Hey, King Spike Rules here and this is the final part to the final fight. With Creedence killing two of their friends and seemingly coming out from hell, how will the Rabbit Hole take him out one and for all?

Chapter 38: Final Fight: Part 5

The four of them stared in shock at Creedence's outline in the smoke filled building. His shadow stood still for a moment before, to their horror, it began to shamble towards them.

"Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me," Franky gasped, his shock at the sight quickly shifting to frustration. "We blew him up, for God's sake!"

"Yeah, well it seems he's gone and toughed it out somehow," John said, stepping forward and readying himself for more. Lonesome Dove appeared behind him, arm already reared back for a punch.

Creedence reached the window, and without missing a beat, Revival burst through to give him a straight path into the yard. In that moment, the four could clearly see his new appearance. His clothes hung off his body in tatters, showing off his muscular build and impossibly pale skin.

"I have to admit, that hurt a little.." Creedence said, brushing mounds of dust off his shoulders. Then his eyes shot upwards, burning straight through them, "...But now I'm truly angry. I'm done playing with you."

"Well, that makes two of us," John replied, looking at him coldly. From the greenery behind him, a barrage of air bullets shot towards Creedence, who made no move to defend himself. He just stood there until the bubbles burst against his body, leaving zero injuries from the impact.

Seeing this, John's eyes widened with a terrible realization. Between his skin, his survival, the bubbles, everything fit into place. "Oh, fuck me. He turned his skin into diamonds."

John gritted his teeth, his mind filled with thoughts on what they could do to get around such a power. Yet none of them seemed to turn into anything more than just that; thoughts.

"John, we should retreat and get time to think of something," Kite chimed in. The others drew their attention with John thinking it over on if that idea could even work with Creedence being a nearly unstoppable juggernaut. Without easy access to carbon, however, he wouldn't be able to stop them from driving away.

The thought was appealing, and John almost agreed to it. But something inside him couldn't stand it, and once he put a name to that something, he quickly shot down the idea of escaping.

"No, that wouldn't do anything but prolong our defeat. We'd buy more time at the cost of whoever he decides to transform. I can't accept that," John said, standing up and looking at Creedence with narrowed eyes. "I'm not leaving this state without knowing this asshole is six feet under."

"Agreed, we can't run right now," Mary said, glaring at him with a vengeful expression and her Stand ready to continue.

Kite looked at them with shock before tightening his grip on Keith's revolver. The metal rippled and flowed into his Stand, replacing the cracks the explosion had created in his armor. Filled with new resolve, he met Creedence's gaze.

"Sorry for thinking like that. I almost forgot that we're not the ones losing here," Kite said, transforming his armor into blades and charging towards their enemy. John ran just behind him, while Mary hung back with Birmingham.

Revival darted between them, lashing out with its fists. John darted away, using Lonesome Dove to send a few ineffective bubbles at the Stand. But the attack was able to distract Revival long enough for Kite to slip past its guard and thrust a blade towards its eyes.

Just before the attack could connect, however, Revival's arm closed around Kite's blade. As his momentum halted, Renegades began to blacken and crumble away. Kite quickly pushed against Revival with his legs, pulling himself out of its grip and retreating to safety. He winced in pain, shaking his coal-covered hand. Given a few more seconds, the attack would've reached his fingers.

"He's become even harder to figure out a proper strategy to take him out," Kite said to Mary, who was using Birmingham to revert his armor back to normal. Once the process was finished, Kite returned to the fight at John's side, pulling him away from one of Revival's attacks.

Meanwhile, Franky observed them from a few yards away, his mind conflicting with his body's desire for safety. His mind told him to charge forward, help his friends, and fight off against this threat to his friend's lives. Yet his body just shook in place. For all his efforts, he couldn't force it into action.

"W-what's wrong with me?" Franky questioned himself as he watched the fight, watched how John and Kite gave their all to defeat the enemy. He shook, his mind was starting to lose to his body. His foot moved back a single step and Franky's eyes widened with despair. "N-no, you're not doing this on me now."

Franky clenched his fists, his desire fighting against a fear he'd never known he had. His inner conflict left him paralyzed, until a shout rang through the yard.

"AHHHH!" Kite's voice cried. Franky's eyes focused back on the fight, where Revival had regained its grip on Kite's arm. It began to transform once again, much to Kite's horror. John cradled his hands a few feet away, mangled from trying to punch Revival. Creedence watched with a broad smirk as Kite's arm crumbled away, the coal reaching into skin and bone with ever-worsening pain.

"Not today!" Franky yelled, coming out of the shrubs and summoning Graceful Door. The Stand slammed its fist into Revival's face, knocking it back a few feet and forming a small door on its user's cheek. Before Creedence could recover from the shock, Franky pulled Kite away and backpedaled.

"T-thanks for that," Kite managed, wincing as Franky shifted his grip and set him down near Mary. John sat down beside them, having used the chance to retreat as well.

"I'm not sure what we can try next against him," he said, panting with exhaustion and clearly in pain from his bloody hands. Before he could continue in that state, Mary got to work repairing him along with Kite's arm.

In their concern, the group failed to notice a little detail; Creedence was holding the door on his cheek shut, a few drops of red running from it.

"I have an idea," Franky offered, drawing questioning glances from all three of them. He looked back at them with a smile on his face. "I guess I can finally be the tough guy I wanted to be."

The moment those words left his lips, Franky sprinted towards Creedence with his eyes locked on Revival. Creedence met his gaze while he ran, but no fear marked his steps.

"Franky, what are you doing?" Kite yelled out. He tried to get up, but a surge of pain along his arm left him unable to follow. Mary held John back from doing anything reckless.

All three watched with bated breath as Franky ducked under Revival's attacks, coming closer and closer to Creedence. Once he was only a few feet away, Franky summoned Graceful Door with its fist already reared back. He was about to follow through on the attack when Revival's hand wrapped around Franky's throat.

"So, you thought you could fight me all on your own? You fools don't learn, do you?" Creedence asked, looking coldly at the young man struggling for breath. Franky felt his neck slowly becoming coal and crumbling under the force of Revival's grip.

"Franky, no!" Kite yelled, reaching out to his friend helplessly. Tears of pain ran down Franky's face as his vision began to blacken.

But his focus remained fixed on Creedence, and before the man could react, Graceful Door slammed its fist into his chest. Creedence blinked, confused by the seemingly pointless act until he felt Franky's hand against a newly formed handle. With what little strength he could muster, he pulled the door open and exposed Creedence's chest cavity.

Creedence looked down at his beating heart and lungs in shock. Franky gave him a cocky grin that lasted until his face transformed into coal. Revival quickly dropped him to the ground, where he crumbled into a pile in front of Creedence.

At the sight of his third friend's life being snuffed out, Kite dropped to his knees, letting out a scream of pure sorrow against the dirt. Creedence looked at the door in his chest and pushed to see if it would close. With Graceful Door gone, however, the door in his chest had seemingly become permanent.

"Damn, he really did a number on me," Creedence noted. Looking at the coal pile that had once been Franky, he picked up a large piece and examined it from every angle. Seemingly satisfied, he placed it against his chest and used Revival to fuse his carbon skin together with the coal.

The trio witnessed this with looks of ever-growing fury. John's blood was boiling, and seeing Creedence desecrate Franky's body so calmly was the final straw. He rose to his feet shakily, never taking his eyes off their foe.

"Mary, can you create a healing area that reaches to Creedence?" he asked. She looked up at him in shock, wondering what he could be thinking. But John's eyes shone with something special-an idea-and Mary slowly nodded. Pushing Birmingham to its limits, she formed a healing area around them.

"W-what are you doing, John?" Kite asked, looking at him with desperation. How could he defeat Creedence, who had single handedly taken out all of their friends and survived an attack that blew up a mansion?

"Simple. Franky gave us the answer," John replied. Lonesome Dove charged at Revival with its arms pulled back. Creedence sighed at the attack on his diamond Stand, but beneath his exasperation, a smirk of triumph was forming.

"Go ahead and waste your life," he said, amused at John's refusal to give up. He wanted to see John fail before his inevitable death.

Once Lonesome Dove was close enough, it released a barrage of punches that hit Revival from every angle. John winced, glancing down at his already bruising hands; the pain of hitting something so hard was immediate. His injuries vanished just as quickly, however, thanks to Mary using all her powers to heal him faster than he injured himself.

"You simply can't see how useless it is to try and beat me while you break your body in some vain attempt at avenging your friends."

"N-no..." John gasped through the pain. While Mary's healing did help him, the constant pain from punching him, even if each instance only lasted a moment, was draining him. Not to mention the energy required to unleash all of his punches towards Revival.

Kite watched in awe, trying to decipher what John could be thinking. Then a noise from beside him drew his attention to Mary, who was focused on trying to keep John from getting too injured. He moved closer and gently put a hand on her shoulder in a show of camaraderie, which seemed to help her.

"What is the point of all this? You're all just going to find your end sooner than later," Creedence said with annoyance. He took a step closer, only for intense pain to shoot through his body. He tried to continue, only for the pain to worsen until it overwhelmed him. "W-what is happening?"

"That's simple," John said with venom in his voice. Creedence looked up to see John with a hand in his pocket, making the same pose he made when he started his journey. "Lonesome Dove makes air bullets when it uses its hands. But when it punches a person, it can also form a bubble under their skin that will burst in a few seconds. By rewinding our bodies, Mary also opened up holes for the bubbles to get through; Franky's doors!"

Creedence looked at his hands in a state of shock, unable to fully process the words. The pain was getting greater; many of the bubbles had already expanded inside him, and pushed against his insides even as his gaze moved to the trio before him.

"I-I lost..." Creedence said with a disbelieving smile. Kite walked towards him, Revival not interfering thanks to Lonesome Dove. Finally, when he stood just before the man, Kite looked down upon him with murderous intent.

"This is for all the pain you caused," Kite declared, punching him in the stomach. All at once, Creedence felt the bubbles in his body burst, sending blood pouring from his mouth and eyes. As Revival began to disappear, the man slumped to the ground, defeated.

TBC.


That is it for this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it, one more after this one and Lonely War is finsihed.