domi|note

This chapter was entirely written by Welshscot.

Enjoi.

Anger ventilated often hurries toward forgiveness; and concealed often hardens into revenge. ~Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
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Anthem of Our Dying Day
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Chapter Twenty Five
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"It gives the weak flight. It gives the blind sight. Until the cops come. Or by the last light. And for the last night I lie. Could I lie next to you?"
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Written by Welshscot

One hour later

In the exact same room, a moleskin-gloved hand was being pulled away from the slit throat of CJ, whose body seemed to have been feasted on by the blonde zombie that Hjalmar saw during his time for CJ's point of view. The Norwegian's face may be hidden by his ski mask, but his tone was all that was need to make his anger and surprise known. "It was Welshscot!"

This revelation caused quite an uproar amongst the Freedom Fighters. Finding out that one of their allies, whose early charge caused the police and Egg Prawns to gather at the Iron Domain before the FF got there, had killed the person they were trying to save ...Well how would you react?

Antoine, who had been investigating the Iron couple's panic room (mainly trying to discover what had caused the hole in the wall), let off a string of curses that were lost in his thick accent. His wife, who was in cover at the side of the main door, keeping an eye and gun out in case another cop appeared, growled, saying, "What in the Argus's name is he playin' at? I thought we're trying to save CJ, or did I miss something?"

Sally would have shared her thoughts if she wasn't trying to make sure Nicole didn't bleed out. The lynx had been one of the only survivors of the police's recent counter attack. After breaking through the barrier of cops and robots that surrounded the Iron Domain, and once they had fought and found their way into the secret labs, the FF members who hadn't managed to escape back to base were now trapped inside the main lab. It could have been worse if the Iron couple had remained, but luckily (for the FF) they escaped somehow, leaving the vigilantes with a room full of empty vats and a pile of dead, slightly eaten bodies.

But that still didn't stop the bleak outcome that was sure to come. Though Rotor and a small number of the gang had gotten away, this looked like the end of the Freedom Fighters. Many, new recruits and seasoned veterans, had been shot down like rabbits; their combined strength no match for the overwhelming number of cops and Egg prawns. To Sally's knowledge, only she, Nicole (who was severely injured), Antoine, Bunnie and Hjalmar were alive...

Bunnie's anger, which was raging with grief and fury, sharpened her senses, allowing her to her a set of approaching footsteps. Gripping her Gauge shotgun, she spun out of cover, ready to blow the brains from her enemy. But before she pulled the trigger, a low, tired voice shouted, "Don't shoot! It's me, Kelp!"

Bunnie didn't lower her weapon, but she didn't use it on the black clothed tiger. His fur laced with sweat and his clothes, mainly the cuffs of his black sports trousers, were sodden with blood. But besides that, Kelp looked fine; also annoyed, since Bunnie hadn't lowered her shotgun. Though she was glad to see that someone else was alive, a small part of her wasn't glad that Kelp was one of the survivors. The bionic armed woman didn't like or trust Kelp, for past endeavours and situations, and never liked it when he was carrying a shotgun on his back, two SMGs and a revolver on his belt or when he had an assault rifle in his hand.

Before Kelp or Bunnie could say a word, which would probably lead to a nasty situation, Lacy appeared from behind the tiger, wearing a confused expression due to the scene before her. "Err, hello?" she chimed, while waving her hand between the stare of Kelp and Bunnie. "We're trying to run for our lives from the cops. Why are you two having a staring contest?"

Bunnie gave an incredulous look at the flamingo, while lowering her shotgun without meaning to. Kelp snorted at Lacy, who must be completely oblivious to Bunnie's distrust of the tiger, and asked, "Lacy, we're in the middle of a war zone. We weren't having a staring contest."

"You were!" accused the flamingo, beginning to walk past Bunnie, who seemed a little taken a back at how calm Lacy was. "I may be a little dim, but even I know that starting into each other's eyes is the start of a staring contest. If you really want to do it, though, do it behind cover and not in the open. Do you want to get shot?"

Kelp rolled his eyes and began to follow her lead, waltzing past Bunnie without a second thought. "Says the girl who doesn't know how to fire a gun," retorted the tiger, who took more interest in the conversation with his partner than the scene of carnage that was present.

"How was I supposed to know about that little 'safety catch' thingamabob, or that it would jerk back every time I pulled the trigger?"

"...Okay, why, in the Cage's name, did you come to a gun fight without knowing how to use a gun? It takes training to use even a pistol without hurting yourself; this isn't some cheap-skate first-person shooter."

"How was I supposed to know I needed training?"

"The Loa be damned, everyone here, besides you, knows how to use a gun! I've been saving your hide..."

"I don't know how to use a gun," joined in Hjalmar, who had walked over to Kelp and Lacy from CJ's dead. He talked in a casual tone, like he had forgotten that one of his closest friends had been killed by his best friend. Antoine was just as bemused as his wife, the latter having the sense to return to watch the entrance, but Sally and Nicole were not amused. But a small amount of faith in the Norwegian, that he would bring the two back to the present, stopped the FF's leader from barking orders at the flamingo and tiger.

Kelp turned to Hjalmar, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"Serious; the only time I used a gun and I broke my wrist. So I stick to hand-to-hand and knives, cutting open flesh is more up my street. If someone's too far away, I throw my knives instead or use a grenade."

Before Kelp could say any comment of disbelief, Lacy suddenly gasped in horror. "Oh my gosh, Welshscot!" Everyone sharply turned their heads in the direction that Lacy was pointing, resulting in their faces curling into the same look of disgust and shock as the flamingo's face. In between two of the empty grey vats, there was a body that looked like it had been feasted on by wolves. There was no trace of skin or hair, only the bloody exposed innards and muscles which bore many bite marks. The skull looked like it had been scalped, leaving a clear view of a skull that look more or less untouched; not counting the empty eye sockets or the missing Adam's apple. The stomach was the most mutilated, the intestines spewed all over the floor along with puddles of stomach acid that belonged to a missing stomach. The only way they managed to identify the corpse as Welshscot was his left arm. Though most of them were missing, ripped off from his dead body, there were still a few small scales that clung to the hybrid's butchered arm.

Lacy stared at the body, her eyes sliding into focus like coming out of a long dream, and whimpered slightly. As if just realising where she was, she looked around and saw the managed pile of bodies, smelt the putrid flesh and heard the flies that were feasting on the dead. Shaken, the flamingo began to shiver and back away from the corpse. She turned round and, to Kelp surprise, buried her head into the tiger's shoulder. It was to everyone else's surprise, everyone's except Hjalmar, that Kelp didn't try to shake her off. In fact, the tiger gave her a small, comforting pat on the shoulder, his awkward feeling shinning from his face.

Hjalmar, however, walked over to his friend's corpse. He knelt down besides it and started at the skin-less face; as emotionless in death as it had been in life. The Norwegian didn't feel sad, he had seen Welshscot's dead body before, but it was the first time he had seen his friend's dead body since two years ago; the time when he had dawned his blank mask. Even if I save you, thought the forensic, sombrely. Even if I bring you back, am I bringing back Welshscot? Or did you die all those years ago, leaving a body that it's just an empty shell of the man I knew, my best friend?

It was a short while before sound returned to the room, the sound being the whizzing speed of a bullet that missed Bunnie's head by an inch. Cursing, the mobian turned her attention to the exit and began to fire into the corridor, where a bunch of cops were forcing their way through to their lab.

Wasting no more time, Hjalmar remembered Welshscot's final words before the Norwegian's mental echo had ended. He swiftly reached for the hybrid's trousers and found the phone he was looking for, the only thing that looked untouched. Opening it, Hjalmar soon found the photo file. There was only one photo and it took him a while to figure out what it was of. He turned to the Iron couple's deserted panic room, where Antoine was raining bullets from at the lab's exit, and saw the wall through the massive hole in the back of the panic room's wall.

While the forensic tried to figure out why Welshscot had left him this clue, Kelp had long since pushed Lacy from him. With his assault rifle in hand, he joined Bunnie and Antoine in there defence against the horde of cops that were trying to get down through the exit. Lacy managed to dive out of the firing range, and as she gotten herself off the ground, Hjalmar grabbed her by the shoulder. "Look at this," he ordered, waving the phone's picture in her face. Lacy, though highly disgruntled, did what she was asked and started at the photo, which was quickly locked in place in her memory.

Then, Hjalmar pointed to CJ's corpse, which was lying in front of the exit, and shouted, "Listen, I don't know why, but Welshscot told me to bring you along while I use Mental Echo again!"

"What's Mental Echo!" replied the flamingo, who could barely hear herself think, thanks to the loud barrage of gunfire.

"It's an ability that allows me to travel back in time into the body of someone who has died! After I touch a dead person, I can go back in time from their point of view and stop them from dying!" Just as he finished speaking, a stray bullet flew the open exit door and slammed into Antoine's arm. He fell to his knees, clutching his wound in pain.

Hjalmar quickly returned to the conversation. "But, if someone is touching me while I touch a dead person, they can travel back with me to their own point of view in the past! Welshscot told me, just before he killed CJ, that he wants me to bring you back with me, and it has something to do with the picture I showed you."

Before Lacy had time to reply or protest, Hjalmar grabbed Lacy and pulled her towards CJ's dead body. A cop in the corridor saw this and tried to take a shot, but Kelp nailed him in the head before the cop could even line up the shot. Seeing that Hjalmar was trying to move forwards, Kelp decided to give them as much cover as he could provide.

Reloading his weapon and after shouting out, "Come on, ya pigs!" Kelp charged towards the exit, firing round after round at the cops. Three fell before Kelp was shot in the side. Dropping his rife, grunting in pain, Kelp just pulled out one of the revolver's on his belt and continued his attack. He fired twice before the cops shot both his legs.

Before Hjalmar touched CJ's body again, to try and save her again and prevent this time from ever happening, Lacy turned her eyes on Kelp, just in time to see two bullets slam into his skull. She watched, in horror, how Kelp's body slumped to the side, lifeless and broke. She didn't have time to scream, or have time to even process what she saw, when the Norwegian's gloved fingers touched CJ's rotting flesh.

(1 hour and ten minutes ago: at the exit of the Knotcorn Garage)

Lacy Poole let out a small yelp as a bitter cold suddenly flared inside her heart. Clutching her chest in protest of the unexpected chill, the flamingo almost knocked into one of her fellow Freedom Fighters. Thought one of them shouted, "Oi, watch it, "Lacy barely heard it as memories from another time flooded into her. In her mind's eye, she saw an attack on the Iron Domain that hadn't happened yet, saw how it had ended in failure; and, to her total shock, saw an image of Kelp being gunned down in her defence.

As she began taken in deep breaths, she heard a voice from beside her, saying, "Hey, we gotta a whore house to raid; stop dawdling." Turning sharply, Lacy eyes' soon laid upon Kelp, who looked quite alive and very annoyed.

The flamingo then realised where she was, or where she had been, since she had just come from the future. It was the Knotcorn's main garage, where they stored all their gears and gathered into before they leave to attack. All of the members were gathering near the main garage door, where Sally, Nicole and the other Lieutenants were standing, giving one last word of comfort and encouragement. Lacy and Kelp were at the back of the large crowd, Kelp just as armed as he was in the future, which will hopefully be changed.

Seeing that Lacy was distressed about something, the tiger sighed and softened his tone a little. "Lacy, what's wrong? Having trouble finding a spare gun, or somethin'?"

She didn't answer, her brain too busy trying to solve her current problem. Why did Welshscot want me to go to the past? thought the flamingo, as she scratched her head in wonder. How could I possible change what happened? Why did he show me a photo of the wall behind the back wall of the panic room that looked like it was taken at this time, in the past? Well...Maybe I should ask him?

Kelp, who had begun to wave his hand before her eyes, was taken aback by Lacy's sudden movement. He watched her, slightly bemused, as she jogged towards the wall. He was about to call out to her, to ask her what she was doing, when he saw something that boggled him no end.

Having reached the wall, the flamingo had stopped, drawn back her right fist and slammed it into the solid surface. From the point where her fist met the plaster, a rippling effect shot through the wall and even into the air. Then, a square shaped hole expanded in the wall. Even though Kelp couldn't properly see it, Lacy saw a view of the wall, the back of the panic room wall, that had been partly destroyed and the corridor that ran alongside it. But what drew her eye the most in this darkened scene was...

"Welshscot, you're alive!"

This drew the attention to all of the other Freedom Fighters. Curious, the crowd started to swarm towards Lacy; the leader of which being Kelp, Sally (who had managed to get her way past her gang) and Hjalmar. When they joined the flamingo's side, they took a step back, closed their eyes and opened them again. For they saw the unmistakable face of Welshscot, who was managing not to show the same surprise as the others felt.

With her hands on her hips, Lacy started to speak sternly to the hybrid; like a mother telling off a naught child. "Now listen here, mister, I don't like cryptic messages or being dragged through time without my consent. Nor do I like the fact that you charged ahead of us and got most of us killed, and you even killed the person we were trying to save. Though I'm glad you don't look like you've been used as a chew toy, I still want to know why you wanted me to come along with Hjalmar." She then began to tap her foot impatiently, completely ignorant of the stares of her colleagues.

Welshscot, though he hid it, was completely baffled by Lacy statement. To give himself some time to think, he looked behind him at the pile of weapons he had just taken out of his shoulder bag and put down. Guessing that they were rigged with orange HGO dust, he had decided to leave them here, so when the Iron King would try to detonate them, he would hopefully blow himself, and the Iron Queen, up.

While Welshscot did that, Kelp managed to break from his stupor. Staring at his partner, he asked, incredulously, "Lacy, what the hell did you do? How is Welshscot right before us, but still at the Iron Domain?"

Lacy paused before answering, before face palming herself. "Oh, of course," realised the flamingo, "I didn't tell you guys, did I? I can break the fourth wall."

It took awhile for that statement to sink in. Hjalmar managed to absorb it first, allowing him to say, "Wait, does that mean you have the ability to open portals through time and space?"

She nodded, completely unembarrassed that she was revealing that she was a mutant. "That's right, but I can only open portals in places I've seen and I can only open small holes to the future or past, so I can't time travel." She then turned to the hybrid, her stern tone in play, and said, "But anyway; tell me why you wanted Hjalmar to drag me back into the past!"

Upon hearing this, the Norwegian finally figured out what she was talking about. Turning to the other Freedom Fighters, who were still slightly stunned, the forensic calmly announced, "Mental Echo." That was all they needed. Though they were still coming to grips with the flamingo's power, the Freedom Fighters, and Welshscot, began to understand some of what Lacy had said.

With Kelp's help, by managing to calm his partner down, they soon got a full account of what had accrued in the future. From the main attack, to being forced into the secret labs (many of the Freedom Fighter's shivered at the thought that they had actually died) and discovering that Welshscot had killed CJ (which earned him a savage eye from everyone), Lacy quickly yet efficiently told her story in a way that captivated her audience.

When she finished, the hybrid had already pieced together the puzzle. "The reason why I must have asked Hjalmar to bring you back to the past..." he began; his tone blank as ever. "...Must be because I wanted you to open a portal here, so you guys don't have to fight through the cops." He turned to the wall behind him, his eyes upon the small pile of rigged weapons. "And also," he continued, "to ambush the Iron Couple when the wall explodes."

"But how did you know about my powers before hand?" asked Lacy. "You, I mean your future you, couldn't have made your, his, plan if he didn't know about my powers. I mean, you only found out just now."

The hybrid was about to answer when his phone rang. He quickly took it out, flipped it open and read the message he had just been sent. His face didn't show anything, but he quickly satisfied the FF's curiosity. Reading aloud, he said, "Lacy Poole is a fourth wall breaker. Take picture of any wall inside of the lab and leave a note for your husky friend, he'll do the rest."

While muttering began to surge through the ranks of the FF, the hybrid wondered: Who the hell sent this, and how did they know about Lacy and Hjalmar? But that mystery was for another time. Putting his phone away, the hybrid addressed Sally. "Sally, get your gang ready to shoot the Iron King to the Cage. We want then both alive, but the Iron King needs to be taken down a notch." The squirrel mobian nodded. She remembered the last time she had fought the Iron King. With his unnatural endurance, it had taken ten people to even stun the hulking brute.

With a final nod to the Freedom Fighters, the hybrid began to run down the corridor, sprinting as fast as he could so he could get to CJ in time. After he had turned round the corner, Lacy stood to the side of her portal and gestured her fellow gang members to step through. After a slight hesitation, Rotor silently volunteered to go first. He slowly took a step through the portal, his feet transferring from the stone garage floor to the metal plated corridors of the Iron Domain's secret lab.

As the others started to shuffle through, Kelp moved to the flamingo's side. His arms were folded, but his face wasn't unpleasant in anyway. "So," he stated, suddenly, "looks like you have a use after all."

Lacy nodded. "Yep, makes up for the fact that I can't use a gun."

Kelp turned a set of disbelieving eyes upon his partner. "I still can't believe you joined a gang and didn't bother to ask how to use a gun. Everyone else either knew before hand or asked to learn how before joining any attacks."

Lacy smiled a little. "You might want to tell Hjalmar that."

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again~ unknown

The Jetset life is gonna kill you~ My Chemical Romance

"WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THAT USELESS TRICK, WELT!" Roared the Iron King, as the dust from the explosion settled and the glass from the bullet proof window had hit the floor. Well...that point was soon shown.

Before the Iron King could finish his sentence, a volley of bullets shot from the hole in the wall. Crying out in surprise and pain, the force of the sudden barrage caused the giant ox to stagger forwards, thus causing the fall that followed. Before his cries of surprise turned to one of fear, the Iron King landed face first upon the bed of glass that he himself had made. Though his chest movement slowed and the blood that dripped from his mouth made a puddle, the Iron King was not dead, but wounded nonetheless.

His wife, who was still recovering from the sudden, violent events, was not prepared for what occtured next. As she tried to wipe of the dust that had ruined her dress, a person charged through the hole; a person she knew well. Before she could even say a word, Nicole slammed the butt of her 12 Gauge shotgun into whore's face. Screaming in pain, the Iron Queen fell back onto the floor, holding her broken and bleeding nose. Nicole, whose face was set with a look of deepest loathing, aimed the gun at the techno whore's face and uttered, darkly, "Give me one more reason to shoot you, and I swear to the Gods I will."

Back on the lab's main floor, where Welshscot, Ivan Pick and CJ were standing, the latter suddenly shook her head, as if a dream had just released its hold on her. "What the..." she muttered, dozily. "...What was I just doing? It feels like Hjalmar used Mental Echo on me..." Her eyes then widened in realization, then frustration. "Oh, come on, why the hell do I keep getting killed!"

"Probably because of me!"

CJ spun round, just as Ivan pounced at her, his blue eyes burning with hunger, shining with the intent of devouring the hacker. CJ screamed and tried to back away, but it was all in vain. Just as Ivan's fingers were about to reach the hacker, Welshscot elbowed him with his scaled arm, resulting in his shoulder bag to fly off. The blonde zombie was sent spinning to the side, letting off an angry hiss as he went.

Welshscot quickly put himself before CJ and Ivan, his face sill blank but his eyes were kindling with a fierce rage. The brown haired hacker stared at the two males in front of her, who were both looking like they were getting ready to take the other apart. CJ didn't know how she could help her friend, but she felt that she couldn't just leave him to face that monster. She wasn't going to be helpless—

Suddenly, the floor beneath her seemed to vanish and CJ began to fall downwards. Next thing she knew, CJ was stumbling forwards into Hjalmar. The Norwegian managed to catch his friend before she fell over, a smile starting to curl behind his ski mask. "You okay, CJ?" asked Hjalmar, as she managed to quickly get to her feet.

Still trying to get her thoughts together, the hacker just nodded. She then looked around and saw some familiar faces and some not, but they all belonged to the Freedom Fighters. The only face that brought any discomfort was the Iron Queen's, but she was being held under guard by Nicole; who looked like she was waiting for the slightest excuse to blow the techno whore's brains out. But the one that managed to stick out the most was the face of the pink flamingo, whom suddenly bounded forwards out of nowhere.

"Hi," she greeted, "My name's Lacy Poole. I take it your CJ, and if so, I'm glad to meet you. If you're wondering how you got to here from down there..." Lacy pointed to the wall behind her, which had a square shaped view of the ceiling of the lab. "...I have the ability to break the fourth wall and punch portals into surfaces. I didn't want to see you get caught up in the fight, so I portaled you out of there."

At these words, a sense of urgency returned to CJ. She pulled herself away from Hjalmar and stared down at Ivan and Welshscot, who were engaged in a savage fist fight. As she watched Welshscot side kick his foe in the stomach, she heard her friend roar, in a tone of vivid anger: "I'm surprised you have the backbone to face me! Looks like I'm gonna have to rip it out again!" Those words sent a shiver through everyone's spine and a gruesome image began to conjure itself up in Hjalmar's and CJ's head.

Sally looked down at Welshscot, biting her lip slightly, before turning her eyes to the grey vats that lined the lab's walls. Since the panic room was placed above the tops of the vats, the squirrel saw the glowing contents of HGO DNA. Taking a deep breath, she turned to her gang and barked, "Okay, people, we need to spread out and find any Wisps that are still alive! Antoine, Bunnie, I need you two to take a team and search the west facilities for Wisps or survivors. If they resist, kill them, but take prisoners when you can."

The coyote and the rabbit nodded. Before they left, however, Rotor stopped them. "Wait," he cried, "take this phone with you. When you find any Wisps, take a picture of a nearby wall and sent it to this phone." The Walrus then handed them one phone, but gave the other to Lacy. At once, Bunnie and her husband understood. With Lacy's power, they could fast travel faster as long as they sent her the image of their location.

When they left with a chosen band of regular Freedom Fighters, Sally turned to Nicole. "Lacy!" she shouted, while keeping a hateful eye upon the Iron Queen. "Help Nicole get back to the Knotcorn so she can put this bitch in a cell. Then the both of you come back, we need your help here—"

"What about Welshscot!" interrupted CJ, who was angrily pointing at the battle that was raging in the main lab below them. "He needs our help!"

"Welshscot can take care of himself," replied Sally. But as she said this, a cry of pain emitted from down below. Ivan, who was smiling insanely, had managed to rip off the hybrid's belt with his own teeth. Though the medic managed to shake him off before he did any real damage, Welshscot had now lost his supply of alcohol.

Seeing this, Hjalmar turned on his heels and headed towards the hole in the back wall of the panic room. "I'm going to help him," stated the forensic.

"No," replied Sally firmly. "I need you to help Rotor and I secure the east side. Welshscot took care of Ivan before—"

"That was when he was alive," grunted the forensic. "He's now a zombie and a zombie with no heart. If you remember when he explained to you the fact that zombies can only be killed by destroying their hearts, then you'd realise that Ivan is impossible to defeat!"

Lacy looked down at Ivan and shrugged her shoulders. "Then shoot them in the head. Flesh eating zombies always die if you shoot them in the head."

Hjalmar laughed, humorously. "This isn't Resident Evil. Zombies can't be killed by shooting them in the head and being a zombie has nothing to do with Ivan's flesh eating. Before he died four years ago, Ivan went nuts and turned into a cannibal." He let off another laugh, which was plainly bitter. "Welshscot always told me that he hated Ivan; not because of jealousy, but because he saw a monster in him. Now that Ivan thinks himself immortal, it's plain to see that he was right."

There was a small pause in which no one spoke or moved, and only the sound of Ivan's and Welshscot's fight could be heard. Sally took a deep breath...But before she spoke, Kelp took a step forwards. "I'll help him out," he stated. "That way, Hjalmar can follow your orders but know that Welshscot's safe."

It was hard to tell for a moment, but Lacy could have sworn that everyone, besides her and CJ, flashed an expression of disbelief. CJ looked around, wandering why a foul feeling was being directed at Kelp's offer.

Suddenly, Lacy sprang forwards and put an arm around Kelp, whilst saying excitedly, "Coolio, that's an awesome idea, Kelp! Better hurry up, though, before the fight ends." She then relinquished her arm and turned to CJ, saying brightly, "Okay, come with me and Nicole back to the Knotcorn. You need a rest after all you've been through." Under Lacy's wide smile, CJ nodded and began to follow her out. On the way, the flamingo turned to Kelp and asked, "Well? You'd better hurry up and get down there. You got a drunken man to save!"

CJ shook her head. "Welshaldy doesn't get drunk..."

"But he has to drink loads to get powers, doesn't he?"

While CJ began to explain to the flamingo, Kelp slipped past his boss and made his way to the hole in the back wall, where he would then continue his way to the lab below.

Speaking of that lab, Welshscot just got pushed against one of the grey vats, his face bearing bruises around his jaw. His foe, Ivan, (after punching Welshscot against the tank) then tried to grab the hybrid's ears so he could easily tear out the medic's throat. Before the blonde zombie could even try that notion, the hybrid managed to kick him away.

Laughing, Ivan quickly recovered and charged forwards once more, shouting crazily, "Come on, Welshscot, you should know better not to try and start a fight with the quarterback!"

"This isn't high school, Prick!" replied the hybrid; who accompanied his reply with a fierce uppercut that sent Ivan tumbling backwards. "You never got over the fact you weren't the star any more, never realised that people didn't give a shit about you." As Ivan tried to get back on his feet, Welshscot ran forwards and kicked the blonde in the face; his face slowly starting to lose its mask and being replaced with pure hate and loathing. "And when you did realise, you turned into a monster!"

Ivan laughed as he swiftly rolled over onto his back, his injured face slowly starting to heal from the hybrid's attack. "Wrong," he cackled. "I didn't turn into a monster, I've turned into you!" He then sprang to his feet, facing away from Welshscot; still cackling like a maniac. "I became what you are, a mutant and a freak! But now I've got real power, I'm immortal!"

Welshscot finally released his mask. Anger fumed out of him, anger that had been buried near the surface for two long. Gripping his fists, he roared at Ivan, yelling, "Don't you dare say you're like me, you fucking animal! Being a mutant, having power, doesn't make you a monster. It only helps to reveal a person's true nature, depending on how they use it! You were always a monster, Ivan. So…" Welshscot charged forward, his grey eyes ablaze with anger, "fucking DIE AGAIN!"

The blonde didn't flinch as the hybrid continued to charge. "Geez, Welshscot..." Ivan, with his back turned to the angry medic, smirked. "...You really should calm down...and have a drink!" With lightning fast reflects, the blonde pulled out a green bottle from his clothes, spun on the spot and with deadly accuracy smashed the bottle into the side of Welshscot's head.

The effect was instantaneous. The hybrid, despite his towering fury, felt the glass and beverage brush and cut against his lips and instantly recognised the taste that was more than just his own blood. Due to the first, powerful blow, Welshscot flew to the side and crashed against the slab that CJ had been bound onto. His green scaled arm was the first to connect, but this resulted in pain since the medic's scales were slowly turning white and flaky. Also, as Welshscot tried to push himself up with his left arm, pain shot through his body and his vision began to slide in and out of focus. Then, the ginger suddenly began to cough, and what he coughed was blood.

Ivan slowly walked towards his wounded foe, taking his time to look at the shards of glass, partially the one that was labelled: London Gin. "Never knew you were allergic to English food," goaded the blonde zombie, as he slowly walked towards the wounded hybrid. "Nor that your body can't stand a single ounce of drugs, like cocaine." He then pulled a face and cried, in a fake tone of regret, "Oops, I shouldn't have put some in your drink; I hear it's a slow killer..." He laughed, his face twisted into a sadistic and evil grin.

He reached Welshscot and, even though the hybrid tried to resist, lifted the medic up, punched him in the gut and then threw him onto the slab. "Your mother should have told me earlier," taunted the blonde, as he grit his teeth, preparing to feast on the stunned ginger. "She also told me to spare you; she's got bigger plans for you. But I'm really hungry..." He licked his lips. "And hey, you'll see that slut again!" And with that, he spread out his teeth and brought his head down, right onto Welshscot's—

BANG!

Ivan's head shot forwards over the slab, the rest of his body following suit. He managed to roll onto the ground and spring back onto his feet, while the bullet in his head was being pushed out so the flesh could regenerate. His face livid, Ivan started at the entrance to the lab, where he saw a mobian tiger who was aiming an assault rifle at his face. "Who the hell are you!" roared the blonde zombie, angry that his feat had been denied.

With pure calmness, but with an annoyed face, the tiger pulled the trigger, whilst muttering, "None of your business." Ivan didn't have time to move as the gunfire started. His face received a volley of bullets, peppering his face until it was recognisable. He staggered back under the force of the assault, as the tiger continued to shoot at the blonde, now aiming for his chest. When he had reached the end of his magazine, the tiger quickly reloaded his weapon. Meanwhile, the zombie's skull was starting to leak and bleed bullets; and when they were all gone, his face grew back to its twisted and evil state.

"You can't kill me, you punk!" he screamed, his eyes bulging in his sockets. "I'm immortal!"

"You talk too much," was the tiger's reply, who promptly began to fire again. Though Ivan tried to avoid it this time, the mobian's aim was good and he was soon forcing away from the slab where Welshscot lay. As he reached the end of his magazine, stopped firing and rushed to the side of the slab. Once he reached it, he then reloaded, right before Ivan tried to charge him. Even though his riffle was ready, the tiger quickly dropped it, pulled out one of his revolvers and shot the zombie square between the eyes. Howling in pain, the blonde staggered back again; cursing the tiger with every breath that wasn't a scream of pain.

The next five minutes were just like this, with the tiger forcing the blonde zombie back until he eventually tripped over the Iron King's unconscious body. Nearing the end of his ammo and on his last weapon, a shotgun, Kelp looked down at Welshscot and said, "Hey, you, can you stand?" With the last of his strength, Welshscot coughed another batch of blood and rolled onto his side, pointing to his belt pouch that had been torn off. Kelp understood and made a dash for it, just as Ivan pushed himself off the Iron King's chest. As fast as he could, Kelp grabbed the pouch and flipped it open. But before Kelp could see anything to grab, he felt a sharp kick hit him in the back.

Deciding that Kelp was more of a meal than Welshscot, Ivan had run past the slab and attacked the tiger instead, causing the latter to fall onto the ground. As he fell to the floor, the pouch's contents flew out to, being a phone, a bottle of Scot Whiskey and a small fifty pence coin. Out of all of these, the fifty pence coin made the loudest sound when it hit the floor drawing everyone's eye towards it.

Ivan smirked when he saw the dull shine of the coin. "Well...what have we here..." He turned away from the tiger and strode towards it. Welshscot grey eyes widened in shock, as he witnessed Ivan move closer and closer...

NO!

Despite the pain that ravaged his body, despite the blood that was still dripping from his mouth, the hybrid forced himself off the slab and onto his feet. With his right, pale scaled arm useless, he griped his left fist and charged Ivan, who was just about to pick up the coin—

Welshscot, nor was Kelp, responsible for what happened next. For just as Ivan's finger tips were a fraction away from the coin, a knife flew from the lab's door and collided into the zombie's skull. Though it stunned him, the knife didn't send Ivan onto the ground. The white Wisp that had also shot from the door was responsible for that. It had flown right into the side of the zombie's skull, causing him to tumble to the ground.

As Welshscot and Kelp both stared at the floating creature, they both heard a familiar voice come from the lab's entrance. "Great job, Yacker, you showed that nasty man whose boss, didn't you?" Kelp rolled his eyes as he got to his feet, picking up his shotgun as he did so. Welshscot chuckled a little, but that stopped as the pain made him buckle. He would have fallen to the ground, if Hjalmar hadn't rushed to stop him from falling.

As he held Welshscot aloft, Hjalmar turned to Lacy, who had walked through the lab's door, and asked, "Can you throw me that bottle?" The flamingo complied and soon the bottle was flying through the air, which Hjalmar caught.

While the Norwegian tried to revive his friend, Ivan quickly got to his feet. "You bitch!" he screamed. "You and your pet will pay for that!" Kelp, seeing that Lacy was in danger, quickly aimed his shotgun...but for no real reason. When the zombie tried to charge at her, gnarling his teeth in fury, Lacy turned on the spot and punched him in the chest. As quick as a flash a portal opened on his chest, the force of anomaly sending Ivan staggering back.

"Ha," cried the zombie, who managed to retain his smirk. "If you were trying to punch my chest out, there's no point. I have no heart and any flesh I lose will regenerate."

Lacy poked her tongue at him. "No, dumbbell, I wasn't." And with that, she ducked down, revealing that Kelp had been standing behind her, and was now aiming at the portal in Ivan's chest. Without exchanging a word, Kelp fired at the portal; his shot flying right through it and out of the wall behind Ivan. The bullets hit Ivan in the back, surprising him and causing him to stumble forwards. And as a finisher, Lacy, while she was crouched, punched the floor in front of the stumbling Ivan; which he promptly fell through. But since Lacy quickly closed the portal, no one got to hear Ivan's screams as he fell from the underside of one of the tar pits cranes, which was positioned over one of the bubbly pits of black tar.

The flamingo straightened up, a wide smile on her beak. "Yay!" she cheered. "We did it, Yacker!" Kelp, who had lowered his shotgun, gave a small grunt. "Okay, and you too, Kelp." She then turned and gave Kelp a big hug, which caught him off guard. With his arms plastered to his side, Kelp tried to protest to his partner's hug, especially when the Wisp, Yacker, joined in.

As that scene happened over there, Hjalmar was putting the cork on the bottle of Whiskey, watching its magic at work. Though he still looked sick and pale, Welshscot's scales were slowly turning green again and a bit of strength allowed him to stand on his own legs. Coughing slightly, the hybrid gazed at his friend and muttered, "Thank you..."

He then turned and made his way to the fifty pence coin, focusing every last piece of strength he had left to collect his lost memento. As he bent down to retrieve it, Hjalmar walked up behind him and asked, quietly, "Is that...?"

The hybrid nodded, just as his fingers scooped up the little coin. As he held it in his scaled palm, a fond smile started to spread across his face. To Kelp and Lacy, who had stopped hugging/crushing the former's chest to watch, this scene creeped them out, that Welshscot was showing emotion, never mind smiling. But to Hjalmar, it was a refreshing and wonderful moment. For those precious moments, he saw his old friend, the true Welshscot.

But a dark cloud crossed the hybrid's mind, containing a vision of a mutilated body, a high piercing scream and a clear, disturbing vision of his mother's face, laughing at him. And then...

The medic took a deep breath and pocketed the coin, his face now blank and emotionless once more. Moving to collect his lost gear, the hybrid grunted a question to Hjalmar and Lacy. "Can you tell me what's happened with the FF?"

"The rest have returned to the Knotcorn," answered the Norwegian, who did his best to hide his disappointed sadness that the hybrid was back to his emotionless state. "Me, Sally and Rotor found the Wisps first. We text Bunnie to head to our location then sent a picture to Lacy, who opened up a portal to the garage. We got all the Wisps out, Lacy's even decided to keep one as a pet, as you can see."

"I've named him Yacker," stated the flamingo, who was gently rubbing the Wisp's head.

Kelp gave Lacy another bemused look. "Yacker? What kind of name is Yacker?"

"It's a great name!"

"Yeah and Mammoth Mogul's a saint."

"Is he?"

Hjalmar chuckled at the sight of Kelp face-palming himself. It was really weird seeing the tiger like this; he was not acting like he usually did, cold and unsociable. But for some reason, Lacy, though he had only known her for a day, was having an effect on him.

As Kelp lowered his hand from his face, he saw Welshscot standing straight ahead of him, his shoulder bag and belt pouch back in his possession. The hybrid, though it looked like it pained him, nodded his head and said, truthfully, "Thanks, Kelp, for saving me. I'd probably be lunch by now, if it weren't for you." The tiger was taken aback by this grateful gesture. He huffed and put his shotgun back in its holder, neither acknowledging nor dismissing the hybrid's thanks.

Seeing that he was making the tiger uncomfortable, he turned his eyes onto Lacy and asked, hoarsely, "By the way, where did you send that bastard?"

Shrugging, the bird replied calmly, "I ditched him in one of the tar pits that are near Lethal Highway."

Welshscot chuckled darkly, his face still retaining its stone features. "How ironic, that where I killed him all those years ago..." He then turned back to Hjalmar, as a very important question sprung to his lips. "Did you guy's find the Jewelled Sceptre?"

Before Hjalmar could answer, a low cough suddenly sounded from behind them. The Iron King had awoken, his body numb and swore like he had lost his invariability. Sensing the danger, Kelp, Lacy, Hjalmar and Welshscot all hurried over to the Iron King, as he moved slightly on his bed of glass. He didn't try to move, like he had accepted defeat, but Kelp still pulled out his shotgun and aimed it at the stunned ox's head.

Since Welshscot's voice was weak, Hjalmar was the one who asked: "Iron King, where's the Jewelled Sceptre?"

The weak ox wheezed and spluttered. "F-fuck you..."

Kelp shook his head. "Wrong answer." He then aimed his shotgun at the ox's left knee and fired. Incredibly, the shot managed to pierce the Iron King's skin, resulting in a loud bellow of pain. Kelp then moved his aim to the other knee, saying darkly, "Now, answer his question or I'll shoot your knee and then your balls."

The Iron King was still groaning in pain, trying to stop his wounded knee from bleeding. "Fine, you miserable welt, but only because that damned dragon bitch's curse was real." Welshscot's eyes sharpened at those last words, which hinted directly at his mother. "Darken and Marsali, that bitch, asked if they could borrow it since they gave it to me in the first place and brought me a way to screw you over." Welshscot noted that he said 'me' and not us, which just confirmed that the Iron Couple's marriage was false. "But as I gave it to her, she told me that 'my greatest strength will fail me when the time comes'."

Hjalmar softly cursed inside his mind. If Darken and Marsali have gotten their hands on something that powerful...

As the forensic thought those words, Welshscot suddenly rasped, "Where's Marsali?"

The Iron King snorted. "How the hell should I know? I don't take interest—" He quickly changed his tune, as Kelp flexed his trigger finger. "I honestly don't know, she never told me anything, nor Darken or there other friend!"

The Hybrid's ears twitched at that last sentence. "What do you mean, there other friend?" The Iron King didn't say anything. "Tell me," barked the medic in a croaky voice. "Who is this other friend?"

But the Iron King's eyes just widened until his eyelids disappeared, as if he was going into a deep sleep. His head hung backwards and a few words escaped his motionless lips; "They're here..." The four people surrounding the fallen ox had no idea what he had meant, until Welshscot looked up above the Iron King.

Shadows were gathering onto the ceiling, from the vats, the pieces of machinery; all the shadows that had a lifeless owner were being sucked onto the ceiling. Lacy was the first to notice, and first to scream at that shadows, which did not belong to anything in this room, was slowly crawling along the floor from either side of them. Seeing the danger, Kelp, Lacy, Hjalmar and Welshscot turned and ran for the lab's exit. They managed to avoid the shadows and reached the door, but they stopped when they heard the Iron King scream.

Turning back, the four heroes saw that shadowy tentacles had spouted from the shadows. With two of them around his torso, the Iron King continued to scream as they began to force him upwards. With bone breaking force, the tentacles pushed the ox through the lab's ceiling and, even though the other couldn't see it, all the way upwards until he shot through the floor of the Iron Domain brothel and then the roof. Though he was dazed and almost dead from the recent blows, the Iron King managed to catch a glimpse of police, robots and reporters who were gathering round his Domain. But he was soon dragged down through the hole he had made and found himself back in the main lab.

Just as Welshscot and the other were about to run, they saw something that was even worse than what they saw now. With the walls almost completely covered in shadows, one of the darkened walls began to suddenly spout a column of ash, which soon turned into a pillar of black flames. The pillar parted, slowly, and the tentacles began to lift the Iron King towards it, while he struggled and screamed. And when the pillars finished parting, a set of burning, magma eyes loomed out of the darkness. Then the eyes moved outwards, followed by sight that could have stop the bravest man's heart. Its skin was like a sea of molten lava, except its colour was of dark shadows. From its fore head shot a set of sharp, flaming spikes that looked so sharp it could slice through light itself. But all in all, the face itself was the most terrifying of all. No matter how hard you could try to look in the mortal world, you would never find a face that shone pure fear, pure anger or even purer evil.

The Iron King didn't even try to scream, as the tentacles lifted him closer and closer to the face's mouth. And when it opened to consume the broken ox, you could hear the screams, the cries and the suffering of the damned; of the darkest plains of the Cage of Hell.

Though Kelp, Lacy and Hjalmar had expressions that well suited the situation (of fear, dread and despair), Welshscot had the worst expressions of them all: recognition. Shaking with the greatest amount of fear he had ever felt, the hybrid turned to his comrades and screamed, "RUN, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, RUN!"

And with that, they did. But as Welshscot was about to leave, he looked back at the face, which had by now consumed the body and soul of the Iron King. And its eyes stared back, right into Welshscot's grey ones. Soon, he began to run, with tendrils of darkness on his tail.

As he pounded through the corridors of the secret lab, sweat tricking down his body and his scaled arm, he heard the sounds of the shadows as they chased him, to collect his soul. He skidded round a corner to find a dead end, or more pacifically, a dead end where his friends were gathered. Reaching them, he found that Lacy was constantly punching the corridor's end wall, causing ripples in time and space to appear but no portal.

"For crying out loud!" moaned Lacy, as she continued to batter the wall. "Something is blocking me; I can't break the reality wall!"

Kelp turned round to see Welshscot arrive, and also to see a wave of shadows and tentacles in the distance behind the medic. Breathing heavily, the tiger shouted, in desperation, "Argus, please save us from this abomination!"

Welshscot then suddenly froze, his body as still as the grave. As Hjalmar stared at his friend, he realised what was going on. Crap, thought the Norwegian. I hope Welshscot's body can handle this...

As the shadows neared ever closer, the medic slowly turned around to face their approach. His grey eyes had spun backwards into his skull and his mouth was hanging open. Suddenly, water began to dribble from the ginger's mouth; slowly, at first, but then it turned into a torrent. And along with his mouth, water began to surge out from his eye sockets and every pore in his skin, until the hybrid was drenched and sodden.

The water that had secreted from his body now clung to the corridor's floor, giving off a faint light that twinkled like starlight. Then, as the shadows and the tendrils met the sea of water, tentacles shot out of the water; fleshy, octopus like tentacles that were now slicing against the hordes of shadow and darkness.

Kelp watched helplessly as he saw the water and the shadows fight, his eyes focusing more on the hybrid, who was still standing still and releasing vast amounts of water that was inhumanly possible. Even though his mind screamed for answers, the tiger bit back his curiosity and just hoped that Welshscot would continue whatever he was doing.

As the tentacles of shadow and the tentacles of water continued to fight, Lacy was pounding away at the wall; desperately trying to break through. After a particularly violent strike, which ended in failure, the flamingo let off an angry cry of exasperation. She threw her head backwards and shouted at the ceiling, "WELSHSCOT, STOP BEING A CLIFF HANGER ADDICT AND LET ME BREAK THROUGH THIS DAMNED WALL!"

Of course, any normal person had to question Lacy's logic, because she was shouting at a person that wasn't there.

Kelp turned to her, his eyes wide with disbelief. "How can you blame him! He's..." The tiger turned back to the medic, who was still spouting copious amounts of water. "...I don't know what he's doing, but how is he to blame?"

"Not that Welshscot... ah, never mind." She turned back to the wall and began pounding it once more. "Come—on," she panted, as she delivered each blow. "I'm—not—letting—these—guys—die—because—of—some—lousy—late—writer!"

Kelp simply shrugged, not understanding exactly what Lacy was getting at.

And finally, after drawing back her fist for the last time, Lacy managed to puncture a hole in reality, which led to the great hall of the Knotcorn Garage. "Finally," she cried. Turning to Kelp, Lacy grabbed his arm and pulled him through the portal; Yacker, who had been flying by the bird's head for all this time, floating after them.

Just as Kelp's shoe past through the portal, the water stopped flooding out of Welshscot and his eyes soon returned to their usual grey state. Weakened by the strange phenomenon, the medic fell backwards, his body limp and frail. Hjalmar caught the hybrid under his armpits and began to drag him towards the portal. Meanwhile, the shadows managed to break through the line of water, which as starting to evaporate into thin air. The tentacles, with deadly yet silent speed, rushed forwards, determined to wrap itself around Welshscot's legs. But just as the shadows reached the portals edge, the portal closed; earning an unearthly roar that echoed around the Iron Domain.

What happened next was never discovered, but the results where clear, them being the ruin of the Iron Domain. Most say it was an explosion, some say that the foundation sank, but the Freedom Fighter's guess was that it had been torn apart by the mysterious shadows that looked like they had come from the deepest parts of Hell.