Just between you and me, I think that the fight between Jack and Candice had the least depth... But I really wasn't planning anything amazing for that fight, other than the fact that Jack was killed.
To me, this upcoming fight is so much better...
Chapter 14: Clashing Ideals
Galian found himself in a dark alley. He turned to his left, and saw a wall. He turned around, and saw another wall. "It's like I'm in a slum or something..." Galian thought. He shivered slightly, the Luberian did not have a fond memory of slums.
"You hate these kinds of places. That's why you made Luberia, right?" He heard Rolan ask.
"Where are you?" Galian looked around. He felt something hit his head, and looked up. Rolan was smiling with his hand outstretched and palm open. It looked like Rolan had dropped a rock on Galian.
"Chess Pieces, Third in Command, Rolan... Versus... Luberia, Second in Command, Galian!"
"So, are you going to come down here, or will I have to go up there?" Galian asked, bracing himself for a sprint.
"So you think you can actually run up this wall? Cool. But, no, I want you to follow me!" Rolan laughed as he ran away.
Galian sprinted up the wall, and when he made it to the top of the building, he saw Rolan gliding away from him with his Elle d'Angel. "Get back here!" Galian yelled.
"Can you reach me?" Rolan smiled. Feather Darts from Rolan's wings flew at Galian, who used his Hiraiken to slice them to bits. "Don't underestimate a man with a sword!" Galian warned.
"Let's chat!"
"Why?"
"Why? Because you're quite an interesting guy!"
"What do you mean?"
Rolan answered by swooping right over Galian's head and flying in the other direction. Galian jumped over the alley to reach the opposite rooftop, and activated Electric Frisbee. When the Frisbees charged the Hiraiken, Galian used it like a cannon and pointed it at Rolan, sending a thunderbolt towards the flying Chess Piece.
Rolan quickly dodged the bolt, and laughed: "Nice! You're using the tactic that you used to practice with when Peta was around."
"Don't remind me of those times!"
"Why not? Those were the times when we were friends."
"Not anymore. By befriending you, I betrayed Luberia."
"You didn't betray Luberia. You gave them Nanashi, and tried to teach them to be stronger. It's not your fault that they failed your test."
"I never accepted Peta's attack on the Fort!"
"But you smiled and burned the torn Luberia flag. That shows that you eventually supported it."
"Don't make any assumptions about me, Rolan!"
"I'm not assuming. You're just not accepting the truth, old friend." Rolan looked at him seriously. This actually shocked Galian a little. This was the first time he saw Rolan with a serious face.
Galian was speechless, and Rolan spoke: "You're a good man. You made Luberia so that the people who lived in these kinds of slums could have a better life. I was practically raised in these slums, so I know how hard it is. Thank you. You helped a lot of people like me."
"What?... Why are you thanking me?"
"I don't want to hurt you, Galian, because if Phantom wasn't my benefactor, I know that you would have been instead. You might not be much older than me, but you worked just as hard as Phantom..."
"Don't compare me with that lunatic! What I did for those misfortunate souls was give them a home and a new meaning in life! What Phantom did was manipulate and use them for his own purposes! I did no such thing!" Galian yelled.
"Why are you so angry, Galian?"
"I refuse to be associated with my enemy!"
"But you manipulated those people too..."
"Wha-?"
"You made them into criminals, and, in a way, you profited from their gains, didn't you?"
"I..."
"That makes you not that different than Phantom, he had us do criminal things, and profited from the gains... Well, the Orb profited more, but Phantom still got something out of it..."
"How..."
"Galian, don't deny it. You and Phantom are very similar people. So similar that one can say that it's no surprise that you founded Luberia and he was the apparent leader of the Chess Pieces. Don't be so quick to insult him when you're so similar to him!"
"I... I am like him?..." Galian was taken aback. Rolan continued hovering in the air, and smiled: "See? You can see the evil that others have, but can you see the evil that lies in you?" (1.)
"But... But there's one difference, Rolan..."
"What is that?"
"We all make mistakes, but in the end, there are those who recognize those mistakes and are willing to make up for them..." Galian tried to explain.
"But some mistakes are too grave to be remedied..."
"True... However, there's an old saying: it's the thought that counts. I intend to be loyal to Luberia and to aid in its recovery, even if they don't accept my presence. Phantom, however, had no intention of helping Mar Heaven after he realized what he had done. Instead, he felt depressed that no one truly loved him during his last few minutes..." (2.)
Rolan raised an eyebrow: "Can you blame him for being depressed?"
"Heck, no! Even I still have nightmares over what I did! But what I'm saying is that instead of being depressed, he should have tried to help Mar Heaven somehow..."
"You had the fortune of having Nanashi and Sophie forgive you somewhat for your crimes, and from that bit of forgiveness, you had a base from which you could start showing your goodwill. Now, Luberia appreciates you once again. Phantom had no such thing. No one forgave him for his sins. Candice and I watched him suffer in his last moments. You were pampered by Nanashi and Sophie, in a way. You did not suffer like he did, and you got lucky from that. But don't tell me how Phantom should have been when you are the same kind of person who just got lucky!" Rolan snapped.
"You truly do love Phantom... I think that the Chess gain some honor for having you as their third in command. Halloween is a dirty coward, and from what I know of Weasel, he's a bitter and deceitful old man. But you... You have a pure heart..."
"Thank you. It's a pity that I can't say the same for you..."
"I'm far from being a pure soul, that's for sure. But, what makes me different from you is that I want to do pure good. I don't want to perform any more dastardly deeds. You, on the other hand, are bound by your love for Phantom and your loyalty to your friends, so you plan to continue the destruction of Mar Heaven..."
"So stealing isn't bad, is it?"
"Well... Um..."
"I suppose that makes Nanashi a bad person too..."
Galian gripped tightly on the Hiraiken: "I may be a bad person in so many ways, that much is true, but don't insult Nanashi in such a manner! Nanashi is a good man! He did so much for his comrades, much like you! He has always been a much better man than I ever was! (3.) He would never turn his back on his friends, just like you! He would rather die than betray them... And only recently have I shared such sentiments. You and Nanashi both know what loyalty truly means, while I still have much to learn. To insult Nanashi is to insult yourself, Rolan!"
"But I don't think that I'm really a good person..."
Galian was quite surprised at this admittance.
"I do evil things for the man I love. They are horrible things. I kill women and children just to ensure that the Chess will continue their reign of terror. Do I enjoy it? No. But that was Phantom's dream, and I owe Phantom so much... I have to do all of those things for him. To tell the truth, I'd rather be playing in the fields with flowers and children. That's why I always liked Ash, and I still do, even if he's a traitor."
"Rolan... I don't know what to say..."
"There's nothing more to say, Galian. We still have a fight to finish..."
"But what does it prove? What is our purpose for fighting? You don't want to necessarily attack me, do you?"
"I don't want to..."
"Good."
"But I must!"
"Why?!"
"For Phantom... For my family, the Chess Pieces... For Peta and Diana, who were both friends... For all of those Chess Pieces who died fighting the Cross Guard and Mar, I have to fight you, and defeat you. I probably have to kill you, since you're such a high ranking member of Luberia. I don't want to, Galian, but duty and debts tell me to. I owe everything to Phantom and to my family, and I can't fail them. Goodbye, Galian of Luberia. Weapon Arm: Rapier Whip!" Rolan yelled.
"Weapon Arm: Electric Feather!" Galian shouted. Rolan found that the feathers kept him from getting too close.
The last thing Galian needed was for Rolan to get close. Galian could not afford to face Rolan in close combat, as Rapier whip explodes, and a sword would not be so useful in such a situation. Rolan, realizing that he couldn't get close to Galian, activated Stone Cube. Galian immediately activated Electric Frisbee, and he once again made Hiraken into his "Electro Cannon" and used extreme bolts of electricity to crack the cubes. (4.)
A few cubes still approached Galian, who had to try dodging them. However, his attempts failed, and they exploded. However, Galian's Holy Arm Restore helped him recover from his burns somewhat.
Electric Feather was able to keep Rolan at a distance until Rolan, realizing that his Rapier Whip really couldn't destroy enough of the feathers, activated his Guardian: Cockatrice!
Cockatrice flapped its wings, blowing some of the feathers away, and when they regrouped, Cockatrice petrified them with its breath.
Galian, knowing that his 'Electro Cannon' was out of the question now that Stone Cube damaged his frisbees, decided to use Torpedine.
Cockatrice dived towards Torpedine, who answered with a giant thunderbolt that fried the poor bird. Cockatrice went down, but before Torpedine could fry Rolan, Galian told it to halt.
"Rolan, you're exhausted, and so am I. In the end, all this fight really does is kill off one of two men who, in the end, aren't truly evil... Well, I hope I'm not, but I digress. My point is that there's no need for either one of us to die. If you surrender, you can continue living your life, and you can pay Phantom his due respects while others spit on his grave. You can keep his memory alive, and cherish him, unlike those who cannot see what you saw in him. What do you say?" Galian asked.
Deep down inside, Galian knew that, by sparing Rolan, they could probably prevent the Chess survivors from feeling bitter, since one of their top commanders was not killed. In fact, the Chess might be more willing to surrender! But the main reason was that Galian really didn't want to kill Rolan... It didn't feel right to kill a man who was so loyal, and who had so much love for another person... Galian only wished that he knew half of what Rolan knew about loyalty and true love.
But Rolan didn't accept the offer. "Darkness Arm: Hidden Chain!" He answered. Galian was chained to the ground, and the chains coiled around his neck, choking him harder and harder. "Galian, if you were to spare me, then my life would have no more meaning. In order for me to honor Phantom, you must die. That's how it is. I don't want to do this, but either you die, or I die. We cannot both live through this..."
"Rolan... We don't have to do this!" Galian gasped as the chains gradually tightened themselves.
"Yes, we do!" Rolan began to force the chains to tighten further, and Galian began to turn blue. Realizing that he was going to pass out, a tear fell from behind Galian's bandana and hit the ground. "Torpedine!" Galian let out a desperate gasp.
Torpedine released an enormous lightning bolt on Rolan, and the Knight smiled as the bolt flew towards him. "I see that light... Phantom, I can finally see you again... I've never felt happier!" Rolan raised his hands and embraced the bolt as it came crashing down on him...
Hidden Chain broke, and Galian slowly got back on his feet. Before him, there was a huge fried corpse that was still smoking. Torpedine was recalled, and Galian stabbed Hiraiken into the ground. "Rest in Peace, Rolan..." Galian choked, feeling terrible that he had to take the life of such a great person...
"Winner: Luberia, Galian!"
Galian felt himself being pulled back, and Rolan's body was warped as well...
--------
1. That second sentence, by the way, is my favorite quote. I felt it appropriate that Rolan, whom I really don't mind, says that to Galian, who is still a traitor. He's penitent, yes, and he's willing to make amends, which makes him have some honor and a conscience, but he was still a traitor, and he denies some of his evils. In the end, Galian's a good man, but there is also a lot of evil in him that cannot afford to be ignored. If Galian cannot control his evil, then he will become a major threat to all who know him.
2. As a former Knight, Candice may have told Galian some of Phantom's last words before Galian finally turned on her and rejoined Luberia.
3. Mind you, Alan's hearing all of this right now, and Nanashi will probably begin to cry when he knows that Galian said such words from the bottom of his heart.
4. Yep, strong lightning can split rocks.
---------
Looking back at this chapter, Rolan seems contradictory. He calls Phantom and Galian both evil and good. I think it's because he loves Phantom, and though he sees Phantom's evils, he still thinks of Phantom as a good man, and he feels that Galian is also a good man, even with all of his evils. Rolan has an ambiguous view towards both men, and I guess that that's what makes Rolan, Galian, and Phantom so interesting... They're so ambiguous that's it tough to really damn them. In the long run, the same thing goes for Peta. Though in the case of Halloween, I don't really see much of the good in Halloween...