AN : This one let me flex my philisophical muscles a bit, and write some semi-cool killing scenes. This chapter is dedicated to srgeman, with out whome, none of this would have been possible
XXVI : The Death
Brian's head lay on the cold metal floor, as Max looked down, his eyes tearing up.
"Guy's don't worry" He rasped, "I'm fine. Okay, I'm not indestructible, but who is"
Max cracked a small smile, but a tear fell anyways. It fell, and stopped in mid-air. Brian reached up, and touched it.
"Um, Max?" Brian turned his head to the Espeon, "Max?" Max was stiff as a board. Brian reached up, and poked him.
"What's going on?" Brian then realized he could move his arm! He looked down at the bullet hole. "It stopped bleeding, I don't feel any pain! I'm going to live!"
"Not exactly" a childish voice said. Brian pushed himself up, until he was sitting up, and saw Mew floating in front of him, glowing pink.
"Okay, time froze, and now theirs a Mew floating in front of me" Brian shook his head, "What's sad is, this isn't the strangest part of my week"
Mew floated to him, and helped pull Brian up. "Um, thank you?"
"You're welcome" It responded. Brian scratched his head.
"Um, how did you freeze time?" This got a laugh.
"A friend of a friend helped me. I don't think I needed help though, I can do just about anything"
"Can you heal me?" Brian asked, excited.
"Now that I can't do" Upon hearing a groan, Mew tried to comfort him. "Brian, no one can stop death. No one in this world, human, pokemon, hybrid, or all of the above can stop death. Your life will end today" Now this brought tears.
"But, but why? I die before seeing Rose, or seeing these LifeForce bastards pay" Mew shrugged.
"Death comes for every one"
"Not you"
"I'm special. Trying to stop death, is like trying to stop a charging Rhyhorne by running into it. No matter how fast you run, that Rhyhorne is going to send you into the next life" Brian nodded, sullenly.
"So I'm dead?"
"Unless that hole in your chest is a fashion statement" Mew laughed, "What did you expect"
"I dunno, angles singing, fixed stars, St. Peter ready to test my faith, St. James my hope, and St. John my love"
"You're not Dante, you're really dead. But hey, you get to see me! Not many humans get that" Now Brian was confused.
"Why did you come to see me?" He asked, scratching his head.
"You're special, you and the others are very important in events that haven't happened yet"
"Special, special how?"
"You see, the world is constantly in trouble, except it can't be saved by people who fight and kill. Violence breeds violence, death breeds death. It needs to be saved by the peace keepers, by the ordinary turned extraordinary. Well, guess what, you guys are those ordinary people!"
"You mean, we're destined to save the world?"
"Uh, no" Brian gave the legendary a confused look. "Destiny isn't, oh boy this will take a while to explain" Mew smiled, "You want a snow cone?"
"No"
"Good, because I want a muffin" Suddenly, a banana nut muffin appeared in Brian's hand.
"It's a muffin" Brian muttered. Mew nodded. "I've met Mew, and it gave me a muffin, and I can't tell any one about it"
"Would you want to, they would think your crazy" Brian shrugged.
"Eh, fuck em" Mew laughed.
"Well, lets get back to me explaining how your friends are special, but I can't do it here. Lets go somewhere else"
"Where to"
"You'll see"
They were there instantaneously. Brian was floating in a vast emptiness, with Mew beside him. Under his feet sat the earth, not turning, paused perfectly.
The sun was brighter then anything, but Brian's eyes didn't hurt as he looked at it. Turning behind him, he saw the surface of the moon, he could see every crater and ridge perfectly.
"This is beautiful"
"I know, it really is" Sound shouldn't have been able to move, but, then again, Mew shouldn't have been able to freeze time. "Now, where were we"
"You were trying to explain how my friends are special, then you mentioned something about destiny" Brian took a bite of the muffin, perfect.
"Oh yeah, your friends" Suddenly, behind Brian and Mew appeared a long silver line, with several other, smaller silver lines branching from it. "To explain how their lives will work, lets take a look at yours, shall we?
"Every line branches out of the starting point of the center line, the starting point is when you were born. Now, the center line is the best way your life could turn out, with the other small branches being various other ways your life could happen. Oh look" Mew cried, touching the end of a small branch, "This ones, you know" Brian moved beside Mew, writing could be seen on the end of the line.
"Dies by gunshot wound" Brian sighed. "So, I'm really dead"
"Yes, how many times do I have to tell you that? You are dead. DEAD" Mew sighed, "And I tried so hard to avoid this, I mean, do you know how much effort I put trying to make sure your life stayed on the center path? Do you know how much time I've poured into the others? Collapsing that roof on Dimitrius, drowning a three year old Axle?"
"WAIT?!" Brian screamed, "You did that? You were the stoned woman? And you were the pink blur?"
"I had to make sure everything happened the way it did. You see, the enemy they're fighting now, isn't the only enemy they're going to fight"
"Of course not. Do I even want to know how many there are over all?"
"Five"
"Oh goody! Five! Do you know their names?"
"Yep" Brian nodded.
"Will you tell me?" He finished off the muffin. Mew seemed to think about it for a minute.
"Mmmm, no"
"Why not?"
"It doesn't work that way"
"You can't tell me, or won't?"
"A little of both, really" Mew saw Brian was looking depressed at this. It put its paws on his shoulders. "I can't tell you their names, but I can give you a little information"
"Alright, bring it on" Mew nodded.
"Well, like I said, there are five. They are the murder man, the ancient evil, the living dead, the puritan, and the fifth one who I can only call the destroyer"
Odd name Brian thought to himself, "And I must assume that we are fighting the first enemy, the murder man?"
"Yep"
"So, its who ever is running LifeForce I must assume" Mew shook its head.
"Uh, no, the snake in the grass running LifeForce is to stupid. I can't explain who the murder man is. It would work a lot better if I just show you, CELEBI"
"I'm here!" The little green pixie thing cried, shooting up beside Mew. Brian's eyes bulged.
"You're! You're! Do you know who you are?" Celebi looked at Mew, who nodded.
"Yeah, he's like that, but that's not important. Can you drop us off a few minutes in the near future, you know where" Celebi giggled.
"Coming right up" Brian's body felt like it was being put through a taffy puller, as every thing seemed to stretch around them. Space disappeared, and the three were in the main laboratory of LifeForce. Every one was in human form, but paused. Brian noticed standing on top of a small set of stairs, in front of the entrance to a back hallway, were Julius and Grovyl.
"So, the biggest pair of chuckle heads in the world are running this thing" Brian muttered.
"Okay, they can't see us or hear us, right?" Mew asked. Celebi nodded, and re-started time.
Clap-Clap-Clap-Clap. Every one, including Brian, turned to the back hallway, where the clapping was coming from. "Now Brian, pay attention, this is the murder man"
"Out of my way, losers" A calm voice said, as Julius and Grovyl were pushed to their sides. Rollan stepped over them, dressed in a brown leather jacket over a cream colored sweater, stone colored pants with a knife strapped to them, and black gloves and shoes. He looked at the sliders with a sick grin, as he hopped down the steps.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Why, I'm Mister Rollan, and I'm here to kill, not you, not you.., you!" He exclaimed, pointing at Axle. "But I think I'll kill the rest of you as well, we can't have a group of people stronger then me"
"You want to fight me?" Axle asked, "You've got it" Mew nudged Brian.
"Pay attention to Rollan, watch carefully" Rollan reached to his back, and under his sweater, as Axle began to change into Dragonite form. Faster then the blink of an eye, Axle finished glowing, and Rollan whipped out a small hand gun, and fired between Axle's eyes, causing the back of his skull to explode in a confetti of blood and bone fragments.
Rollan then flipped around to face the group, and fired twice more, one shot hitting Natasha in the left eye, and one shot hitting Cameron in the neck, spraying blood as it tore through him.
He turned to fire at Dimitrius, but Horatio, already metamorphed, leapt in front of him. Rollan kept firing, until the gun was out of bullets. He then threw the gun, which Horatio caught and crushed between his bulb like fingers.
"Alright, I'm impressed" Rollan laughed. "Now watch this" Rollan leapt over Horatio, and landed behind him. In one fluid movement, he pulled out his knife and cut Dimitrius' throat, killing him instantly. Rollan grabbed Horatio, as he jumped up and around, and flung him.
Horatio was flung at Rose and Stephanie, right as Rose fired a flame-thrower (Brian had yet to comment on her metamorphosis). Horatio's flying body cut through Roses flame-thrower, sailed over her head, and hit Stephanie, knocking both of them out.
Rollan used this momentary distraction, to take a running jump, and land on Rose's back, slamming her to the ground and breaking her spine. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. "I'm sorry about this, I'll deal with those two, and then we'll have some fun"
Rollan calmly walked over to Stephanie and Horatio, who had both returned to human form, and stabbed them both in the chest, one quick stab to the heart. He then turned his attention to Rose. She had also returned to human form, and was defenseless, as Rollan did things to her with his knife that are two horrifying to describe.
When it was done, Rollan gave Rose a kiss on her dead lips. He then bent down, and lapped at the blood flowing from her legs. Mew nodded to Celebi, who paused time again. Brian collapsed to his knees.
"You didn't seem that shocked by Roses transformation" Brian shook his head.
"I-it hasn't really set in yet. What is this man?" Mew and Celebi both scowled, as best as they could.
"He's the spawn of demons from Judecca. His existence is blasphemy. Humans, hybrids, sliders and pokemon are all the same to him, vessels of pleasure. He is stronger and faster and smarter then any human, and most pokemon. LifeForce's success hinges on him" Brian gulped, and turned to the two legendaries.
"Take me back, please"
They returned to Max, still frozen. Brian lay down on the ground, and put his head on the cold floor. Celebi vanished, but Mew lingered behind.
"Why did you show me these things Mew?"
"Brian, tell me, what small thing could change the outcome of the entire battle?" Brian thought about it for a moment.
"The gun?"
"Exactly"
"I still don't understand! Just because I know, I can't change anything!"
"I know, but you are dead. This life is done. But don't worry, it will make sense soon enough" Brian would have argued more, but he felt the pain returning to his body.
Time unfroze, as Max's tears hit Brian on the face. Blood appeared in the corner of his mouth.
"I…Died" He said, allmost questoning it, before his eye's glazed over. Max whispered something, some kind of protest, but it didn't matter.
Brian McKay was dead.