Journey of the soul chapter 79
I just realized that the finale will start with chapter 80
Hunter: that's a nice round number
But no one will see the number because the title will be "finale"
Hunter:….wouldn't finale 2 make more sense? Didn't we already have a finale?
Oh crap, you're right. But if I label it finale 2, then wouldn't that mean there should be a finale 3?
Hunter:….why?
Because rule of three Hunter! There has to be 3!
Hunter:…are you suggesting-
That I continue the story with my own ideas? Maaaaaaaybe. Onto the chapter!
The ocean was churning roughly as the waves rolled on top of one another. Even though the night was black and concealed most of the clouds, lighting flashed from the distance. People could tell a storm was nearing caliosteo for the past few days. It was inevitable, a tropical storm during this time of year was not unheard of. However, there was something different about this storm. The cities were so advanced they had electronic barricades that could protect against flash flooding and slow the wind, but people were still uneasy. The storm would hit by tomorrow evening, but there was something much more interesting lying in wait. The ocean itself was experiencing powerful currents and even small whirlpools at times, but that did nothing to affect the large structure sitting on the sea floor. Even more surprising was that it didn't affect the figure standing on top of it. The was a slow sound that could only faintly be heard through the rushing water.
It sounded like breathing.
One flash of lightning later, and the figure was gone.
….
The elevator ascended slowly, creaking as it went up. The damage to the wildwest tower was nothing to laugh at, yet there was so much more destruction to come. Zongazonga sat upon his chair, a temporary throne. There was a disturbance with in the field he placed around the city. And now, two souls were approaching him on the elevator. His power was not as great as it used to be, so he couldn't tell exactly who it was, but he felt certain pulses from each of them.
The first was quiet, yet at the same time felt as if it was bundling up too many emotions and keeping them hidden. Like a time bomb, ready to burst at any moment. It burned brightly, but was small.
The other was much more violent, like a raging storm that would destroy anything in its path. It burned with the strength of a vivosaur with the power to match. Still, through all that inner turmoil, rage, remorse, grief, and desolation, there was a love for the souls surrounding it and a kindness hidden away behind the rough exterior.
And it sickened him to his very bones just to think about the fool that soul was connected to.
When the elevator rose up to meet him, Zongazonga grinned his devilish grin and stood up from his throne. Just the people he wanted to see.
"I'm surprised you're still here." Todd said quietly, "I thought you would've run away by now."
"What's this? The whimpering speck finally has a semblance of courage?" He mocked, "be honest with yourself Todd. You're terrified. You were only ever worth any thing when you were under me. Now, why did you even think to look here if you thought I left?"
"We didn't." Hunter growled, "I typed 'bitch' in the gps and it brought us here."
"…."
"…"
"…this is the part where you give your whole big bad guy speech before we fight."
"And why should I? You all rightfully chose to participate in my tournament. I have ruled this land for hundreds of years before being usurped from my throne by treasonous bastards. Am I truly the villain for taking back what's rightfully mine?"
"And what makes it yours? Were you born on it? Did you buy it from someone else? What gives you the right to go against the wills of so many people for your own goals?"
"Their wills are beneath my own."
"So that's what it is. A superiority complex. You can't stand the thought of someone being stronger than you. That's why you want all this power, it's a goddamn showcase for you. Well guess what pal, there will ALWAYS be someone stronger.
"Ha! I did away with them long ago."
"Then something new will appear, and that will be stronger."
"Not possible."
"You clearly haven't met Igno or Fridgi." Then, Something occurred to Hunter.
"Why me though? If age is the problem with your powers, why go through the whole tournament trouble? Why not just take over the next younger person you met?"
"I am the epitome of human strength, it's only natural that my vessel should be above the rest as well."
"Then why bother staying in Joe's body the entire time? There's another reason….are you afraid of something zongazonga?" The second the words left his mouth, he got the reaction he want. Zongazonga proceeded to go into his big bad guy speech about how he had "nothing to fear", Hunter wasn't listening. Zongazonga was afraid of something, that's why he wants Hunter's abilities on top of his own; as insurance of sorts against whatever's stronger than him. He looked to Todd and saw that he was shaking. He instinctively moved in front of his friend.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I've got Duna, Lila, and You in my corner. That's all I need."
"…then let's do this!" The room was too small for vivosaurs, so Todd readied his own pickax like a weapon while Hunter ignited soulflame. Zongazonga laughed.
"A useful party trick I suppose, but what good will it do for you to attack me with your fancy abilities and destroy the body you are trying to save? Not that you would even stand a chance in the first place."
"See, I wasn't just running off two hours of sleep for the past two days for no reason pal." Hunter reached into his bag and pulled out the soulcrusher. For the first time, he saw fear in Zongazonga's eyes.
"Where…where did you-"
"Hyah!" Hunter charged, swinging the soulcrusher wildly in a wide arc. Zongazonga shouted as well and purple energy shot from his hands. The hammer blew away most of it, but Hunter's unprotected arms were shook violently. He screamed as he felt his bones pop out and then back into their sockets. The soulcrusher flew from his hands and started hurtling towards the broken space in the wallZ
"Crap!" Todd rushed after it while trying to avoid flying rubble as Zongazonga lashed at the floor with energy whips.
"This is insane, this is insane, this is insane." He kept repeating as he reached the opening. Zongazonga threw what looked like the same soul disc the guardian was in. The disc exploded in light and one of the zombified vivosaurs from Xerxes' memory appeared. His one was similar in shape to a pteranodon, but small enough to fit in the tower. Or at least, small enough to shoot through the tower in an attempt to skewer Todd.
"Woah!" Todd leaped backwards and barely saved himself. Ptera spiraled outside and let out an ear piercing shriek before circling back.
"Hunter! The hammer's caught on the top of the tower!" Wind practically drowned out Todd's words, "I'm going for it!" Zongazonga lashed out with his whips again, this time at Todd.
"DON'T YOU DARE." Hunter lunged and tackled zongazonga, sending the whips listing off to the side and missing his friend. Immediately, he felt his mind get assaulted with a splitting pain. Zongazonga was going after him now.
"Spinax, do your thing."
"Oh shoot, I'm part of the plan." Spinax let out a roar as he expelled the soulflame energy automatically transferred to his medal back to Hunter. The rush of energy forced zongazonga out of his mind and left him stunned for a second. In a blind rush, Hunter swung and struck him in the stomach. Zongazonga turned his head towards Hunter; he was smiling.
"Did you really think an attack as simple as this would stop me, the greatest sorcerer of all time?"
"Actually no. I figured this would be over with one good kick to the nuts, but Todd said no." Hunter jumped away from zongazonga before a whip lashed him across the face. Instead it grazed his forehead and left a cut that seared with pain. He had to stall until Todd could get the soulcrusher, that was the only thing that gave them a chance at the moment since guardian wouldn't fit in the room. Hunter dodge another slash from the whip and barely got out of the way of the second lash. He felt his vision blur and focus rapidly.
"Hey Dino, remember when you went soulflame in our soul and I got the same boost? You mind doing that again."
"Yeah, sure."
"Awww, look at you two working together and not trying to kill each other."
"Shut up Spinax" they said in unison. Hunter felt the same surge from before. He wasn't any stronger, but it extended the time soulflame stayed active. He would need it.
Meanwhile, Todd was struggling to keep a grip on the rim of the wildwest tower. His feet dangled off into open air. Any slip up and he would fall to his death. Normally this wouldn't be a difficult climb, but when a vivosaur is charging at you with murderous intent? Well…
The "Ptera" swooped at him once more and e just barely pulled his legs up in Tim before they were torn away. He couldn't reached for the holder clipped to his back pocket without losing his grip. Even then he was fairly certain it was empty since he didn't put his medals back while under Zongazonga's influence. Ptera let out a screech and Todd had to fight the urge to cover his ears as they bled. With a desperate lunge, he swung his entire body onto the lip he had been holding on to. It was dark and freezing and he couldn't see the Ptera anymore. He checked his holder. Nope, no medals.
"C'mon, think! It shrieked to the west, so it must be…crap." He couldn't see it, he couldn't even see the soulcrusher. He looked up at the stars.
"Alright, what would Hunter do in this situation?...he would be fighting zongazonga…okay, bad example." Suddenly, Todd saw movement from the corner of his eye and instinctively ran to the side. Ptera tore past the spot he was just in and Todd felt the wingtip slash into his side.
"Argh!" He doubled over and almost lost his balance, but managed to stay on the lip. He looked in the direction Ptera went past, trying to see movement again. How did he see Ptera the first time? That's when he noticed the stars again. Occasionally, a cluster of the them would blink out and then start shining again. He noticed the clutter stayed in place for a bit, then he noticed the wind picking up a bit. He ducked.
Ptera shot directly over him and the wind nearly knocked him off his feet. The stars! Whenever Ptera left his vision, he could tell where it was by looking for a gap in the stars. He used this to dodge two other swoops. Each time Ptera screeched in frustration as it missed. In between barely escaping Ptera, Todd would sweep his hands across the flat top of the wildwest tower in an attempt to find the soulcrusher.
"Damn it! Where is it?" Todd barely escaped Ptera that time. It wasn't easy to keep an eye on EVERY part of the sky while also searching the floor. Fortunately, he didn't have to search for much longer.
Zongazonga's black whips began shooting up through the ceiling and out in random directions. Todd let out a Yelp and jumped backwards when a whip shot up directly in front of him. He felt his foot slip and he fell to the side, his head dangling off the edge. The whip then retreated back to the inside, leaving a small beam of light that illuminated the edge of a blue and silver handle. Despite the pain, Todd smiled.
All things considered, Hunter thought he was doing a great job of staying focused. This man had mentally tortured him for months and he was finally able to put a stop to it. Wait…that didn't sound right. Was Zongazonga at fault for Hunter's falling out?
"Hey! What happened to being focused?!" Dino's shout snapped him back to reality in time to jump away from a black whip. Zongazonga had given up trying to hit Hunter specifically and instead just lashed out in all directions and caused even more property damage. The sorcerer was shrieking with an unearthly intensity and his eyes were clouded over in a purple color.
Hunter cleared his head, He promised himself he would figure that out after this is over, and charged once again. It was hard to call it a charge since he had to keep veering out of the way to avoid being sliced open, but he got in front of Zongazonga as intended. Hunter balled his fists together and took a wide swing at the base of the whip that kept stabbing into the ceiling. He heard a satisfying crack noise and then a loud shriek.
"I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!" Zongazonga screamed, "YOU ARE NOTHING BEFORE A GOD!"
"Ha! If there were gods, then I wouldn't exist." Hunter felt one of the whips slash across his side before he could retreat. He was losing blood, not good. He looked at the gap in the wall, there wasn't anything there.
"Praying that your friend will come save you?"
"I don't pray."
"You should, I'll enjoy listening to your desperate pleas."
"Okay, Please DIE."
"I quite literally cannot. Not before I kill you, take your body, and rule this land for as long as I see fit at least."
"You better pray yourself then. If you kill me, my ghost will haunt you until you join me in hell. Speaking of hell." Hunter held out his hand as he saw movement in the corner of his eye.
"It's about damn time I send you there. Todd!"
"Heads up!" Todd shouted as he jumped down from the ceiling in the gap. He threw the soulcrusher to Hunter, who grabbed it and gave zongazonga a wicked grin. Soulflame blazed from his eye as he battered away every whip of energy threat lashed out towards him. He felt a gust of wind pushing him forward, guiding him through the chaos.
"No! NO!" Zongazonga screamed as his eyes clouded over in a purple light. Dark energy shot out in all directions. Hunter screamed as well as he swung the soulcrusher with all the strength left in his arms. There was a flash of blinding silver light and the echo of the impact rang out clearly. Hunter felt himself fall onto the floor, drained of pretty much everything. When the light faded, Hunter saw the limp body of Joe wildwest next to him. A skull was rolling down the floor, a purple flame burned in side of it. Still clutching the soulcrusher, Hunter rolled on his side.
"Todd, do me a favor."
"Yeah?"
"Pick me up so I can smash the shit outta that skull." Todd laughed as he walked over with Hunter's duffel bag. Joe's skull rolled out.
"First things first." Todd said to joe, "let's get you back on your own two feet."
"Right you are pard!" The skull bounced into the body. It was as if it just phased into it. Joe's eyes, his actual eyes, shot open.
"Yeeeeehaa! I feel like a million bucks!"
"You're still on the floor."
"A million bucks doesn't stand up, I ain't gonna either for a while."
"Fair enough." Todd pulled Hunter back onto his feet. Hunter wiped the fatigue from his eyes and clutched the hammer in both hands. He felt his legs shake as he walked over to Zongazonga's skull.
"Here goes nothing." Hunter raised the soulcrusher. Suddenly, Zongazonga's skull lurched forward. Hunter felt a bright flash of pain. When he opened his eyes again, he was on the dark plateau within his soul. Dino was there, looking around frantically. There was a cackling voice that echoed across the sky.
"Well now, isn't this interesting?" The voice was much raspier than he expected, but Hunter knew who it was, "the boy who said he would send me to hell is about to go there himself.
"Hey! Quit standing there and get your ass moving!" Dino ran over and shoved Hunter before a purple mist shrouded around the area he was just standing on. Hunter felt pain spike his mind over and over. His vision blurred and his stomach churned over. It was like he was being ripped apart by his soul.
"Damn it!" Dino shouted as he shook Hunter violently. The world was being swallowed up, there were no stars in the sky. This was it.
And then there was a flash of silver, and it all stopped.
Hunter's eyes opened in time to see Zongazonga's skull roll away from him. He looked to the side and saw that Todd had the soulcrusher pressed against his side. Actually, it kinda hurt.
"HEY!" Hunter felt his senses assaulted once again when Spinax shouted in his ear.
"I'm alright!" Spinax sighed.
"Good, now don't scare me like that or I'll go into your soul myself and bite your ear off."
"Wait….you don't know what's going on in my soul?"
"I guess I could probably reach you if I tried, I think I did it once before in rainbow canyon. Why?"
"Then…." Hunter didn't have time to comprehend that fully, because at that moment Zongazonga's skull launched at him again. He barely leaned back enough for the skull to miss him. Todd swung at it again, but whiffed by an inch.
"Crap!"
"Don't let it get away!" Hunter ran to the hole in the wall and pulled out Spinax's Dino medal.
"Get the others, we need help."
"You got it. Give me ten seconds." Hunter beamed the medal as far out as he could and jumped to the side to avoid the skull rushing at him. Todd took another swing and nearly hit Hunter. They went back and forth like this for a while, with Hunter desperately dodging while Todd attempted to hit the skull. They got close at times, but didn't have enough time to line up a hit without Hunter get captured again. Ten seconds later, they both heard the elevator rising.
Duna, Lila, Rupert, And Pauleen were all on the elevator when it rose up. Hunter ran over to them.
"HeyguyssoforrupertandpauleentheresthisguycalledzongzongawhoisthatfloatingskullovertherethatwasinjoesbodybutnowhesoutofjoesbodybutwantstobeinmybodysowearegonnahithimwithahammerthatwillkillhimbythewayIhavetorunawayfromhimnowsobye!" Hunter jumped away as zongazonga bounced after him. Duna shook her head.
"He is being chased by the skull. We need to capture it so Todd can crush it with the hammer."
"How did you gather anything from that?" Rupert asked.
"It's Hunter, I know him better than he does."
"Oh yeah?" Hunter shot back, "Dino exists."
"….oh my god."
"We'll talk later, right now there's-ARGH!" Hunter kicked the skull right before it got to him. He was going to pass out at this rate. It was a mad scramble to contain the skull while also not getting possessed yourself. Lila's eyes glowed as she used her foresight to guide Hunter.
"Go left! NO, right!" Hunter skidded sideways and just narrowly avoided the skull again. One leg bent one way while on bent another and he felt himself do an unintentional and incredibly painful split. The skull made a cackling noise before jumping in front of him.
"Hyah!" Todd smacked zongazonga with the soul crusher, sending him careening towards the elevator. Rupert dived at it only to have the skull ricochet off the floor. He collided with Pauleen instead while Joe attempted to turn himself to see what the hell was happening.
"Damn it, we can't let him get away!" Hunter tried to push himself up, but needed Todd's help. The skull turned back to Hunter as the elevator started to descend, he could swear it was smiling. There was a loud thumping noise as he saw someone jump onto the elevator.
It was Duna.
The group ran to the edge (except for Joe), but wouldn't be able to follow them.
"The stairs!" Hunter shouted, ignoring the pain and charging for the stairs."
"Wait Hunter!" Todd shouted back, "the stairs are-"
THUD.
"-…Broken." The group
Waited for the elevator to rise back up before descending, dragging Joe with them as he relearned how to walk. Hunter had crashed his way down about seven flights of broken stairs when they reached the bottom. He was fairly certain he broke a rib, but that didn't matter. At the ruins of what used to be the fighters station, Duna was standing at the doorway.
"What…happened?"
"He…escaped." She muttered, "I couldn't stop him." She was clutching her head and winced. Hunter held onto her shoulders.
"He attacked your soul didn't he."
"I think so."
"That bastard." Hunter pressed his forehead against Duna's. It was cold to the touch. Then, he started walking.
"Where are you going?" Lila asked.
"I'm gonna go kill zongazonga. Not out of the goodness of my heart, not because of any obligation, and definently not for this goddamned world. But because I hate him." He looked ragged. The bandage around his arm was falling off, his legs shook with every step, the bags under his eyes were noticeable from any distance, his clothes were torn in multiple places, and a plethora of cuts and scrapes covered his skin.
"Are you okay?"
"No…..I need help."
"Don't lose it," Spinax spoke up as he emerged from the clearing Duna was in previously.
"I'm trying." Hunter knew what was happening. He was getting angry, too angry. He remembered the last time this happened, he nearly lost himself.
He didn't have time to get help though, because a loud raspy laugh interrupted all of them. It echoed slightly, which means it was probably in their heads.
"Such a shame, you truly thought you had a chance didn't you?" Hunter clutched his own head as pain racked it again.
"Stay the hell out." Dino activated soulflame and Hunter felt the pain lessen.
"Well then, I believe it's time for the final act, where I raise my once glorious kingdom and retake my place as the one above everything!" The ground started to shake, lightning flashed, the black sky became illuminated for a split second. It started to rain as the ocean started making noises.
"Is it a tidal wave?" Lila panicked. Duna stumbled across the shaking ground and stared out to the shoreline towards illum island.
"….it's an island." It was indeed. Hunter could see the purple speck being illuminated by magic. It was a massive rock that held a what looked like a city on top of it. At the top stood a castle and a platform that looked like it reached to the heavens.
Zongazonga's kingdom, the kingdom of caliosteo.
"I do hope you'll visit me. I look foreword to showing you the full extent of my power." Lightning flashed again and a glowing streaks of light began surrounding the island as it lifted it self into the sky. The spinning light then darkened and formed a sort of tornado as the island stopped its ascent.
"Full extent…then that means."
"He found a vessel." Duna finished for him. Hunter ground his teeth together.
"Okay, then let's go get him." He took a few steps forward and then immediately doubled over. He heard people running to his side. Despite being mad at himself, he was happy people cared.
"Hang in there bud, you'll be fine." Todd gave him a brave smile.
"Thanks. Don't worry." Hunter felt his eyelids droop, "I'm just gonna rest…for a…little while."
…..
Hunter had been passed out on the bed in the lobby of the ruins of the fighters station. Illum island was currently evacuating to rubilar island. Todd checked his watch while a small Television setup showed the news. It was one in the morning, yet the world was wide awake.
"Reports from the caliosteo islands show that a floating mass has appeared in their vicinity," the reporter stated as a picture of Zongazonga's castle appeared, "we can confirm that this is ancient land that sunk long ago when the islands were ruled by a man named zongazonga." People were taking the reappearance of zongazonga pretty well. After aliens and magic, fake immortality isn't that far fetched. Todd looked at the bed Hunter was on. Bandages covered his torso, covering his cracked rib and multiple cuts. Duna said he would live because of a "genetic mutation" or something. Still, Todd sat there as Joe was being interviewed, explaining what the hell was happening. There was only one thing left to do. They had to fight zongazonga. If they win, everything goes back to-…well, at least as normal as things could be. If they lose, then the islands get in-prisoned and more than likely a lot of people will die, including him. It was surreal to say the least.
"Am I interrupting something?" Duna walked into the room with an ice pack pressed to her head.
"Oh, not at all. I was just watching the news." Todd pretended to focus on the television.
"Human television has always intrigued me. Why witness events through a screen? Would it not be more beneficial to be there yourself?"
"Well, we don't have teleportation, so this is the next best thing."
"I see. Apologies, I forgot."
"No problem." She sat down in another folding chair that was propped up. The two sat in silence for a bit"
"…how's your head?"
"In pain."
"Oh….sorry."
"Don't be, I blame myself for being caught unaware." Duna looked over at Hunter sleeping.
"May I tell you something Todd? Something you cannot tell Hunter."
"Oh….Alright, I promi-"
"Don't promise me, just don't tell him."
"…okay."
"Alright. I am afraid, because I know we will have to rely on Hunter to fight zongazonga. He is possibly the strongest fighter in the world, so he's the best chance at defeating zongazonga. However, he Is already physically spent. I…I can't watch Hunter Cloud die a second time."
"He won't."
"What makes you so sure."
"Because…I believe in him. Hunter doesn't give up until people stop believing in him. There's a lot I'm not sure about right now, but I have to believe that we'll all get through this. If that means believing in Hunter, then I believe in Hunter, and you should too."
"…you're a very interesting human Todd."
"Thanks! Most people think I'm annoying."
"…there's something else I wish to tell you. I feel like I've been hypocritical, criticizing Hunter for lying when I've lied myself."
"Oh…"
"….Dinaurians did not come to this planet to warn the humans of Guhnash. We….we came to earth in an attempt to eradicate the human species and claim it as our own." Shock hit Todd like a train, but Duna didn't stop there. She explained everything, the idolcomps, specimens, and how the fight for earth started with the dinaurians and ended with guhnash.
"So…Hunter and Lila are…aliens?"
"Technically they were born within earth's atmosphere, so no."
"I thought he was just insane when he said he was a hybrid thing."
"He is insane, but he was not in that instance."
"This is….heavy."
"…grh….tell me about it." They both jumped as Hunter spoke in his sleep. He snored aloud it before rolling over.
"Yep, that's the guy that saved the world!" Todd laughed. Duna walked over to the bed and pulled a clump of dirt out of Hunter's hair. She smiled as he turned in his sleep again and pressed his head against her hand.
"Yes, he certainly is."
(Bonus scene: the conversation in Hunter's sleep between Spinax, Hunter, and Dino.)
"If your leg got cut off, would it hurt?"
"What do you mean? Of course it would hurt."
"Where would you feel the pain then?"
"In your le-…oh my god."
"Who cares? Either way you'd die from blood loss."
"Okay, but what about this. I weigh 999 pounds right?"
"You do?"
"No, but hypothetically. If I eat a pound of food, am I .1 percent food?"
"Don't you eat more than a pound though?"
"…Duuuude."
"What came first? The color orange, or the fruit orange?"
"Oh shoot, I don't know."
"What the hell's an orange?"
"Hang on…if you were born deaf…what language would you think in?"
"….holy shit."
"Tell me about it."
Done! I just wanna say, this has been quite the journey, but now it's almost at an end. Thanks to all of you guys for sticking around to see this crazy story reach it's conclusion. However, I would be willing to continue with my own ideas, but only if it's what you guys want. If the story is listed as completed by the end of the finale, then it truly is over. Let me know in the reviews if you want the story to continue past the finale. If not, well, Thanks for reading!
