As if responding to his fingerprint, the high-tech timepiece rang out loudly, its sound akin to that of an olden computer start-up.

"Here goes nothing," Mark nodded, preparing for the moment ahead. "Activate voice recognition function. Fingerprint authorisation confirmed. Respond with artificial intelligence feedback one. Commencing in five seconds."

The object upon his wrist fell silent – its brightened screen readout dying. Was it working?

"Audio pattern recognized. Identification number zero-point-one. Markus Jonathan Kane. Commencing artificial intelligence mounting in three… two… one. Functions… online!"

A digital readout screen burst forth from the watch in a flashy holographic swirl, greeting Mark's eyes with the sight of many a different readout. Heartbeat, pulse, stress levels, proximity warnings. His entire biometric range spun out in a long, detailed list.

"Greetings, Markus. I am a Kane Industries prototype Nano Watch – the latest in experimental field technology for the twenty-first century. Using the pinnacle of artificial intelligence software, I am here to provide you with tactical data and guidance in whatever endeavour you deem essential. For starters, please select your voice profile of choice. I have a multitude of personalized audio patterns – one of which I am sure you will find pleasing.'

Scrolling through the list with his thumb – Mark didn't take long to find one. Out of all the options available, the choice was somewhat obvious.

"You have selected 'Butler' as your audio pattern of choice. Thank you for your selection. Now, Master Kane. What can I do for you today? Under this profile, I will go by the name of Ramsworth. Since this is your first time using a Nano Watch, I am required to list its functions. Please play close attention to the current holographic readout for insight into the tasks I am able to carry out."

As the quaint British voice echoed from the watch, Mark took many a moment to look over all the things it could do. Monitoring vital signs, motion tracking, sonar, and radar, GPS mapping in real-time, the capability to access and interface with computer systems, and the storage of audio, video, photographs and personalized data records.

"Is there anything you cannot do?"

The watch glowed red.

"Unfortunately I am not able to win your battles for you, Master Kane. You must undertake that one task on your o- One moment…. Sir you'll have to forgive me for cutting our introduction short. My motion tracking sensors indicate that there is an unidentified lifeform closing in. The heartbeat does not match that of a regular human pattern."

"Wonderful," Mark tossed aside his jacket, bringing out the cleverly concealed MP5 automatic underneath. Sliding the strap further up his shoulder, he brought the weapon to bare in both hands. "Ramsworth…. I cannot see anybody closing in. Are you sure that there's somebody coming in our direction?"

"Indeed sir," the butler surged a powerful blue on Mark's wrist. "Furthermore… I believe something is not right. While I am only picking up one heartbeat, I am now tracking multiple signals of movement from directly in front of our current position. Two-hundred metres… one-ninety-nine… and closing."

Mark felt his legs struggle beneath him. Tremors rocked the earth – and into the sky there exploded a wide beam of white energy. It coalesced high in the darkness of night, meeting in the shape of a floating orb and folding outward. A field of some kind, greyed and static in its appearance, encased the entirety of the beach in a form of shell.

"What in the-"

Stunned – the prodigy swung back. There was nothing in the way of an explanation for this. Turning, he walked in the direction of the nearest dome-like corner of the otherworldly energy source. Cautious in his every move, he reached out to touch.

"Ow! Dammit. Whatever it is… it is obviously electrified."

Turning again, looking onward to the empty expense of the sands ahead, he moved on a pair of careful legs. "Ramsworth…. Can you take a reading o-"

Cut off again, this time by the sound of heavy mechanical whirring, Mark brought his attention off in the direction of the water. An object, one he'd previously neglected to notice, flickered in the same manner as somebody playing with a light switch. As it phased in and out, long lines of electrical distortion passed over its length.

White – pure and unrelenting in its assault of the human eye. It stunned Mark. Indeed, such an intensity against the sight was too much to comprehend. It sent a dull, throbbing pain racing through his skull. Just as quickly as it arrived however, it was gone, leaving him to gather his jarred senses, pulling the fragments of broken glass back together.

"What am I looking at here?"

Once the expanse of his vision returned there were even more questions. A huge steel behemoth of foreign construct, craft-like in its design, hovered above the coastal waters – suspended by the downward thrusting waves of a foreign energy source. Anti-gravity?

"Some kind of ship. It is almost the same size as a large house. Is this yours Celeste? How did you manage to remain undetected for so long?"

A sinister chuckle, one he'd become well-versed with in his time at odds with a certain alien beauty, crawled up his spine. "That, my relentless Terran foe, is a question I will honor with a response. I believe you have earned such a reward. Now, if you would kindly look to your right."

The familiar blue skin temptress swirled into existence just a few short paces away, stepping out from some kind of bizarre invisibility field. Many more dizzying swirls of distortion followed however, and before Markus could respond, he found himself surrounded.

Bulky metal contraptions stared him in the eyes. They stood tall with pristinely painted white bodies and humanoid limbs, their hands brandishing weapons, energy sabres of a devilish red glow. Their eyes pulsed brightly, in the shape of visor-like strips across the face and forehead. Some kind of alien battle robots? They had to be. While he was far from familiar with the trappings of science fiction, the Kane heir knew robotics when he saw it.

A quick headcount brought his already nervous stomach an even sicker twinge. "Six of them. Winters warned me it was a trap. Seems he wasn't understating it, either."

"Indeed, Markus Kane." Celeste came forth with her signature wiggle of the hips. The robots remained stationary as she flashed an elegant hand signal. "A trap that you were more than content to step into. I must declare that I feel an increasingly powerful attachment to your small planet. It is as… mesmerizing as the esteemed warrior scholars of Tendricide described it to be. Even more so... part of me does not wish to depart its atmosphere."

"Spare me your empty words." Her endless talk of primitive beauty and enchantment toward Earth had long since grown tiresome.

Mark brought his gun up, the laser sight aimed squarely around the region of Celeste's heart. "You brought me here for a reason, and I responded in kind. On this occasion I am more than adequately armed and equipped to end you."

"Ramsworth," he addressed the butler, eyes still fixed on his target. "A battle analysis if you would."

"Calculating. Well, sir," the A.I Englishman began, "It would seem that your highest odds of success come with neutralizing those bothersome mechanical constructs first. My scans indicate that they are of an element unknown to the periodic table. However, the armor piercing rounds of your automatic weapon should more than suffice when it comes to penetrating their shells."

Celeste smiled excitedly, her hands linked together in a knot as she stated with childlike interest at the watch on his wrist.

"Human…. You have given me another surprise. Earlier analysis of this planet indicated that there have not been many successful attempts at creating functional artificial intelligence. In fact, while such information remains firmly hidden from the general population of Terra, the records I obtained suggested that only a finite number of groups and military establishments made measured breakthroughs. To see one, though painfully basic, in action… is… pleasing."

How could she go from menacing to innocently inquisitive in a mere fraction of a second? It was impossible to wrap his thoughts around such a concept.

Mark exhaled his annoyance.

"The Kane Industries Nano Watch, by all intents and purposes, does not exist. It is a black market research endeavour funded by the less 'reputable' associates of my family. I myself was surprised that one waited in the crate of supplies that I requested. Not that it will matter to you, Agent Luvendass. If you do not adhere to my demands… I'll have no choice but to end this frustrating relationship of ours."

"We will see about that," Celeste snapped her fingers, sending the battle machines at her back marching forward, their feet crunching against the sands as they went. "Initiate defensive parameter three. Engage and neutralize the Terran male. Retrieve him alive if at all possible…."

She'd finally finished droning on at last. Kane exhaled in preparation for what was to come, hands gripped tightly around his armament. "Let us see how sturdy those machines of yours are."

Muzzle flashes and violent howls erupted from the barrel of the MP5. Empty bullet casings scattered across the golden underfoot. Hot rounds of steel and fire battered one of the encroaching attackers. Its body twitched and buzzed violently with every hit, wisps of electrical fire snapping across its torso before it toppled backward, convulsing in an ear shredding robotic scream before erupting into blue fire.

"Those toys at your disposal are far less impressive than they look," Mark ejected the empty clip – slapping in another from the belt at his waist.

Not a moment crawled by. Locked, loaded, and ready to move, he slung the weapon over his shoulder, zipping to the side of one of the machines, sending a controlled kick thrusting into the centre of its chest. It topped to the ground with a 'bang', and he wasted no time in pinning down using his leg. With speed and poise, Mark brought his weapon to bare, uncaring of the recoil, jammed it into the head of the otherworldly creation, and let loose with a hail of bullets.

Rolling back, empowered and burning, the symbiont gnashing, howling for blood, the prodigy breathed hard, standing in a flash, his entire body overwhelmed in a wave of inhuman skill and reflex. "I had expected far more from these contraptions of yours, Miss Luvendass."

Celeste didn't look impressed by his actions at all, flipping back her snowy strands with an evil curve of the lips. "If your desire is to tear apart your body by bringing the creature inside your blood to call… you are more than welcome to do so. It only serves to make my primary task easier to carry out."

She looked to the remaining robots with a sharp authoritarian state. "Activate shielding."

On command, they brought up their free arms, a wide wall of circular blue spewing out and enveloping them from head to toe in a thin field light. Each passing second brought them closer. The glowing hand-to-hand weapons they clutched hummed sinisterly all the while.

"That won't be enough." Locked and loaded yet again, Mark brought his gun up for another exchange. Anchoring his feet into the ground to dampen the recoil, he let loose in a third volley.

More empty bullets rolled across the sand.

"Impossible," Kane's eyes widened behind their protective lenses.

Shorts twisted and bent around the combat bots – swerving away, but never once hitting the intended targets. Every precious moment wasted, every unfallen foe, brought with it a painful sting of dread.

The gap between Mark and his foes was no more. In a mechanical screech, one of them swung out its mighty leg.

*Thump!*

The sky spun upward in a broken spiral – Mark's head twisting in a vortex as his centre of gravity snapped out of balance. His chest hurt. His breathing felt slow. Everything ached!

In the aftermath, his face felt the burn of sand. He crawled from the ground in a violent cough and looked desperately for his gun. Where was it? He was holding it just a moment ago!

"Shit! This does not bode well," there it lay at his feet, broken into pieces and melted at the hilt.

Such a revelation brought little choice but to change the plan of attack. However, Mark paused for a moment, allowing his mind to flow in overload. Those weapons the robots carried looked awfully dangerous.

'If they strike me it is highly unlikely I'll be able to withstand such an impact. The technology Celeste has at her disposal dwarfs even the Nano Watch by a sizable margin, and such a piece of equipment is the best I have. Think, Markus. Think!'

"Excuse me. Master Kane," Ramsworth sounded, yanking the prodigy from his hurried thoughts, "Might I suggest an electromagnetic pulse? My surface analysis indicate that these mechanicals are not sufficiently protected aside from their ballistic shielding. Such a surge will likely destroy their circuitry, rendering them offline. I am capable of performing such a function."

Something about the casual declaration of such a thing brought Mark, already ablaze with adrenaline, closer to boiling over. "Why did you not tell me about this sooner? Did you not think it essential to our current predicament?"

"Forgive me, sir," Ramsworth flickered a timid purple, "Such a defensive measure on my part is something of a last resort. Doing so will drain my internal battery, forcing me to power down for up to six hours while a recharge commences. I am of course, experimental by nature, and have my flaws."

"Do it," Mark commanded, backing away from the ever-approaching band of aggressors, "If they get too close I'll be ripped apart in hand-to-hand by their weapons. There is little time left until they reach me. Be hasty!"

"Very well, Master Kane," Ramsworth's face flipped outward, changing in a dynamic screech into a pointy-edged square. Upon the front of his readout there sat a skull with chattering teeth and burning red eyes. "Ten seconds until the pulse. Keep in mind that any non-shielded electronics within a one-hundred meter radius are likely to be destroyed. I pray for your safety, sir, and will see you again when I return to functionality. Electromagnetic pulse in three… two… one… commencing."

In a sleek bluish-purple flash the Nano Watch erupted, its face turning dark as it fell into a deep sleep. The pulse swept across the robots as though it were a smooth ocean wave, leaving Mark to watch in astonishment.

One by one, the creations of alien steel and brutality began shuddering violently, powerful shockwaves of electrical distortion overpowering them. They howled and screamed as their red eye visors blitzed with wild abandon. Finally, almost poetically, they plummeted toward the sands in smoking heaps, still jerking unnaturally for many a moment in the aftermath.

It was gratifying to say the least, to see Celeste stood in silence, a stunned expression upon her blue face. Arms at her sides, she remained unmoving as Mark stepped around her little playthings, closing the distance.

He smirked victoriously, arms folded – mere metres away from his most hated nemesis. "I'll not have you toy with me this time. We're on equal footing at last. Now you shall listen to what I have to say."

Rain pattered from the darkened sky, splashing through the shield bubble above, its cooling droplets bringing a sense of relief to Mark's heated face. "I shall only warn you on-"

Pain blazed across his chest – gripping his heart in a rabid frenzy. The blood within his veins sang aloud for placation. Perhaps it was the sight of Celeste, perhaps the stress of battle, but the symbiont wrestled for control once again. Kane felt it, wriggling throughout every nerve like a bloated slug, shattering his sense of wholeness, crashing trough the barriers of his mind.

Redness stained his vision. Flecks of crimson pattered against the ground, trails of lifeblood seeping from his eyes and nose. "N-no… Not now!"

This wasn't the time for his body to rebel. His grasp of the situation hung in the balance. The pain was unbarable, so bludgeoning that it caused his head to swirl in a sickening circle. "I ca- I can't... lose control... I must keep on fighting."

The rain just wouldn't let up. Perhaps it was an omen - or perhaps a prelude of fate. The grains of sand spilled through the hourglass and the clock ticked onward.

'Damn it all! Have I reached my end at last?'

"I cannot best you - no matter how hard I try. Indeed, you drive me to the brink of madness, Celeste."

Mark collapsed on hand and knee, gasping for breath as his enemy, took bare footed steps across the wet, sandy ground.

"Markus Kane," she smiled, flipping yet another hand through the wet strands of her snowy white hair, "Your friends are still alive... for the moment at least. Your comrade Mike put up a most valiant fight... so much so that I find myself enamoured with him."

Kane's entire body throbbed the weight of the heartbeat ringing in his ears. Regardless, he stood again. A low growl slipped free - fists clenching tight as his limbs shuddered with sharpened rage, "What about Momo? You said she would remain unharmed. Do not say you intend to stab me in the back?"

"She is also alive, and if you wish for her to stay that way," the extra-terrestrial vixen stopped just short of her pray, eying him with her powerful orange orbs in the moon's light, "Then you had better comply with my demands..."

"What do you want?"

As Mark fought steadied his legs, the entire world continued to teeter on the edge a violent vortex.

'Let me out, Markus. Your sanity hangs by a thread and yet you still resist me. Once I have control I'll pluck the heart from this bitch. I'll make her watch in her final moments before I crush her lifeblood beneath my boot. I'll destroy her.'

"It would appear that you are fast running out of time, Mister Kane." Celeste folded her arms, waggling her finger.

"If we do not remove it from your body by sunrise... the being will complete its meld with your brain and nervous system... and you will cease to exist as a single entity. I could use my surgical equipment to purge it from your bloodstream. Before I do, however, I require one last thing from you..."

"You want to fight me," Mark declared aloud. Of course, she did - she'd hunted him like a cat on the trail of a mouse. "Save me the foolish prattle... and let us be on with it."

Power - it coursed through the man's veins, filling his core with force most intense. His heartbeat thumped, and as the blood pulsed through every fibre of his mortal form, his eyes shone red as blood, "I'll make you pay for what you've done..."

The alien lady took a step back, lips curved into a smirk, "It would seem you are forcefully bending the strength of the creature to your whim - a near impossibility for a human. However... I have learned to expect nothing less from you..."

"This thing is," Mark coughed chunks of red as his senses surged in overdrive, "...destroying me. But I'll not back down. I'll never admit defeat... my most lethal adversary."

"Come," he beckoned her forth with a wave of the hand, standing tall in stance, "Let us finish this..."

"Very good," Celeste chuckled, her curvy form slinking in preparation for the dance of combat, "I have been looking forward to this... never before has a target given me the thrill of such chase..."

Time was almost up. Mark exhaled deeply, and in the final moments, allowed his mind to drift back to the very beginning.

"This is it... the final battle..."

To be continued….

So, what did you think? I must say, I'm particularly pleased with this one. In fact, I put my creativity on the line a little to come up with some interesting alien tech ideas and concepts. Please feel free to leave me some feedback if you enjoyed it. I appreciate the thoughts and feelings of my readers.

If you like, why not follow me on DeviantArt or check out some of the other stories in the series? As always, keep on supporting the official releases of Huniepop and Huniecam Studio. I'll see you in the next part. Thanks again for your time!