HELLO~!

Sorry I got late again. My class made me the leader of a special volunteer project and I've been losing myself in preparations because I for one LOVE volunteer work! I dislike working part-time, it's no fun. At least my job pays well! XD Haha, well, as promised, this will be the last gloomy chapter…for now. From the next chapter until the chapter before the end, it will pretty much be all action. Now;

Review Reply time:

Loonaticslover13: Oh, you read Harry Potter? Well, I wouldn't know about that part in the last book you mentioned, since I only read the Order of the Phoenix and watched the Sorcerer's Stone and Prisoner of Askaban(Think I spelled it wrong =_="). Hey, don't worry about checking the lines, at least you didn't count your words after reviewing. I actually know someone who likes to count the number of lines a book has once she is done reading the thing! Haha! I initially didn't want to create the Unbound, but at the same time it was boring to keep using the Guardian Strike Sword. So that was how it was created! And yes I tried my best to make Chaos Ace the complete opposite of Ace so the ego and sadism was necessary. Hei!^^

starskulls: Seriously you have no idea how happy I am to see a new from you everytime! You are seriously my best reviewer! But HEY! I'm late and yet you haven't updated your story yet?! WHY?! I wanna read! Meh…but yeah, I wish Icould have tormented Deuce a lot more, but I would've killed him if I had…Of course Lexi was furious, I would've made her really really upset, but her personality didn't suit what I had in mind. Duck is a nice guy, and well there were reasons for using him(see below). And don't break down when things are back. People have to keeping moving on after all. I learned that the hard way. Yay, you consider me a friend! I'm very happy! ^^ + XD

Eve ivy: I knew you were the guest reviewer even before you signed in and reviewed again! You answered just right after all! Don't worry, I forget things sometimes too! My sis has a FanFiction account, and I forgot to sigh out of hers to upload my own, and as a result, I nearly uploaded a Loonatics Unleashed fanfic into a Higurashi one(my sister, younger than me, watches gore animes that I can't handle…Q_Q). That would've been nuts. I love Singapore a lot, but you live in England?! I wanted to go there for a vacation sometime! After Japan, Greece and then America though. I like cultural and historical places and I really want to visit the StoneHedge!(Please tell me it's in England like I thought because it is super embarrassing if I got it wrong but if I am wrong tell me too.) Sorry for making you cry…Q_Q And yes, I like nice scenes between characters that aren't (too) romantic. LOL! Your last sentence made me laugh!

Nicky-Rockit: Thank you for loving the moment! I loved it too! And duh! If you find out you're gonna die soon, wouldn't you want your last few days to be worth it?! I DON'T WANNA DIE WITH REGRETS! Okay, overly-dramatic. :P But yes, it's tough on him, but you don't have to worry much. And ready or not, the chapter where they start fighting is already here. Good luck!

And done! But I feel like I'm missing someone, so if I missed out, tell me, I apologize, then you get a one-shot dedicated to you. I hate that feeling of thinking you're forgetting something. Oh, and since so many of you liked the Ace/Duck scene(NO SLASH INTENTED), well, I wanted write a nice scene like that but couldn't decide who to use, and actually made a list, and it looked like this:

Lexi: Too many Acexi hints already

Rev: Talks too fast, conversation will lose seriousness

Slam: Can't understand him…_

Tech: Already a secondary main character and already had a (sort of) scene with him and (Chaos) Ace

Duck: Too egoistic….he'd be best.

XD

PART FOURTEEN: CHAOS ACE'S CONFUSION

Morning came earlier than expected. Ace woke up in his room and rubbed his eyes. For a moment, he forgot all about what was going on, thinking it was just another normal day. Then he recalled the happenings of the past week and sighed. The fight with his other self was coming soon, possibly that very day, and he planned to make it the last fight. That would mean his copy's death, as well as his own. He was going to have to die no matter what the outcome was.

Still, he got out of bed and pulled his Loonatics uniform on. It might be the last time he got the chance to wear it, so he was going to treasure it. Things will be very different for the Loonatics once he was gone, and the time he spent playing video games with Duck the previous night proved that. Duck had played seriously, but never even showed the slightest sign of disappointment when he lost a few times. It was scary on a few different levels, but Ace was actually really grateful that the mallard cared. He had been extremely grateful to the team for their forgiveness, for their trust, for their acceptance and understanding. Really, there would never be a better team for him. Everyone was unique, but everyone shared the same bonds. Ace then decided to write a letter to the team. It was cliche, maybe, but it would be the best way for him to tell them how he felt. Saying it would be too hard, and since it might very well be right before the final fight that would claim his life, saying it would just make things harder for everyone and himself. So he sat down and began to write.

While he was doing that, the rest of the team were in the dining area, with Lexi and Rev preparing breakfast. The usual cheery atmosphere was replaced by a gloomy, solemn one. Everyone was dreading every minute, fearing that Chaos Ace would pop in any second and kill Ace right there and then once the Loonatics leader left his room. Of course, the chances of that happening were about as high as Deuce coming into the HQ tower with balloons and candy and dressed in a clown suit, but they were worried nonetheless. Who wouldn't be, if they knew they were going to lose a really important member of their team, a really important friend, very soon?

"Hey-Lexi-are-you-okay-you-don't-look-so-good." Rev commented quickly. Lexi's attention didn't really leave the toaster, but she clearly heard the roadrunner's words of concern. Was she okay? The answer was simple. A big, fat, NO. But she wasn't about to tell anyone that.

"I'm fine. Just...a little sad I guess...?" She said instead, but Duck snorted.

"'Sad' is a huge understatement Lex." The mallard said. Lexi let out a sigh when he said that nickname of hers. It may only be one letter short of her full first name, but Ace had been the one who started calling her that, so it was just a little special. Duck was the only other person who called her that, and she was a bit grateful for it. If there was no one to say that nickname from time to time after Ace died, she may lose it. Just seriously lose it. She didn't want something like that to happen. She was second-in-command so it was most likely that Zadavia would assign her leader later on, and if she lost her mind, the entire team would collapse and Ace would be disappointed and sad. She had to keep it together for the team's sake, though the truth was that she didn't know whether she would be able to stay true to her words once the time really came. She hoped she would. Ace was her best friend, someone she really cared about. It was hard for her to accept that she may have had to kill him while he was possessed, but it became ten times as hard once he came back and practically personally told them that he would need to be killed by them all, including himself. That was practically suicide, yet Ace was asking them to support him. The worst part was that he was right. There was no choice and they had to do it.

"Duck, don't bring her down." Tech said slightly firmly as he continued to tinker with his newest invention. To the rest it may not be a very good time to do so, but to the coyote it was the best way to try and get his mind off things. He had always been better at working with machines and tools than to actually communicate with others. Back before he became a part of the Loonatics the only people he really talked to were his professors and Mallory Mastermind, before she went insane at least. And when they talked, it was almost always about some new project or something. Being a Loonatic changed that for him, and although the first one to actually befriend him was Rev, Ace had easily become a great friend and leader, and Tech had felt at ease being in a team for the first time in his life. Losing any one of the team would damage him emotionally. He never thought about that before, but when he thought they would have to kill Ace before the possessed bunny separated his consciousness, he feared the outcome greatly. When Ace separated with his evil side, Tech had felt unbelievably relieved, but old wounds reopened once Ace told them the latest bit of news. It made him wonder if it would've been better if Ace didn't separate and just let them kill him while he was fully under the crystal's control.

"Sorry..." Duck said to Tech, folding his arms across his chest as he did, sighing a little. The mallard had always had the most unstable relationship with the team leader. He had always said he wanted to be team leader, to be the one in charge and the strongest of the six. He wanted to believe he deserved the role more than the bunny did, so it made him see Ace as a rival. However, Duck had known all along that that was not what he really wanted. At least not anymore. When the team was first formed he had been totally against Ace being leader, but he soon realized Ace would be a better leader than he could ever be. He would never openly admit that, but what he had said to the bunny the previous night was all true. He would rather give up the position of being the one in charge for eternity if it meant Ace had to die for it. He had wanted Ace to admit they were at least on par with each other, and indirectly, he already had. When, Duck wasn't sure. But he knew that the message had already been conveyed somehow. Ace didn't even need to say it. Friends never needed to say such things to each other. Yep, they were friends, that fact couldn't be denied no matter how envious Duck was of Ace's position. Who should care about a leadership role that way anyway? There were more important things in the world.

Slam made a few growling sounds that were hard to decipher, even though the Loonatics thought they had managed to translate it pretty well. Slam was someone of few words to the team because his didn't speak the exact same language they spoke. At first, he had found it hardest to fit in, since it wasn't easy to communicate with the rest. Zadavia had been the only person who could understand his words at the time. Slam had been sure he would not become very close to the rest of the Loonatics. Then Duck and Ace had asked him to join them while they were playing video games one evening, Duck's favorite way of trying to say he was better than Ace. Slam was fine with understanding their speech, so playing the games with them was easy. They did that more often, leading to Duck and Ace taking it upon themselves to try and understand Slam. They had turned it into another one of Duck's little contests, but Slam didn't mind at all, because when the contest was over, with the result of a tie, both of them had agreed that winning didn't matter that time, they had finally managed to decode Slam's speech pattern. Slam had been very happy when they said that. Duck had become closer to him out of the two, but he still considered Ace an extremely valuable friend. What would happen once he is gone?

"*sigh*-I'm-really-really-stressed-right-now-guys-I-mean-I'm-getting-worried-for-what-will-happen-after-this-whole-thing- I just...don't...know what to...do..."Rev said really quickly, chopping carrots at the same speed, before his thoughts became sad and he slowed down. Boy, he hadn't slowed down like that for a long time. He had always liked being fast. He had wanted that since he was a kid, to be fast. That was why he invented those rocket shoes for his part-time job before he became a Loonatic. It wasn't just the job, it was the feeling of being fast. But before he joined the team, nothing ever seemed fast enough for his tastes. That was why he found it the easiest to adapt to his superpowers while the others all took a while longer. He tried to find common grounds for the team, to get everyone to get into the idea of being a superpowered team. Nearly all of them rejected it. They weren't ready to protect Acmetropolis with a bunch of strangers. Ace, however, was a little more positive than the rest. He told Rev he was grateful for his efforts and they decided they would get the team together, well, together. Rev later bonded with Tech a little more within the team, the way Ace bonded with Lexi and Duck with Slam, but Rev had always found Ace fun to hang out with too. And hey, the two of them managed to work together well enough to escape an exploding spacecraft while putting on their spacesuits in a matter of seconds. (Rev was still just a teensy bit disappointed that Lexi almost completely ignored him when she found they were both still alive, but he wasn't one to hold a grudge, so he had let that slide.) That was why for once, Rev wanted everything to slow down. Slow to a complete stop and not let Ace die. Being too fast all the time wasn't good after all.

"Mornin' guys!" Ace greeted as if it was any other day, "What's fer breakfast dis ta'day?"

Well, that was a mistake.

"STOP ACTING SO CALM!" The rest of the team yelled, Slam growling and Rev speaking at least three times faster than the others. Ace jumped, lost his footing by stepping on the edge of the small ledge of the slightly elevated portion of the floor, and fell back with a bewildered look on his face, his ears drooping for effect as well. He blinked.

"Jeez you could at least act a little sad that you're gonna be leaving us!" Duck exclaimed, and Ace only had time for a (terrified) "Er..." before Rev started ranting on and on about how they were worried about what will happen after everything, about how upset, sad, depressed, mad, and so on they were and how his cheerfulness was making it seem as if he didn't care much about the whole thing and was perfectly fine with walking straight to his death and expect everyone to wave goodbye and say encouraging things. No one even bothered to stop the roadrunner as Ace found himself in a perplexing situation when everyone else started voicing in their opinions. Despite the seriousness of it all, the scene was at the same time comical as Ace tried to get a word in, though all attempts were utter failures.

"Be quiet!" Zadavia shouted as she exited the lab, her fingers on her temples, an obvious sign of a major headache. Tech rushed to help her ease up on the couch as Ace took the chance to get to his feet while the others were tame. He then took a few steps back from them, knowing the time they remained tame was going to be very, very short. In fact, he was afraid Zadavia might flip out too.

"Loonatics, this is no time to be harsh on Ace, we have a crisis on our hands." Zadavia reprimanded sternly, then turned to Ace, "But Ace, you could take things a little more seriously. None of us want to see you die after all."

"...I know..." Ace answered, "but I just, I dunno, didn't wanna t'ink of it. I didn't wanna miss da team even before I left. I just want everythin' to be da same, until da end of it all..."

He looked at the ground and shifted his feet around. He was clearly having trouble with everything. At once, all the other Loonatics felt bad about yelling at him. They knew they would probably be the same if they were the one who knew they had to die soon for a good cause. Accusing Ace of not caring...that crossed the line.

"Okay, we're sorry Ace, we weren't thinking straight." Tech said. But the bunny shook his head.

"Nah, I shoulda t'ought about how ya all felt too. I'd probably flip too if ya were actin' too calm before somethin' like dis." He replied, looking up. "But...I'm not sure I can take it. I...dun wanna die either. If I could, I'd ratha stay with da team. But I can't, can I?"

He felt tears in his eyes but he held them back. He had to be strong for the team's sake. If he couldn't be, the rest wouldn't be. As the leader, he had to make sure the team was alright. So he smiled his usual, cheery smile, or at least something that was the closest he could manage to it. The rest all decided to return the smile, but all looked forced, sad and reluctant. Zadavia had chosen not to smile, but she had that same look in her eyes. But before anyone could say anything, the sound of a huge explosion from the city alerted them all. Chaos Ace had made his move.

"Well, time ta go." Ace said, and though he tried to hide it from his voice, the fear he felt was evident. This did not go unnoticed within the team.

"Ace..." Lexi started to say, but Ace silenced her with a hand.

"Sorry Lex, but just dun say anymore. Othawise, I won't be able ta take it anymore." he told her. Lexi's eyes widened, realizing something, but she decided to stay quiet. Ace needed it.

"Th...Then let's head out." Tech said, reinforcing what Ace had said only moments ago. The Loonatics all could no longer hide their dread, but no one disagreed and they all rushed to their ship. Zadavia could only watch as they disappeared behind the automatic doors of the HQ tower. She then turned to look at her hands, which were both shaking with the immense despair she felt, knowing that she couldn't stop the team who had become like family to her return without one of its members.

Chaos Ace was at the ruined research facility, which was initially surrounded by the authorities as no one was sure whether the threat of whatever had been inside before the Chaos Crystal destroyed it had been fully exterminated. However, Chaos Ace easily took them all out, but didn't kill even one of them. He didn't even let any of the officials see exactly who he was either. In fact, he wanted a place that was considerably quiet, but the research facility was the best choice, as it where the crystal's fragment had first gotten to Ace and allowed its energy to possess the bunny. Despite not being fully awake then, as he was still only in the form of the crystal, Chaos Ace remembered every second of that incident. Perhaps it was because the time he spent in Ace's body had allowed Ace's memories to merge with his own. He saw how the main crystal was destroyed, and how Ace protected his friends at the risk of his own life. Well, he only delayed his death. No matter what the outcome of their fight was, Chaos Ace knew Ace would die.

"Heh...I wonda how everythin'll turn out..." he said to himself as he kicked a pebble of concrete out of his way, waiting for the Loonatics to arrive. "If tat bunny can break me, maybe..."

He shook his head. Then, he sensed the Loonatics' ship approaching. They were almost there. They must have tracked him using Ace's own biological signature. Chaos Ace couldn't help but wonder if Ace had told his friends about how he would die once his possessed self was defeated. Why would he want to do something like that? What was the point?

"Ugh!" Chaos Ace groaned as his head hurt. He felt it again. A strange feeling, as if he was forgetting something very important. What was it? He was a being of destruction, what was there for him to forget? He had been feeling like that ever since the fight with Ace. Ever since the normal Ace split them into two separate entities. He kept hearing a faded voice in his head, but was never able to make out the words. Chaos Ace hated the feeling. It would just get in the way of his fight. In the way of his plans to destroy Acmetropolis. He had to push it back somehow, but something was also stopping him, and he knew his powers would be of no help.

"Curse dis...I dun have time fer..." Chaos Ace trailed off, suddenly not wanting to say anymore. Why? What was going on? But he was right. He didn't have time, not even to think about what he didn't have time for, because right then, the Loonatics burst into the room, Ace standing at the very front with the Guardian Strike Sword in hand.

"Eh, what's up doc?" Ace asked just because it seemed right. Chaos Ace had his back to them, so they did not see the confused expression on his face. But that didn't matter. It was time to get serious.

"So yer finally here huh, ya pathetic buncha losers?!" He exclaimed as he turned around, reverting back to the insane, destruction-loving version of himself, allowing his prism-like eyes to radiate with madness and malice. He couldn't show the other side if himself to them. But somehow, it wasn't a matter of pride. It was something much, much more important.

"Dis is gonna be da final fight between us." Ace stated, raising his sword in challenge, "Only dis time, my friends are with me. Ya aren't gettin' away."

"So yer gonna kill me? Ya know what tat means doncha?" Chaos Ace questioned not letting the crazy smile waver for even a second. Ace stiffened, but did not lower his sword.

"Of course I dun wanna kill ya, but I hafta. Yer goin' down." The bunny said firmly. Chaos Ace blinked, then started laughing madly, as if enjoying everything before him. The rest of the Loonatics were watching them both carefully, knowing that no matter what, that fight would the the last between the two. They had to make sure of it.

"Once again, ya caught my interest. Let's see if ya and yer friends can live up ta d'ose words!" Chaos Ace shouted, officially declaring the fight's start as he rushed at Ace and their swords clashed, the impact causing the building to shake.

"New toy?" Ace asked, noticing the Unbound Sword. Chaos Ace grinned as he jumped back and used the sword to release a wave of energy at the Loonatics, who all barely dodged.

"Yep. Ya can ask Zadavia about it. But dun worry I didn't get it from her. It got it from tat red-haired loser." The possessed bunny replied, "It's quite a find."

Both bunnies rushed at each other again and Ace managed to keep Chaos Ace in that position while Duck leapt into the air and threw one of his eggs at the possessed bunny. It did no more than surprise him, as it just missed , but that moment of surprise was long enough for Ace to take advantage of. He jumped back and sent laser vision towards his copy, and Lexi did not hesitate to follow up with a brain blast. The combined attack was a lucky shot, hitting Chaos Ace right in the chest and sending him flying. However, it clearly did not affect him as much as the Loonatics would have liked, as he froze himself in mid-air and then gently released it so that he landed safely. Then Rev shot over and knocked him to his feet. He left out a gasp of astonishment.

"Well tat was stupid of me." Chaos Ace groaned as he got to his feet, "Looks like I gotta take mattas inta my own hands, literally."

He raised his free hand and suddenly none of the Loonatics could move. Then they were thrown to certain areas of the room, all yelling or gasping with either shock or pain from landing. Duck couldn't even quack his way out of it. The possessed bunny smirked. "Got'cha."

Chaos Ace then drove the Unbound Sword into the floor and rainbow-colored energy lit up a pattern on the ground. The pattern ended with a circle around each of the team members. Ace recognized it right away.

"Oh no!" Was all he could shout out before the pattern glowed and beams shot out from below each of them. They had no way of escaping those hits and were all struck hard. Each of them were all thrown back by the attack and injured all over.

"G-Guys! Ya alright?!" Ace exclaimed, though he himself was on the floor and struggling to get back up.

"Yeah...just barely." Tech, who was nearest to him, said as his regeneration powers helped him recover faster than the rest, though he was able to fully recover due to the lingering effects of the Chaos Crystal's power. He got to his feet first then helped Ace up. Then Rev managed to stand and in turn helped the rest. They were all pretty angry at themselves for falling for that trick.

"What's with yer faces? Ya makin' me sick." Chaos Ace commented, scoffing. Without hesitation he rushed in to strike Ace, only for the Unbound Sword to meet with the Guardian Strike Sword, but it had enough force behind to to push the Loonatics leader away from the others. Ace was taken by surprise. When Chaos Ace glared at him, he noticed something in his copy's multi-colored eyes. There was desperation, but also, more shockingly, hesitation.

"What?! Ya..." Ace didn't get to finish his sentence because Rev and Duck appeared out of nowhere, the mallard throwing and egg to blind Chaos Ace for a second then the roadrunner headbutting the possessed bunny hard enough to throw him down. Chaos Ace let out a strangled gasp when that happened, losing his grip on the Unbound for a moment, which Rev took advantage of and snatched the sword up.

"Haha!" Rev could not help but exclaim once his fingers closed on the hilt of the sword. Chaos Ace stood and looked up. He noticed the roadrunner's slight expression of triumph, but unexpectedly, he threw his head back and started laughing like a maniacal mass murderer. He laughed and laughed. The Loonatics stared at him in confusion and bewilderment.

"Hey what's so funny?!" Duck demanded, and Chaos Ace lowered his head. With a victorious look having appeared on his face, he snapped his fingers and the Unbound Sword started to glow in Rev's hands.

"Did ya really t'ink I didn't put in a security measure in tat thin'?" Was all he said before Lexi and Tech called out Ace's name from behind the Loonatics leader. The bunny turned just in the nick of time, as Rev swung the sword down towards him with a horrified look in his eyes.

Okay,

Before anyone kills me for the ending, sorry, but I had to add that so the long-awaited epic final fight wouldn't be too short. And I'm happy, because this chapter is quite long compared to most, but it still isn't the longest, so I'm not overjoyed. Oh well. See you guys next time.