14: Flames of the Apocalypse -- Jack and Kenshin Finally Battle Rygar!
Kenshin was silent the whole time the boat gently rocked ashore. The storm had passed overhead, but the storm in his mind had not yet quelled. He just knelt there, his sword cradled in his arms, as he stared at the boat and the sea, thinking. Jack kept the ship on course, but couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside the mind of his friend. If it was about the grisly death of that last killer, then he didn't really have a cause to worry. Kenshin merely gave him a forceful push; he had slipped and fallen into the water himself. The odds of a group of sharks being in that very vicinity wasn't very high, so he really had nothing to blame except mother nature.
But Kenshin knew better. It was a cruel life he was leading--was still leading, even three years after the bloodbath of the revolution. Those three battles had squeezed the innocence right out of his cheery smile, forcing him once again to believe in Kill or Be Killed. It was a merciless business. True, that assassin would've followed them to the ends of the earth, just as he promised, and if the sharks hadn't gotten to him, he would've just resurfaced and started all over again. In a sense, Kenshin had been very helpless during that last encounter. The only thing he could've done was either kill or leave everything in the hands of nature. He accidentally chose the latter, and only because circumstances led into it.
That was little comfort to him. Having the knowledge that a third battle was in store didn't exactly lift his spirits, either. According to eyewitness testimony made by himself and Jack, this last fight would be the worst out of them all.
The boat finally landed on a shore, and both warriors kept it secure. They wandered into the new land wondering what sort of fate was in store for them next, and discovered a fairly large, dusky village splayed out in front of them like a dinner table. The food, as it were, had gone sour by some awful means, for the town was empty and looked like it had been that way for years. The ground was burnt and the buildings were collapsing, and the only movement they saw was when the wind willed it so. It was a ghostly town, so Jack and Kenshin decided to turn back.
But a nagging, creeping feeling kept them there. As they were turning, they noticed a very large pagoda standing proudly at the town's border. Unlike the rest of the village, the pagoda had been spared the wrath of fire and decay, and looked to be as bright and new as the day it had been built. Jack was always the curious type, and since his wonder far outweighed Kenshin's, he rubbed his chin and walked towards it. Kenshin followed, and remained wary of their final pursuer. The pagoda doors were open.
No amount of preparing or meditation could truly prepare them for what they were about to face. They stared in surprise as they noticed their final foe had not only followed them there but had beaten them as well. He was crouching on the floor, his sword held in a relaxed position, his flowing green mantle covering all of his bulky body like a blanket. He was staring at the wooden ground, absorbed in another world that was hidden in the cracks, but he knew when he had company.
"What… are you doing here?" whispered Kenshin.
"This was the closest place that had a port," answered Rygar. "I noticed that boat leaving with Drakemoth on it, so I just looked for the next one over. I came across this town and this unadulterated pagoda, and figured that you would come here. Now that we're all here, I suppose it's finally time to stop procrastinating and running. I warned you two that when we met next, we'd be enemies. Fumus and Melville are obviously dead; there's no other explanation for you surviving this long." Gingerly, Rygar rose up with a small grunt and shouldered his massive sword.
"A pity it had to end this way, but this is the only path left for me. For the first time since leaving my Master, I am fighting for a good cause. I do not think that vengeance will solve any problems in the long run, but many people still grieve over what the Revolution did to their lives. I myself have caused enough sadness in my life; far be it from me to turn around and run when I can prevent more. This is my retribution, Kenshin Himura--and yours, too. We will both atone for the sin of murder and destruction in this single, final battle. The one in white doesn't need to be concerned with this."
"That time has already passed," stated Jack, standing next to Kenshin like a true friend. "This man is my friend and companion. I have no right to judge over what he did or why he did it, but he is doing his best to absolve his ways. If you insist on battling this man for some unjust cause, then you will have me to contend with, whether or not I need to be concerned." Rygar frowned and grunted, hissing out a sight.
"You're a true friend. There are too few people left in the world that would face such a danger when they need not to. Very well. I'll honor your request and send you to your demise alongside your companion. Let me just say that before you get into this struggle, you must realize that you will have no way of getting out. No amount of training or discipline can possibly prepare you for what you're about to face. You had a better chance of surviving in the Revolution, Himura."
"We shall see," he said darkly, taking hold of his blade as he prepared to face his very last obstacle. Rygar tossed his green mantle aside so that it wouldn't get caught, and aimed his large blade at both warriors.
"Do you have any last words?"
"Only that you are shaming yourself by this act of cowardice," stated Himura. "You said yourself that you tried to resolve your barbaric past by finding inner peace, and you even believed that you found cleansing at the hands of your Master. If you enter into this battle now, you will make all of his teachings worthless--and that young girl will have died in vain."
"Do not mention those people to me!" he snarled angrily. "I fight to remove every last trace of the animal I was--to honor the dead whom I have dishonored, and to kill the monsters of the world like you and me, who would slay helpless children at a single whim! The world doesn't need killers, Kenshin Himura. That is why I must fight you, and whether I die or you die, one less killer will be in the world. We shall just have to see which killer that is, then!"
"I still don't understand," replied Kenshin firmly. "You do not need to kill ever again, nor do I."
"I am sorry," whispered Rygar sadly, "but this is the only path I know. Now either fight me or die; you have no other choice!" Rygar roared out ferociously and charged at Kenshin like a raging bull, but Himura quickly leaped up and over the attack. Rygar swung his immense sword, crashing it into the ground where it dug a great crater in the wooden floor. Splinters flew out and scattered across the floor. Rygar yanked his blade out and watched as Kenshin descended.
"Even with your strength and size, a sword like that must be difficult to wield," he said. Rygar grinned once again and even chuckled.
"You'd like to think that… but that was only a test swing. Now the true fight begins." Suddenly, his hand snapped out like a snake and crashed against Jack, who had been standing there watching curiously the whole time. The white-robed samurai flew all the way across the room, crashing into the wall with a force powerful enough to make the whole building shudder.
Kenshin didn't even have time to blink before Rygar flew back out at him, as fast and furious as a wildfire. He barely managed to leap backwards as the mighty blade scoured the air and split the ground apart. Rygar was running again in no time, the furious weight of his blade meaning nothing at all as he charged. He swung it like a child would swing a twig, blindingly quick and with the battle-cry of a demon backing its every flight. Kenshin was once renowned for his speed, but never in his life had he faced something so positively relentless!
He attempted to leap high into the air to avoid the razor's kiss, but Rygar's hand was uncontrollably quick and snatched him by the sandals. The large man yanked Kenshin out of the air and sent him screaming towards the ground, where he smashed the noble samurai into the wood. Rygar shouted out furiously and slapped his powerful palm on Kenshin's exposed backside, forcing a horrible crunch and a shout to come up from the man's soul. Himura nearly blacked out from the staggering blows--he felt like a whole house had been smashed into him, twice!
Luckily by that time, Jack was on his feet and coming after the large man. Rygar demonstrated a terrible, chilling side to him as he stood up to his full two-meter height and watched as the samurai came after him. Jack screamed and jumped high into the air, but at the very last second, he was swatted away by Rygar again. He flew into another wall, nearly breaking the material apart, yet somehow managed to limp away and come after the big man again. He decided not to attack from the air.
It made no difference to Rygar. The great red destroyer shot his leg out and kicked Jack right in the chest as soon as he was in range. The blow knocked the guts and stuffing out of the samurai; he grimaced in shock as he crumbled to the floor in pain. Suddenly, Rygar wheeled around and crashed his hand right into Kenshin's side, just as the red-robed samurai was jumping back up from his pit. Kenshin tumbled to the floor and remained still, weary and beaten from devastating injuries. There was still feeling in his body, because he could feel the ground shake in fear as Rygar lumbered towards him.
Kenshin Himura, the dreaded manslayer, the hero of the bloody Meiji Revolution and one of the greatest (if not the greatest) swordsmen in all of Japan, the great Battousai himself… Kenshin Himura discovered that he was too weak to even stand. He had came into the very last battle with the notion of winning, and even though he realized (to some degree) how powerful his foe was, he never imagined the battle would be so fierce. Both he and Jack were torn up, and yet Rygar was untouched. He wasn't even breathing very hard.
Rygar picked Kenshin up by his kimono once he got close enough. He dragged Kenshin's face towards his own and stared at him with flaming green eyes.
"I warned you, manslayer," he growled quietly. "I warned you that you didn't know what you were getting yourself into. I told you that you and I were alike--we were both killers, Kenshin, killers of men and cities and villages. And yet I enjoyed the life and you hated it. I found absolution and you found peace. Our masters taught us well, but unlike you, I was a force of devastation long before any mentor took me under their wing. Remember this, Battousai: I had an entire country, and now an entire world, in fear of my name. When somebody mentions Battousai or Himura in a foreign country, nobody runs in terror--and yet when they mention Rygar the Red, the towns become empty just like this one. I warned you, Kenshin, but now it's too late."
With a shout, Rygar threw Kenshin aside, straight into the charging Jack, the Jack who would've ended the battle if he had been allowed to attack from behind. But no, Kenshin and Jack were thrown together into the floor, where they tumbled and came to an agonizing stop, their bodies beaten. Kenshin looked like he had been spent, so it was up to Jack to stand up. Silently, the noble white-robed samurai faced the impossible mountain before him.
It is impossible.
No. It is NOT impossible.
Mt. Fatoomb… Aku… a way back home… and now this man…
It is not impossible. It CAN be done. Even if I must fight to the very last drop of my blood, it WILL be done.
"No!" he shouted. "You are not impossible to defeat! As a man who has conquered devils and demons before in the past, so too shall I conquer you! You are nothing more to me than a mountain which must be conquered--and I have faced mountains far deadlier than you! Let us fight!" With the words of self-motivation behind him, Jack ran after Rygar and started swinging his sword long before the older warrior could fight back. Rygar gritted his teeth and held his immense blade out as a shield, but it could not hold off Jack's holy rage for long.
As the samurai fought his greatest foe yet, he began to realize that Rygar had one fatal weakness. As quick and powerful as he was, the weapon he used to fight was far too large and heavy to use in close quarters. It was devastating if he wanted a longer range, but in the tightness of Jack's attack, it could only move around clumsily, like a drunken pendulum of a clock, while Jack's smaller sword weaved around flawlessly. In the end, as his Shao Lin master sometimes said, the mosquito could conquer the lion.
And so, with this weakness in mind, Jack blasted after Rygar with everything he had and a few things he never knew he had within him. It was rare of him to be forced so far--rarer still for him to keep his full strength and speed up in such a crisis--and so it was even more amazing to realize what his body had to offer when he thought he had spent it all. His sword was more like a tornado than a flying weapon; Rygar could only shield himself and growl back in amazement.
At long last, Jack got in a hit and sliced at the mighty man's arm, earning a hiss, like escaped steam. He did not pause to revel in his victory, for he knew this foe would take advantage of every second offered, but continued to drive on, mercilessly attacking with wild abandonment. Even if his heart were to explode and his bones shatter, Samurai Jack would never give up until he proved that even the most impossible warriors were mortal.
Rygar snapped out suddenly and punched Jack square in the face, but as soon as one samurai was forced away, the other came in and took over. Kenshin had recovered a little and watched as his friend bravely fought the holocaust, and noticed as well that the giant did indeed have a weak spot. He jumped in the moment an opportunity arose, swinging his reverse blade sword with as much ferocity as Jack had. Rygar was very strong and sturdy, but there was no possible way he could keep up with two maniacal samurai, one right after the other.
He was able to swat Kenshin away after receiving a great welt on his other arm, but Jack came in and resumed his attack once a space was open. Rygar began to perspire and wheeze as he was being suffocated by the warriors, and soon even his blade began to tremble under their combined weight. He barely shoved Jack away in an effort to regain some steam, but soon both samurai were after him, their swords working in perfect unison. Putting every last shred of their strength and will into their attack, they soared out and shattered Rygar's greatsword into pieces.
The sheer force of their blow sent them recoiling backwards, with scattered pieces of steel shooting out with them. Rygar snarled angrily as his weapon was stolen from him, and glared at the samurai as he looked into the leery face of defeat. He never recalled being defeated in a battle before (his master didn't count), so the feeling of loss was new and bitter to him. He swallowed it down as one would swallow a rock and stood firm under their heavy gaze.
"It doesn't matter," he grumbled. "One way or another, you'll be sent to your grave." The large, flaming man screamed after the samurai as he bounded across the pagoda, hurling his arms at them at a blood-stopping speed. Kenshin and Jack were barely able to scramble out of the way as his arm came in contact with one of the beams that kept the pagoda up. It smashed like wet paper and Rygar turned around to attack again.
He swung after Jack first, letting his fists soar in the air as he screamed and cursed. Unfortunately for Jack, those hands were much faster than the blade he had helped smash, and were nowhere near as clumsy or awkward. He could only weave and dance out of the way for so long, until one blow finally grazed up beside him and another sent him to the floor. Rygar quickly plucked the samurai off the ground and tossed him across the pagoda, straight into another beam which smashed apart as he crashed into it.
Kenshin suddenly jumped out from behind and latched himself onto Rygar's neck. He swerved his reverse blade around and pressed the flat part against Rygar's throat, hoping to suffocate him into unconsciousness. Rygar struggled against Kenshin for a few seconds before he began to run backwards, right into the wall. He crushed poor Kenshin and part of the wall as well, and kept smashing the Battousai until he loosened his grip. Then Rygar plucked his foe up and threw him into one of the beams. It shattered.
"Stop this now!" shouted Jack as he ran out and kicked Rygar's arm. The giant swung out and sent him flooring, and then for no reason at all, turned around and broke another one of the beams. The ceiling of the pagoda began to groan and creak as it lost its supports one by one, and as dust and debris began to fall from the sky, the samurai realized what Rygar was doing.
"You are mad!" he whispered gravely. "You intend to bring this entire building down on us all!"
"That's exactly right," answered Rygar quietly. "I should have done it in the first place. This way, all three of us will die."
"But that's insane!" shouted Kenshin as he tackled Rygar again. The great red conflagration scowled and hoisted both warriors up by their kimonos, staring at them both with eyes of cruel emerald.
"It's perfectly reasonable!" he shouted. "If this place falls, then there will be two less killers in the world! We will both go together, Kenshin Himura, you and I! The two Great Red Battousais of the world shall fall together, as they were meant to! And you," he said, leering at Jack, "will receive a hero's death! Just imagine, falling in battle as you struggle with mortality and the Red Rygar! It's a death many would gladly have, friend! It's better this way!"
Kenshin and Jack were struggling just to breathe, so tight was his grip. Shockwaves of terrible pain washed over their bodies like a sea of flame as Rygar continued to smash them into more pillars. Little by little, the entire place gave way, until it looked as if it really would collapse on them all. Yet the two warriors had not endured demons and revolutions all their lives just to be defeated so easily. Using the last traces of their strength and will, they hoisted themselves up from Rygar's grip and used their swords to cut their kimonos loose.
Rygar wasn't going to let them go so easily, but each warrior swung at him the very moment they were on the ground. Two scars licked across his body, cutting cloth and flesh as it gave freedom and pain. Rygar bowled over, clutching his sides angrily as Kenshin and Jack raced to escape. The giant was stubborn, though, and charged towards the support beam in hopes of bringing the place down in a hurry. He flew straight into it like a missile, and fell to the ground as the pagoda crashed down from above.
"JUMP!!!" Kenshin and Jack smashed right through the paper walls of the pagoda, a deluge of smoke and debris following them as they broke through. The two warriors rolled on the ground and came to a weary stop just two seconds before the pagoda became completely destroyed. They were left to kneel on the ground wearily, and watched as the rubble settled and the dust cleared.
No movement came from the remains. They both let out sighs of relief.
At last, it was all over.
To be concluded…