Chapter 9: Desperation versus Determination – Part 2

Now that all three enemies have been identified by Knack, thanks to his new human self, it all added up perfectly for him and Eclaire: This dish called 'Revenge' was being served extremely hot with a side of determination and Knack was due to take in the entire feast of it. If he wanted to maintain his relationship with Eclaire, it had to be done by himself once more, just like in the good old days back when he was in his relic self. Most importantly, he was ready to finally see what Yurick looked like back then, thanks to the discovery of his great-great-great-great grandson, Zurick. See why Marius struggled with him in the past.

As for humble Doctor Benson Vargas, he and Charlotte sat in the very center of his massive garden labyrinth on this beautifully sunny afternoon with his retirement on his mind. With this new threat arising from the Deakons and Zurick, his retirement was due to be on hold for a moment for now. He didn't want it to be done, but it was only because he really wanted to make sure Knack had all the support he needs, despite the fact that he take care of the many problems himself 90 percent of the time. With that in mind, he kept a smile on his face the entire time, even after he gave Charlotte his warmest embrace via his left arm. They as well as Ava, Ryder, Katrina, Lucas, and the Monks were all prepared for what was in store for Knack, which will leave the Deakons and Zurick completely flabbergasted eventually.

In the meantime, Eclaire and Knack had a date and was ready to not let anything from the Deakons and Zurick stand in their way.

Back at the Xiaochan Farm Mansion…

Eclaire was the first out her shower and was already dressed in a purple crop top with matching forearm warmers, black bootcut jeans, and purple and black high-top sneakers. Despite everything that she discussed with Knack prior to the shower they had to share, she kept a smile full of hope on her face as she was currently styling her light brown hair in her favorite thick topknot ponytail. She knew that she was due to be in more danger by being with Knack and at risk of being caught in the crosshairs, but that never stopped her from keeping her soon-to-be-everlasting love for the human relic hero. Simply put, within her mind, nothing can break her spirit.

Same could be said for Knack as he just exited the bathroom dressed in a brown leather vest with jade green baggy jeans, his signature triangle decorated black belt, and massive looking basketball sneakers in his famous color scheme of gold, red, and black. Now that he's discovered what he's truly capable of in terms of his formidable powers that he thought were permanently forgotten due to his human form, he was ready for anything the Deakons and Zurick might cook up next. Regardless of what will happen, his primary objective to protect Eclaire was a top priority. No questions asked.

A few minutes later in another soothing plane flight…

"You wanna go to the Newhaven City Fair for our next date, huh?" Eclaire asked after Knack made that proclamation. He nodded twice in response. "Never thought you'd wanna put yourself within the public, despite the danger we're in right now. May I ask why?"

"I want these people to see what I can truly accomplish in my new human form." Knack replied with determination written all within his black eyes, which were completely oblivious to his girlfriend sitting behind him. "Not everyone has seen me yet and this is the perfect time. I will guarantee that, even though some may get hurt in the process, everyone will survive."

"Your honesty never ceases to amaze me. Anyway, wow. I can truly believe that. I already have total faith in you, Knack. Hopefully, you'll reveal some new powers along the way."

"…I hope so, too."

Moments later…

The two finally landed at the fair's entrance and there was already a massive hustle and bustle of, what seems like, every citizen from Newhaven and Monte Verde combined. They didn't exit the plane just yet as they took that factor in with every sense in their bodies, including Knack's sixth sense. His life orb gently pulsated a peaceful purple to show that his soul was at peace for the moment. He was worried about what will happen later, but he'll keep it to himself at this rate. With that in mind, his life orb turned back to its original blue before he finally turned off the plane and made a professional leap out of it after sitting there for about five minutes. Eclaire carefully climbed out, having her human relic hero help her down by a massive, but gentle hand. That's when she was curious:

"You stayed blue this whole time?"

"No. I flashed a bit of purple for a moment." Knack replied with a charming smile that mentally made Eclaire swoon. "I was completely at armistice and it felt invigorating. Makes me want to experience that more often."

"Aww, that's sweet. You're still gonna keep that protective promise, right?"

"Of course. Here's hoping the Monks are here undercover as well. I may be powerful, but that doesn't mean I can handle all of it."

"That is true. Everybody's got a weakness somewhere…" She paused as she wrapped her slender arms around Knack's neck at her best ability in order to look into his regal black eyes. "…and that definitely includes you, baby."

"Glad you agree." The two then shared a small passionate kiss that wasn't too wild, but enough to make it as romantic as possible. After that fifteen second kiss, Eclaire and Knack held hands as they finally took the casual stroll into the fair and hoped for more of a good time than a bad one.

Meanwhile, with Zurick at Targun…

"Ahh, now I see." He said to Daniel via an online video chat. He was also shown a picture of what Knack looked like as a being made of relics prior to his human transformation. Trinity was nowhere to be seen for the moment. "This Knack character really does look like a severe threat to us goblins."

"Shit, man! He was the biggest!" Daniel agreed. "Ever since the Crystal Wars, humans have always had beef with y'all goblins. Marius finally kicked your asses and maintained peace for us until he passed away. Next thing ya know, some cooky doctor excavates enough relics, solves the mystery of 'em, and creates this bastard, Knack… all with his bare hands… just to avenge those humans that you killed."

"And I've been told that Gundahar and Rothari have suffered the same fate as some of those few humans that didn't survive by the hands of Knack."

"Yeah, exactly. Now, it seems like nothing can stop him, especially in his new human form. You haven't seen him as a human yet, but once you do, you'll see what I mean." After that last word, an alert sounded from another computer to the new High Goblin leader's right side and he took a moment to look at it. He showed a regal livid look as he saw the human Knack himself playing a seemingly challenging ring toss game with Eclaire at the Newhaven City Fair with about 20 bystanders watching him with both astonishment and happiness as they cheered him on. "Uh, oh… you see him already, do ya?"

"Unbelievable!" Zurick had to do several double takes of look at the relic version of Knack and current human form of him to make sure this was truly the one and the same threat to the goblins that the two allies had just discussed about. "He sure doesn't look like a potential threat as a human."

"Don't underestimate that look, Z! He killed two more allies of mine after his date with my Eclaire… with his powers that he has in his relic self. He still has 'em!"

"Humph! I find it hard to believe. Where's your sister?"

"Present!" Trinity finally appeared as she was already dressed in a casual outfit that would disguise her true intentions perfectly: a crop top with low rise bootcut jeans and pure white sneakers. "Need me to send out more of your Ancient Weapons, honey?"

"And I want both you and your brother to secretly supervise the situation at your best ability. I want it to look like a chaotic massacre."

"Yes, sir!" Both siblings replied simultaneously, having the sister make a salute.

Back at the fairgrounds…

"You made that look easy!" The Caucasian male fair employee boasted as he handed over an adorable giant stuffed dolphin to Eclaire as a prize for winning the ring toss, thanks to Knack. "It's so good to see ya, Knack! I'll bet the Doctor is extremely proud of his handiwork here."

"Despite him being a bit of a skeptic about it at first, yes." Knack admitted with no worries. This made the young man nod in understanding as the same twenty bystanders in various ages and nationalities followed him and Eclaire towards the Cafeteria Square as he continued the conversation since he knew they were all listening out of curiosity. "He was literally contemplating back and forth on whether or not this human form would be put to good use against the goblins, their Ancient Weapons, and Xander. It wasn't until those potential threats were seemingly gone that he finally decided to do it."

"Why say 'seemingly gone', though?" A genius-sounding young African American woman asked. "We haven't seen any of the goblins or their weapons since you took 'em out a few years back."

"I know, but trust me on this. Since my creation, I have never told a single lie in my life and this streak is still going after what I just said." Hearing this made the following crowd look around each other and murmur with concern as they all finally arrived at the square. "But that doesn't give you the command to panic just yet. I'm here, so you'll be safe. I'll sense them coming at a 100 feet away and that's plenty of distance for you all to escape."

"God bless you, Knack." An elderly Asian man praised with a respectful pat on a massive arm, making the human relic hero smile from ear-to-ear as he looked down at his supporters. Eclaire watched this with all the honor in her soul, even as she struggled to carry the stuffed dolphin every couple of minutes. "We'll all keep our ears open. You two take care of yourselves now." After that was said, that same humble crowd finally left Knack and Eclaire alone to enjoy a tasty lunch after a very peaceful start.

"I hope that didn't take away my attention from you." Knack said professionally as they were at a hamburger and fry stand.

"I didn't mind it one bit, Knack." Eclaire admitted with a beautiful smile that made Knack's life orb pulsate a quick flash of pink for literally three seconds before it faded back to blue again. He didn't blush himself, however. "All this attention your getting is all from these people who praise you for everything you've done for them. Most of them are thankful that their still alive after those dangerous ordeals, too."

"Huh! I'm glad to be of assistance to them." At that last word, Knack got two juicy burgers with a large cup of fries for each of them before they headed for a table to chow down. "Only two people don't really appreciate me at this rate and they've teamed up with Yurick's new generation of all creatures. Since you're within those crosshairs, I'm sure you can help me out."

"Glad you didn't forget about the fact that I'm a black belt martial artist. I'll probably have to handle the goblins, Daniel, and Trinity, though."

"That's the whole idea. Just be glad that we don't have to encounter any Titans."

"Phew! Thank heavens!" It became silent after that last word as the two enjoyed their meal together, keeping smiles of hope on their faces the entire time.

Meanwhile, in a secluded area on the outside of the fairgrounds…

"Are you both in position, like I said?" Zurick asked Daniel and Trinity through their earpieces as they were hiding very well in the adjacent forest.

"That's an affirmative, chief." Daniel replied. "The army of 50 is just about ready to go. With a snap of my sista's fingas, they can commence the attack."

"Excellent. Remember, though: Eclaire must be kept alive since you want her back and all."

"Already got that planned. Alright, Trin." He looked over at his sister with determination. "Let's do this shit."

Back at the fairgrounds…

Knack had just finished drinking his soda when he showed a handsome look of anger and his life orb made that horrifying heartbeat sound that was nearly as loud as thunder as he pulsated red with the beats. Eclaire saw this and never cowered. She too was ready.

"They're here." Knack softly announced to his girlfriend. Eclaire had just finished her meal and soda before she stood up and allowed the human relic hero to warn everyone of the upcoming weapons like he promised. She stood her ground in her fighting stance, ready for anything.

As for Knack, he somehow got the other bystanders to leave briskly, but calmly in terms of emotion rather quickly before the faint sound of machinery approaching was heard from an alternate exit. As he stood there waiting for them, he slowly held out both open palms and his Crystal Blades started to magically form into them before he held on to the handles when it was complete. Seeing this from behind him made Eclaire softly moan with a hint of lust in her heart.

"Holy shit… he really does have all of his powers… and he does mean ALL of them!" She semi-whispered to herself before she approached him by his left side and got into her fighting stance again, shocking her human relic boyfriend by a sideglance. "Don't you look so shocked, Knack. I know I promised to only deal with Daniel and Trinity, but they're nowhere to be seen. Besides, I've crushed a small stack of three concrete blocks with my bare hands during my training ten times as my final exam. So, I've got this with you."

"Glad you changed your mind." Knack replied with a sexy smile, making her blush. "I'm counting 50 robots, so we can evenly split them. Good luck."

"Same to you, Knack." At that last word, those very same deep cobalt blue robots with titanium blades came stampeding from the forest and Knack didn't waste any time rushing towards a literal half of the crowd that started chasing after him while the remaining 25 went straight for Eclaire, who remained valiant regardless of how menacing the robots appeared.

As for Daniel and Trinity…

They were both shocked and flabbergasted to already see the slow, but seemingly fast progress Knack and Eclaire were doing to the Ancient Weapons, especially with the human relic hero putting his legendary powers to excellent use. Within Daniel's perspective, seeing Eclaire put little to no effort into fighting off her half of the massive crowd of dangerous robots brought everything back to him. He never believed that she was capable to protecting herself, but now he finally sees her martial arts skills in action for the very first time and never wanted to remember it again. Unfortunately, that had to happen regardless and he shook his head with disbelief as a sign towards his older sister.

"I know, lil' brotha. I can't believe it, either." Trinity agreed as she saw the massacre like Zurick wanted, but not in his way.

"That punch I nearly took from her before we broke up… it all makes sense now." Daniel admitted. "I thought it was all just a bluff, just so she could threaten me, but this is the real bullshit. I can't stand her! Fine! If she can't have me, then nobody can. Not even Knack! ZURICK!" He screamed into the walkie-talkie with all the fury in his soul, making his sister follow suit by means of a horrifying glare in her brown eyes.

"I'd never thought you'd call after witnessing such a failure so far for the first ten minutes." The young High Goblin leader replied from the other line. "I've already sent out 40 more reinforcements. They won't see them coming. Let's see them handle it now." During that last statement, Daniel showed an evil smile that would probably scare Gundahar if he was still alive to witness it.

Back at the fairgrounds…

The very last of deadly robots were defeated by a single final blow from Eclaire by a strong double fist punch and a slash across the midsection from one of Knack's legendary Crystal Swords. It was quiet afterwards and the two looked at each other with passionate smiles as a celebration… but only for a few short minutes. Knack's life orb pulsated red with the bass deep heartbeat once more and this puzzled him. Same could be said for his girlfriend.

"That can't be happening. We defeated all of the robots." She pointed out matter-of-factly. Knack never erased his frown of concern as he looked towards the very same backway where the previous 50 robots came from with a regal livid look on his rugged handsome face. "No way. It can't be…"

"Zurick's watching us." He professionally quoted as Eclaire got to his left side and got into her fighting stance at the same time he summoned out his pair of swords again. "He sent out reinforcements. How many more is the only mystery for now."

"It may not be just Zurick watching us, Knack. Daniel might be nearby, too. He probably saw how good I am as a martial artist and now… he… he wants me dead. He doesn't want me back anymore." Knack heard the bleak tone in her beautiful voice and looked over at her via a sideglance, still keep a strong look of bravery.

"Which means good news for us. We're no longer fighting to keep Daniel off our backs. We're fighting to the death of both him and his sister. Zurick will be dealt with by my hands later." Hearing that entire reassuring statement made the Asian American smile with 100 percent confidence.

"You're absolutely right. Thank you so much for telling me that, Knack. Let's take him down together." The two made a fist bump as a sign that their relationship has been indeed set in stone and they mentally vowed to protect each other, no matter how difficult it gets. Afterwards, they became completely focused on the stampede of the additional 50 Ancient Weapons and, again, they evenly split the effort at 25 for each of them. With that additional feeling of jauntiness scaled up a thousand fold for the both of them, they fought even more effortlessly and gracefully than before, especially at one point where Knack used his famous stunning boomerang to assist Eclaire as she was busy with two robots before she got to the one that was at a forced standstill and took it down with an elegant cartwheel.

The seemingly deadly battle lasted for the next twenty minutes, having Knack deliver a devastating final blow to the final two this time with his Sunstone Shockwave. It became silent once more and this time, the human relic hero's life orb remained his normal blue and Eclaire sighed with relief as she pulled out a handkerchief from her back pocket to wipe off the excess sweat from her face. Knack, as usual, never showed a single bead of it, but he was just as exhausted as she was. Regardless of the fatigue, they both kept their smiles of victory as they stared at each other for a quick ten seconds before they both slowly approached each other for a passionate kiss that was 10 times deeper than before, even showing a little bit of some steamy tongue action in between smooches. They did this on purpose to not only elevate their love for each other, but to rub salt in the already burning gash of defeat towards Daniel and Trinity, who was forced to watch this with utmost anger.

"Why that son of a…" The ex muttered with a beet red face of indignation. Trinity felt the same way as she too was extremely pissed. "Damn it all! Now, it's getting personal. Your reinforcements failed, Zurick! Now that those two know the truth about our objective, they're even more determined than ever! We can't shake 'em."

"I can clearly see that." Zurick pointed out. "We'll let them go for now. Besides, we have to discuss a new plan to take them down. Retreat immediately before they see you!"

"Yes, sir." Both siblings replied simultaneously as they both hightailed it back home for the remainder of the day, ready for anything Zurick may cook up next for them.

After about 4 more hours of the resumed typical fun at the Fairgrounds, Eclaire and Knack finally decided to call it a day and the human relic hero had just dropped off his girlfriend back to her farm. This time, he got out of the plane first before becoming the true gentleman that he was made to be and carefully carried the still fatigued Eclaire out and carried her and her giant stuffed dolphin within her slender arms to the mansion, starting a conversation along the way.

"Your black belt certification really showed today." Knack started in a regal tone of his deep voice, making Eclaire blush and snuggle her stuffed animal with all the pride in the world. "Not even metal harmed your hands. I'm impressed."

"Thank you, Knack! I'm so glad you feel that way." She replied sweetly. "Same could be said about those totally badass powers you used, despite not having a single relic showing on you. It's so good to see that you still have those powers. How many of those robots did we take down total?"

"Approximately 70. That's plenty of hard work for both of us and spending the rest of the day with you at the fair was the perfect way to celebrate that victory. I'm sure many more will come after us in the near future, but until then, I'm just jocular to be with you right now. My heart feels really flustered." He physically proved that factor right after setting Eclaire down on her feet and felt his chest underneath his life orb, which was now softly pulsating that passion pink. Seeing this made her smile as he continued. "It's vibrating more than usual."

"That just means that you truly love me for all the right reasons and it also means one other thing…" Eclaire paused as she showed her most seductive smile towards the human relic hero for the first time as she gently placed down her giant fluffy dolphin on her porch and gently stroked her soft, slender hands up his rock solid abs, making Knack move his right hand away from his chest as soon hers were about to touch and stopped at his pectorals. That steamy massage made him return a regal seductive smile of his own, even as his both of his massive hands slowly made their way down to her love handles. "…despite that promise we made right after we first met, you're actually ready to really show your love to me, if you know what I mean."

"And you know I never lie." The two shared another extremely sexy kiss that lasted for only thirty seconds. "But, I don't want to hurt you."

"Aww, you're worried about whether I'm a virgin or not. I never told you about that, did I?" Knack shook his head with his regal glare of concern within his black eyes. "Well, you don't have to worry. I may have broken up with Daniel, but that doesn't mean that I never slept with him. We've had sex several times before the split. He barely put any effort into it, though. They always felt like quickies that were a total waste of my time. I just have a good feeling that this time… with you… it will be the exact opposite, even though you're the virgin."

"Hm! You made an excellent point there. Mm!" Knack then felt it within his pants and immediately sent a hand down towards his crotch in an attempt to alleviate it, but to no avail. The sensation got stronger upon the touch instead. "Whoa… please tell me that was you."

"Again, that's all you, Knack. Your life orb is as pink as a rose, your heart is fluttering like butterflies, and your dick just got harder than a rock. You're ready for me."

"This feels… spectacular! I'd love to see what more I can be capable of in this human form. I've never made love before."

"Well, then you're in for a treat." The two finally released each other, having Knack release himself, before Eclaire picked up her stuffed dolphin and pulled out her keys. "I promise to be gentle until you're used to the feeling. Okay?"

"Gotcha. I love you, Eclaire." One more kiss on the cheek from the human relic hero after he says this and she kept her focus on the door with her sweet smile.

"I love you more, Knack." After that was said, she finally opened the door and the two were ready to physically make it official for the first time.

It'll definitely rub it deeper into Daniel's evil ego afterwards.

To be continued…