Here Comes a New Challenger!
Author's Notes: First of all, the art page has been updated with concept artwork by Noctorro. Thanks for the picture, Josh! Also, a winquotes page has been attached to the team roster. Next, Akuma's movelist has been added to the website under the Single Entries category. Finally, a new soundtrack has been enabled. No Fate is Sealed is the battle theme between Akuma and McGrath, and it is one of the most intense soundtracks you'll ever listen to. It conveys the fury and sets the atmosphere of this combat, where two titans collide in an ultimate test of skill, strength, and spirit, with only the victor able to keep his soul. Try reading the story with this soundtrack blasting in your ears, I guarantee you'll love it.
Somewhere in the Atlantic
About the same time
It was like an instant of eternity as everything fell away: the ship, the golden curtains, the sway of the seas, the sharp salt tang, the ominous thunderclouds. For Akuma and for McGrath, suddenly, there was only the here and the now. One's opponent filled one's vision, looming large in one's consciousness. There was no ship, no preset battle, no thoughts for the anxious spectators. There was only the here, the now, the foe who must be fought and overcome. And Dr. Ernest McGrath, who had faced countless opponents in the course of his lifetime, once more prepared himself for battle without a word.
Akuma faced McGrath, sinking low into his own fighting stance, and pleased that McGrath had already done so earlier. All around them the unearthly golden light hung like a shimmering curtain that stretched to the sky, completely enveloping the two warriors and keeping them separate from everyone else. The pirate ship creaked ominously but it might as well have been solid ground, so firmly was it anchored. And while the sidelines were in chaos - distant-sounding shouts informed McGrath that all cameras and long-distance communications were out - heavy stillness reigned over the area enclosed by the gold veil. For a long, pregnant instant neither of the two fighters moved, only gazing into each other's eyes in that expectant pause. So this is what Ernest chose to become. He never was a true warrior, yet his strength cannot be denied. And that, perhaps, is because he fights for what he believes in ... and I resemble him more than I would like to admit.
Gouki ... Akuma ... the name makes no difference to me, McGrath thought. The brash, bright-eyed boy has grown to be an intense presence, regarding his career with the utmost seriousness. Yet still his eyes shine with the passion that always marked him as a true warrior. Old friend, would that you had not chosen to appear now. But my friends and my family are present and I would defy Heaven itself to ensure their well-being. And Akuma knew it, too. He was clever, in a way, forcing McGrath into a situation where he knew that his opponent would fight with all his strength. None of the half-playful sparring that they did when they trained under Goutetsu together.
They moved. One moment there was a good five meters between them; the next instant it had vanished completely and each was testing the other's defenses with a flurry of light blows. They traded half a hundred attacks before disengaging, neither one the worse for the encounter. Then McGrath glanced to the side, the quarterdeck where he'd shoved Blake earlier. But there was no time to see if his fellow soldier were unhurt; Akuma circled in for another attack and McGrath forced his mind back to the battle, meeting blow for blow. Samantha ...
Samantha McGrath, for her part, was completely distraught. "Ernest!" she shrieked.
"Stay out of this!" he called back, ducking under an overhead swipe. McGrath retaliated with a firm uppercut, but while anyone else might have been overwhelmed by his speed, Akuma parried the blow and responded with two of his own. McGrath managed to block both of them, Soul Reversing away the worst of the impact. Against a lesser opponent, the double attack would have served to knock him off balance. But this was a battle of the masters and the least mistake would mean a swift and certain death.
Samantha tried to dash through the shimmering gold veil, but it might as well have been concrete. It was completely unyielding and she bruised herself in the attempt. Lloyd, for his part, flung a pair of knives. Blake tried for the Mayhem Rampage, launching attacks that would have knocked holes into inch-thick steel barriers. Lloyd's eyes narrowed and he took off his chronometer, set it, and then flung it against the gold barrier. The chronometer detonated with an earsplitting blast and released a recoil that knocked back all three Phantoms. The golden barrier, for its part, did not cooperate.
Panting heavily, Samantha raced up the quarterdeck to the one person who might be able to do something. "Regina!" she begged, "please, you must assist Ernest! There must be something you can do!"
"I'll try," Regina answered grimly, her eyes narrowed as she considered the sealed area where McGrath and Akuma fought. Akuma jumped back, avoiding a powerful back kick aimed at his torso. He struck McGrath's knee as it went past, but what was meant to be a bone shattering blow was dissipated harmlessly as McGrath snapped his lower leg back and so negated the force of the attack. Akuma's hands cupped and they glowed, but only for an instant. He launched a powerful fireball off his hands and McGrath was dismayed but not surprised to see that it held all the power of a lesser opponent's super level techniques.
But if Akuma was a master of channeling energies, so was McGrath. Five years of training to fight Dadallent had taught him a wealth of knowledge about energy-based attacks. The Gou Hadou streamed towards him like a blazing star, but McGrath struck it with his fist and its energies bled away instantly. There was no time to celebrate, however; Akuma drove in with a vicious forward strike and McGrath parried it. As he did so, he retaliated with a swift pivoting elbow strike, while Akuma moved at the same time with a kick from the side. There was a sickening crunch as McGrath's elbow crashed into Akuma's upper arm while the dark Ansatsuken fighter's own attack found McGrath's exposed waist. The force of the attack flung both fighters back, but only for a moment before they resumed their deadly dance, so quickly that the bystanders could not discern every individual movements. Not that the movements mattered; first blood had been drawn, for both warriors had struck and struck well.
Regina pressed her palms together and concentrated as her aura awakened: a powerful, all-enveloping sensation that made Samantha giddy, easily dwarfing the spirits of the two men who fought just a dozen meters away. She concentrated, and her face was as grim as the thunderclouds that boomed ominously overhead. Even those who were untrained in energy usage must have felt Regina's sheer power wrapping around them like a thick fog that was almost tangible. Regina's palms glowed and she extended both arms, aiming her attack at the golden barrier. If they could only get it down, the fight would be over. The goddess wore an intense look of concentration on her beautiful face and Samantha could only contrast that with the gentle ease with which she had previously used her power. Then it had been a few trivial exercises in power usage. This was for real.
Regina's palms erupted in a powerful stream of energy that nearly blinded Samantha's spiritual senses and, for a moment, overwhelmed both McGrath and Akuma. The attack struck the gold veil head-on with an energy that would have obliterated the Earth in a split second had Regina wished it. But the gold veil remained as solid and immovable as it always had been, as though Regina's effort made no impression at all upon it, and the goddess finally let go with a gasp. She sank to her knees, breathing hard from the effort, and Gill had to support her. "I-I can't," Regina rasped. "The barrier is far too strong for my power ... I didn't affect it at all ..."
"Regina ..." Samantha whispered, indescribable anguish in her eyes at being so close and yet so helpless.
"I'm so sorry, Samantha," Regina whispered. "If my powers weren't confined ... by a human body ... I could tear this veil down in an instant ... as it is ... I can't help him at all ..." But still she was gasping for breath and Samantha realized that the sheer power of the attack must have been almost more than her frail mortal flesh could handle. Samantha also knelt and held Regina's hand, staring helplessly at the place where McGrath and Akuma fought. Farther back, Blake was yelling threats and challenging Akuma to fight them all instead.
"That barrier is completely impenetrable," Chan reported as she whisked out of the surrounding air. "It won't let in even the smallest air molecule. Hiryu can't get inside, either. I'm sorry, Samantha."
"There must be a way," Samantha insisted as McGrath blocked a heavy blow aimed at his jaw.
"I tried going under the deck, too," Chan answered, "but the barrier goes all the way through the ship and to the bottom of the sea, it looks like. And if we move the ship, the barrier is going to move right along with it."
Meanwhile, Akuma hopped off the deck and triangle jumped off the main mast, gaining extra height. He flung one arm out and launched a fireball, but a moment later was sailing backwards as McGrath retaliated with the Half-Moon Kick. Unfortunately, the attack came at a cost; the fireball struck cleanly on an exposed arm and instantly the arm numbed. Akuma crashed heavily against the unyielding golden curtain, but he rolled aside and was on his feet a moment later; none too soon, as it turned out, for he had avoided McGrath's Mayhem Rampage by a bare half meter.
McGrath quickly wiped the sweat off his brow as Akuma tried to exploit the momentary advantage left by the whiffed Mayhem Rampage. He tried to pull Akuma into an elbow strike, but the Ansatsuken master was too cunning for that and McGrath considered the situation grimly. I know your moves, Akuma, and your style. But you're too experienced to try anything fancy, at least not before wearing me down to the breaking point. Try to hit me with the Shun Goku Satsu and I'll cram a Mayhem Rampage down your throat. You may have inhuman endurance, but even you wouldn't be able to withstand that. You're no Dadallent, you don't have his invulnerabilities. Although, strictly speaking, neither did McGrath. He'd have to fight cautiously until his friends could figure out a way to help him; one mistake, and it would be over.
McGrath saw an opening and struck, but without lunging forward the way a lesser warrior would surely have done. His vigilance paid off a moment later as Akuma blurred out and slid away; only a very short distance, though, just half a meter. This caused McGrath's attack to miss entirely but at least his balance hadn't been compromised. When Akuma lashed out with a knee strike, McGrath simultaneously responded with a high kick. Akuma caught the attack on crossed wristguards while his knee strike connected with McGrath's ribs; however, McGrath had anticipated the contact and safely Soul Reversed away the force of the attack.
A moment later he'd planted his kicking foot down firmly and brought both his arms around in one fluid motion, pressing his palms together. Then he struck, hard; still off balance from the knee attack and unable to use his arms to defend himself, Akuma nevertheless managed to jump back from the offensive maneuver. But the attack was too fast and caught him squarely in the chest, knocking Akuma back half a dozen meters and as such inconveniently out of reach for any follow-up attacks. Still, the Hell Press was the first real blow that either of the two had landed yet. As Akuma regained his feet, the first drops of rain began to fall lightly on the deck. The day had grown dark but flashes of lightning illuminated the entire battlefield in a surreal shade of white.
Outside the battle, Regina stood up with a determined look on her face and concentrated again, blasting at the barrier with all the power at her command. This attack lasted longer than her first attempt but again failed to affect the golden barrier and Regina collapsed to her knees. "My lady, you must not overexert yourself!" Gill said urgently, and Samantha looked as though her heart were torn between McGrath's battle and Regina's obvious suffering.
"No, I must ... I must reach him," Regina gasped out. "I promised that I would keep him safe ... with all my strength ... but even the ultimate circle of focus would be useless without more power ..." She paused, catching her breath, and then looked upwards into the rain that was now descending with greater intensity. "Dear sister," she whispered, "why are you doing this?"
"Do you mean to say that Marin -" Samantha began heatedly.
"I don't know!" Regina cried in anguish. "No one except a powerful god or goddess could maintain such a shield. But if it is Marin ... if it really is ... oh, to believe that my sister could do this would be an unbearable thought! And she isn't answering me! I ... I can't do anything -!" Regina sobbed into Gill's shoulder and Samantha could only stare hard at the goddess who was now as powerless as herself.
Wiping rain out of his eyes, Akuma concentrated on the battle. It was getting hard to see McGrath visually amongst the downpour and the lightning all around them was too sporadic to remedy that. But McGrath shone invisibly in the spirit world and Akuma himself could thus track him with eyes closed. He was still feeling the effects of the Hell Press, which had probably broken a rib or at the very least ruptured a number of blood vessels. McGrath slid forward with a jab; Akuma blocked it, expecting it to be a feint, and indeed it was. McGrath followed the attack with a lightning-fast elbow strike that Akuma ducked. He clenched his fist and rose up in the classic Ansatsuken uppercut, meeting McGrath's attack halfway. Their forces collided, but only for an instant before Akuma won out and the last hit of his uppercut clipped McGrath's chin.
Even though he'd avoided the worst of the attack, McGrath still smarted. Akuma launched a point-blank range fireball as McGrath reeled for a moment and the doctor had only the barest amount of time to knock it away into nothingness with a strike of his own. When Akuma jumped up and launched a fireball from the air, McGrath was ready; he skipped to the side, dodging the attack entirely, and the fireball blasted away a portion of the deck with a violent explosion. McGrath launched a Half-Moon Kick up at Akuma and the dark Ansatsuken master air-blocked it. The recoil pushed him back into the golden walls, but he rolled aside and slid harmlessly off of them.
"Damn it, isn't there anything we can do?" Blake demanded, striking a bulkhead in frustration.
"There may be a way," Regina said heavily, "but it would cost my mortal life. If I weren't confined by a human body, I could break the seal." Blake and Gill stared at her; they all did. "If you want me to, I can take my own life. Then I could break the barrier down, but ... I wouldn't be able to create a new body in time to see the rest of the tournament. Your choice," Regina offered, and she nodded at Samantha.
Heartbroken, Samantha only looked back and forth between the arena where her husband fought and at the goddess. Finally, she shook her head very slowly. "No ... thank you, Regina, but ... no. If worst ... comes to worst, then you can still resurrect him, can you not?" A lightning bolt struck very close to the ship and lit up the battle; Akuma had just sent McGrath flying with a circle throw, but McGrath skillfully executed a tech escape and landed safely on the deck.
Regina hesitated before replying. "I could, yes, but ... Samantha, resurrection is no light matter. Still ..." She tilted her head and looked upwards into the cloud-covered sky. She must have seen something, or else heard something inaudible, for after a long and pregnant pause she looked down and nodded. "Very well. If he falls, I will bring him back. His time to pass into the afterlife has not come yet."
"Thank you ... thank you," Samantha whispered, clasping Regina's hand.
McGrath grunted as he pursued Akuma, tracking his dangerous opponent through the torrential rain. He dodged a low-level sweep and jumped into the air, lightning opportunely illuminating the battlefield at that instant. McGrath descended like a falling meteor heelfirst, intending to drive the attack right into Akuma's exposed chest. But Akuma blurred away and the attack hit the deck instead, knocking a hole cleanly through the three-inch wooden boards. McGrath extricated himself just as Akuma's hands cupped together and he launched a blazing fireball. He might have stopped it in midair, but that took some spiritual power, and the more that he could conserve the better his chances were. McGrath rolled out of the way, the rain disorienting him for a moment. Farther back, the powerful fireball hit the golden barrier and washed away harmlessly.
McGrath regained his footing. Akuma circled in, too experienced to go for a straight rushdown. When he struck, it was with the swiftness of a lightning bolt and the ferocity of a tiger; McGrath could feel Akuma's malevolent aura beating against him almost like a physical wave. Almost more quickly than the eye could follow, McGrath blocked the attack and simultaneously countered with a vicious kick. This move Akuma dodged by spinning around and McGrath recovered just in time to block a retaliatory strike that came within an inch of crushing his shoulders. As it was, the attack staggered him. Akuma drove in for a second strike from above. McGrath deflected the attack harmlessly to the side, then seized his opportunity to step back and punch forward. Akuma blocked and countered, blurring out -
No, he didn't! That was no blur, he'd disappeared entirely! For a moment, McGrath's eyes sought frantically before locating Akuma's aura ... above him! Akuma dove down with a lightning swift and merciless chop, striking McGrath heavily between the shoulder blades. At the last moment, the doctor Soul Reversed away the worst of the attack but he staggered nonetheless, dropping to his knees and taking the opportunity to roll away along the slippery deck. It was hard to see anything in the heavy rain, but McGrath knew exactly what had happened. I've never seen him use that technique before. He must have developed it later ... borrowed from Dadallent, possibly? It does bear an uncanny resemblance to the Ninja Twirl ... A dull throbbing pain was spreading along his back and McGrath became grimly aware that he must be suffering internal damage.
"Hang in there, doctor ..." Captain Commando murmured under his breath.
"I can't bear to watch this!" Chan cried above the raging winds, burying her head in Hiryu's shoulder. He reached down and gently stroked her hair, but his eyes were fixed firmly on the battle in front of him.
"C'mon, doctor!" Blake Wallis shouted, jumping wildly around the gold wall like an overenergetic cheerleader. "Kick his sorry ass!" Samantha's eyes concentrated hard on the battle, while Lloyd paced back and forth worried on the quarterdeck of the ship. Regina clung to Gill's arm and wore a look of concern, plainly fearing for McGrath's safety. Gill and Jedah, for their part, remained impassive; as they did not look around, it was easy to tell that both of them were also concerned.
McGrath stood up, assessing his opponent once more. This time there was a small smile on his face, and he was pleased to see that Akuma was also smiling - not a leer, or a taunting grin, but a genuine smile. Now I understand, Akuma ... what you mean when you talked about the thrill, the excitement, the passion of the fight. This ... this is the intangible but very real anticipation at the thought of facing a worthy opponent. Now I understand. To choose the way of the true warrior is to truly live every moment of your life. And the air that we breathe is sweeter because we are mortal and must one day die, losing everything. So you are alive. McGrath wondered if he, too, would have chosen to walk the warrior's path if he had known this earlier.
But there was only the here and now. Akuma ate up the distance with a blazingly fast Hurricane Kick. McGrath dodged behind a mast; Akuma's foot struck the wood hard and cracked it, but the attack did not go through. McGrath slid forward with a punch, which Akuma blocked as he came down. They settled into a grim dance, punch, kick, parry, block, riposte attack ... both of them masters of battle, and the dance was eerily beautiful. Though the rain kept the battlefield dark, now lightning was flashing almost constantly. McGrath and Akuma were both soaked to the bone. A terrible gale battered the ship and made the footing unsteady at best. The boom of thunder prevented anyone from hearing the blows being exchanged.
Akuma forced himself to breathe evenly. Breathing was the foundation of one's ability to fight, and someone who couldn't breathe properly was already lost. McGrath nearly swiped out one of his eyes, Akuma only dodging away at the last possible moment; the attack brushed against his cheek. Akuma also struck, a deep vicious attack on McGrath's solar plexus. McGrath blocked and backed away; seeing a chance, Akuma took a running start into two steps and soared into a flying kick, heedless of the rain washing around him. McGrath rolled to the side; Akuma's heel crashed into the main mast and with a terrific crack that was heard even above the storm, the mast broke into two. The enormous upper beam swayed ponderously and was caught by the wind almost immediately, heaving as it tilted. But that could wait. McGrath launched another assault on Akuma and again the two of them were moving with impossible speed as they traded blows.
The huge mast toppled against the golden curtain; since the curtain would not give way, the mast did instead and cracked about halfway down its already severed length. Then both pieces dropped heavily into the main deck, McGrath and Akuma only jumping back at the last moment to avoid them. One piece jammed itself between the shattered stump and the golden veil; the other rolled with the treacherous sea, cloth flapping along its length. The heaving deck made fighting a difficult proposition at best; Akuma contented himself with launching a fireball and then phasing behind it, coming out of his movement right as McGrath neutralized the fireball. The deck suddenly tilted back and McGrath mentally berated the unlucky move; when Akuma struck with a forceful blow, McGrath lacked the leverage necessary to block it. He instead hopped back, but now he was in a bad position, essentially forced to fight an uphill battle.
McGrath traded space for distance, allowing Akuma to gradually press him backwards under a withering barrage of attacks but keeping his opponent at arm's distance. After one particularly nasty encounter, McGrath had scored a solid Hell Press on his opponent at the cost of two heavy punches into his chest. Akuma was down on his knees from the sheer shock of the blow, but he forced himself up in time to meet McGrath's attack. The first punch nearly went wide as the deck heaved, almost throwing McGrath atop Akuma; McGrath aborted the attack and instead somersaulted through the air, landing behind Akuma and delivering a glance knee strike before his opponent could avoid it entirely.
"They're starting to flag," Commando observed. "Let's hope that Akuma has less stamina."
"Don't let that little ..." and Blake unleashed a torrent of abuse and obloquy, shouting unprintable descriptions of Akuma's ancestry, appearance, future prospects, and sexual preferences. "You can do it, doctor! Beat the crap out of him!" He kicked the shimmering gold barrier violently; despite the pain that shot through his leg, Blake continued his spiel unabated.
"We have to get help. Call the IDC soldiers, at the very least." Commando concentrated; when nothing happened after a long pause, he pursed his lips in frustration. "Teleportation is down. This whole setup reeks of a trap by Marin." On the sides, the camera crews apparently still had no luck trying to restore their equipment. Lloyd stalked around on the quarterdeck like a caged panther.
As they watched, the treacherous deck abruptly shifted, nearly throwing everyone into the sea. McGrath, in the middle of a strike, lost his balance and Akuma was upon him in a flash. The Ansatsuken warrior laid into the doctor with a series of powerful attacks, not of all of which McGrath managed to block. Shaking rain - or was it blood? - out of his vision, McGrath finally stopped defending long enough to seize Akuma's shoulders and pulled, hard. The price was heavy, for Akuma's fist crashed into his undefended stomach; however, McGrath's maneuver allowed him to escape from the debilitating position. He was on his feet in an instant, wiping his face clean. Yes, it was blood; even in the relentless rain, there could be no mistaking the color or the stench.
As Akuma returned to renew the attack, McGrath met him halfway and they stood deadlocked on the ship. But now McGrath was definitely moving more slowly; despite the fact that it wasn't by much, still he had lost his parity in tactical speed. Akuma swung around and clipped McGrath on the cheek; McGrath dropped to the rain-soaked floor, hard, and countered with a vicious sweep that Akuma hopped over. This was exactly what McGrath wanted; he alpha canceled the sweep into a Half-Moon Kick with superhuman speed, although his whole body screamed in protest. Both of his feet collided into Akuma's jaw and the Ansatsuken warrior was sent flying backwards for a few meters. Akuma crashed into the golden veil and this time did not regain his feet lightly.
Akuma stood up, steadying himself for a moment as he considered McGrath through slitted eyes. He's all that I've heard him to be, and more besides. Now you know, Ernest, what it means to live the fight. I am glad that I know you and that I once called you my friend. McGrath attacked this time, intent on pressing the momentary advantage. Akuma met the attack with a feint, but McGrath was too cautious to fall for the trick. Akuma blurred backwards and released a powerful fireball as he phased into solidness once again, but McGrath had already reacted. Even as the fireball flew from Akuma's hand like a living phoenix, McGrath was no longer there. Instead, he had jumped to the side and rebounded off the deck with a handspring, pushing his whole body behind his retaliatory attack. Akuma blocked but guard crushed anyway and was sent skidding ingloriously down the length of the deck. Lightning flashed in the black sky.
"Yeah, go doctor!" Blake screamed.
"Ernest ..." Samantha whispered. "Dear God, defend him!"
"Watch it," Commando warned. His more experienced eyes had followed the battle closely since it began. "It's not over yet. Soon, maybe ... but not yet. C'mon, take him down - no!"
"Eek!" Chan cried. "What happened?!"
As McGrath followed Akuma to the other side of the ship, the dark warrior had begun the fight anew. McGrath knocked aside a straight punch and aimed his Hell Press directly at Akuma's heart; had it landed properly, the battle might have ended right there. But Akuma stepped forward and took the attack before it had covered enough distance to reach full power. It was a staggering blow that would have dropped a rhinoceros dead, but Akuma was no ordinary man. With McGrath's arms committed to his Hell Press, he could not effectively defend against the counterattack. Akuma rent the air with a mighty uppercut, making McGrath nearly double over upon the first impact of his fist. Nor was that all; as Commando and Samantha watched, both horrified, Akuma spun around and rammed his elbow into McGrath's stomach, then came around for another uppercut, and then again. This last sequence sent McGrath tumbling backwards with blood streaming from his mouth, blood that marked a clear trail in spite of the rain.
Amazingly enough McGrath was still in the fight. He crouched on his knees, breathing heavily and gingerly feeling his battered body; Akuma, in the meanwhile, had a fist pressed to his heart. Taking a Hell Press was bad enough, but ignoring it and pushing his body into the Destroyer Dragon Rave was far worse. And while McGrath was bleeding, Akuma was grimly aware that he himself was suffering from internal injuries due to having been hit by three cumulative Hell Presses. This fight had gone on for nearly an hour and would be decided now. In front of him, McGrath broke into a dead run aimed straight at his dangerous opponent.
Akuma intended to intercept the run with an uppercut at the last moment. Not a powerful one - the cooldown of a strong uppercut would leave him open to different attacks if it whiffed - just light enough to stop the attack. But he was appalled when his fist met only empty air, McGrath having skidded almost to a halt. Instantly it was too late; McGrath struck and opened into his Mayhem Rampage, one knife hand chopping hard into Akuma's elbow. Each attack of the Mayhem Rampage, while slow in and of itself, still bore no threat of being stopped. Each strike in the sequence set up the next one, and so McGrath methodically proceeded to demolish Akuma's vitality under a surgically precise barrage of attacks that culminated in a powerful Half-Moon Kick. Akuma flew back, hard; there was a sickening crunch as he collided into the immovable golden barrier and his left arm gave way. Sharp pain lanced up his left side instantly.
Forcing down the pain, Akuma rose to one knee. His left arm was useless now; the bone must have been broken in at least two places. With the discipline that comes from a lifetime of combat, he steadied himself and focused on McGrath, only on McGrath, ignoring everything else. Apparently the attack had taken much out of McGrath also. Akuma focused, concentrating his energy into his right palm. Then, as countless flames began to form around his body, he stomped hard and sank into a horse stance, nearly breaking through the deck with the sheer force of the step. Then he flung out his left arm, unleashing a torrent of pure energy that burned a bright path through the rain-splattered battlefield. More quickly than the eye could follow, the attack rushed straight at McGrath.
Akuma could scarcely believe what his eyes told him next. McGrath had already seen the attack coming, of course, but Akuma had believed that he would not be able to avoid it regardless. So he was shocked and stunned when McGrath broke into a flat-out sprint, the energy of the beam washing through him without effect and flowing harmlessly off the golden curtain far behind. It was incredible, and yet it happened; McGrath ate up the distance between them with impossible speed and a shout that tore through the air, rising above even the fury of the storm.
"Maximize!"
Akuma's blood froze; that was the war cry of the legendary MAXIMUM Mayhem Rampage. In an instant, McGrath had dashed right through the beam cannon without letting it touch him, as if it were not there at all, and homed in straight at Akuma. If he hits me with that technique, it's all over ... But there was no time to think and barely any to react; McGrath was nearly there. Akuma braced his body for one last, supreme effort, drawing upon as much of his energy as he dared to fuel his counterattack as the flames from his beam died away. His own warcry thundered through the air as he, too, struck McGrath in the instant that the doctor reached him.
"Misogi!!!"
He'd vanished in the very last instant before McGrath struck with the deadly MAXIMUM Mayhem Rampage. McGrath's attack whiffed entirely and he instantly realized his opponent's intentions. But by then it was already too late; Akuma appeared above him and drove his one good arm down with all the force of a falling star, crashing directly into the back of McGrath's exposed neck. Somehow, even then, McGrath managed to Soul Reverse the attack, yet it did him little good. The shock of the strike penetrated his entire body and went through him into the ships. McGrath hit the deck, hard, as the sheer impact of the attack caused the whole top deck to spiderweb into a network of cracks. The fight was knocked out of him. It was over.
"Ernest!" Samantha shrieked.
"No!" Commando cried.
Still conscious, McGrath rolled over to look into Akuma's eyes. The dark Ansatsuken warrior himself could barely stand as it was, but he held his useless left arm with his right as he fixed pitiless eyes on McGrath. The rain spread a soothing sensation over McGrath's body, or was it simply washing him in preparation for death? "It is finished," Akuma rasped, barely audible over the storm. A loud crack interrupted him as the deck splintered and gave way in multiple places. "Any last words?"
"Ernest!" Samantha shouted. "Ernest!" The seas heaved, nearly throwing her off her feet and causing the quarterdeck to split in two. Samantha lost her balance and collided with Lloyd; Regina floated an inch off the deck surface, looking for a entrance through the golden barrier. "No, Ernest!"
McGrath whispered something.
"What?" Akuma demanded, reaching down and grasping McGrath's shirt. A stroke of lightning illuminated his features; there was no mercy in his eyes, but there was a look of deep respect granted only to a worthy opponent whom one has overcome at last. As Akuma seized McGrath by the collar, he suddenly felt energy rush into his body along his arm, as much or even more than he had used to execute his devastating Kon Goku Koretsu Zan. Likewise, it was not friendly energy either. The power exploded and Akuma slumped down without a word next to McGrath.
"Revenge," McGrath whispered, and his eyes closed too.
With an earsplitting roar as though the foundation of the Earth itself had broken open, Ruby Heart's pirate ship cracked along its length and the golden veils vanished into thin air. The left side capsized instantly, spilling the camera crews and others into the cold waters. The right side floundered, but only for a moment; then it too capsized and all were in the Atlantic. Disappearing from the surface with surprising speed, the ship vanished beneath the turbulent waves. For a long moment there was only the toss and fury of the storm; drawing a deep breath, Regina dived into the waters. After an instant, Commando and Strider's heads broke through the surface, dragging a miserable Sakura between them. Soaring twenty feet above them, Chan kept a sharp eye for any movement, not that it was easy to see anything in the terrible weather. A moment later Blake Wallis also surfaced, Lloyd following him.
Gill swam his way to the two Phantoms. Regina's head appeared, but she paused only to take a deep breath and dive back down. Samantha tried to follow when she surfaced but her two squadmates pinned her down, shouting at her to stay up. She shouted back orders to let her go and they hung on more tightly. In the end, Gill came over and it took all three of them to keep Samantha afloat while she thrashed wildly in the raging sea. "Call for reinforcements! Here!" Blake shouted above the storm. He let one arm off Samantha and threw an IDC communicator at Commando, but Samantha nearly pulled him down for it. "It's waterproof! Use the preset frequency marked 'BEAT,' and be quick about it!"
Samantha calmed down, her frenzied anxiety gradually giving way to black despair. "Ernest ..." she sobbed, and neither Blake nor Lloyd could tell if it was rain or tears that they saw streaming down her face. "Ernest, please, come back to me alive ..." Jedah and Regina surfaced half a minute later; when the eager look that Samantha sent their way was met by a grim shake of the head by Jedah and a sad one by Regina, the Phantoms saw their leader's heart shatter. Regina calmed the storm with a gesture and with a great display of power brought them out of the water, floating on an invisible curtain of air. Still, it was a cold and wet two hours before the first IDC rescue squads arrived on the scene.
They searched for seven hours, but the body of Dr. Ernest Christopher McGrath was never found.
Author's Notes: First of all, the art page has been updated with concept artwork by Noctorro. Thanks for the picture, Josh! Also, a winquotes page has been attached to the team roster. Next, Akuma's movelist has been added to the website under the Single Entries category. Finally, a new soundtrack has been enabled. No Fate is Sealed is the battle theme between Akuma and McGrath, and it is one of the most intense soundtracks you'll ever listen to. It conveys the fury and sets the atmosphere of this combat, where two titans collide in an ultimate test of skill, strength, and spirit, with only the victor able to keep his soul. Try reading the story with this soundtrack blasting in your ears, I guarantee you'll love it.
Somewhere in the Atlantic
About the same time
It was like an instant of eternity as everything fell away: the ship, the golden curtains, the sway of the seas, the sharp salt tang, the ominous thunderclouds. For Akuma and for McGrath, suddenly, there was only the here and the now. One's opponent filled one's vision, looming large in one's consciousness. There was no ship, no preset battle, no thoughts for the anxious spectators. There was only the here, the now, the foe who must be fought and overcome. And Dr. Ernest McGrath, who had faced countless opponents in the course of his lifetime, once more prepared himself for battle without a word.
Akuma faced McGrath, sinking low into his own fighting stance, and pleased that McGrath had already done so earlier. All around them the unearthly golden light hung like a shimmering curtain that stretched to the sky, completely enveloping the two warriors and keeping them separate from everyone else. The pirate ship creaked ominously but it might as well have been solid ground, so firmly was it anchored. And while the sidelines were in chaos - distant-sounding shouts informed McGrath that all cameras and long-distance communications were out - heavy stillness reigned over the area enclosed by the gold veil. For a long, pregnant instant neither of the two fighters moved, only gazing into each other's eyes in that expectant pause. So this is what Ernest chose to become. He never was a true warrior, yet his strength cannot be denied. And that, perhaps, is because he fights for what he believes in ... and I resemble him more than I would like to admit.
Gouki ... Akuma ... the name makes no difference to me, McGrath thought. The brash, bright-eyed boy has grown to be an intense presence, regarding his career with the utmost seriousness. Yet still his eyes shine with the passion that always marked him as a true warrior. Old friend, would that you had not chosen to appear now. But my friends and my family are present and I would defy Heaven itself to ensure their well-being. And Akuma knew it, too. He was clever, in a way, forcing McGrath into a situation where he knew that his opponent would fight with all his strength. None of the half-playful sparring that they did when they trained under Goutetsu together.
They moved. One moment there was a good five meters between them; the next instant it had vanished completely and each was testing the other's defenses with a flurry of light blows. They traded half a hundred attacks before disengaging, neither one the worse for the encounter. Then McGrath glanced to the side, the quarterdeck where he'd shoved Blake earlier. But there was no time to see if his fellow soldier were unhurt; Akuma circled in for another attack and McGrath forced his mind back to the battle, meeting blow for blow. Samantha ...
Samantha McGrath, for her part, was completely distraught. "Ernest!" she shrieked.
"Stay out of this!" he called back, ducking under an overhead swipe. McGrath retaliated with a firm uppercut, but while anyone else might have been overwhelmed by his speed, Akuma parried the blow and responded with two of his own. McGrath managed to block both of them, Soul Reversing away the worst of the impact. Against a lesser opponent, the double attack would have served to knock him off balance. But this was a battle of the masters and the least mistake would mean a swift and certain death.
Samantha tried to dash through the shimmering gold veil, but it might as well have been concrete. It was completely unyielding and she bruised herself in the attempt. Lloyd, for his part, flung a pair of knives. Blake tried for the Mayhem Rampage, launching attacks that would have knocked holes into inch-thick steel barriers. Lloyd's eyes narrowed and he took off his chronometer, set it, and then flung it against the gold barrier. The chronometer detonated with an earsplitting blast and released a recoil that knocked back all three Phantoms. The golden barrier, for its part, did not cooperate.
Panting heavily, Samantha raced up the quarterdeck to the one person who might be able to do something. "Regina!" she begged, "please, you must assist Ernest! There must be something you can do!"
"I'll try," Regina answered grimly, her eyes narrowed as she considered the sealed area where McGrath and Akuma fought. Akuma jumped back, avoiding a powerful back kick aimed at his torso. He struck McGrath's knee as it went past, but what was meant to be a bone shattering blow was dissipated harmlessly as McGrath snapped his lower leg back and so negated the force of the attack. Akuma's hands cupped and they glowed, but only for an instant. He launched a powerful fireball off his hands and McGrath was dismayed but not surprised to see that it held all the power of a lesser opponent's super level techniques.
But if Akuma was a master of channeling energies, so was McGrath. Five years of training to fight Dadallent had taught him a wealth of knowledge about energy-based attacks. The Gou Hadou streamed towards him like a blazing star, but McGrath struck it with his fist and its energies bled away instantly. There was no time to celebrate, however; Akuma drove in with a vicious forward strike and McGrath parried it. As he did so, he retaliated with a swift pivoting elbow strike, while Akuma moved at the same time with a kick from the side. There was a sickening crunch as McGrath's elbow crashed into Akuma's upper arm while the dark Ansatsuken fighter's own attack found McGrath's exposed waist. The force of the attack flung both fighters back, but only for a moment before they resumed their deadly dance, so quickly that the bystanders could not discern every individual movements. Not that the movements mattered; first blood had been drawn, for both warriors had struck and struck well.
Regina pressed her palms together and concentrated as her aura awakened: a powerful, all-enveloping sensation that made Samantha giddy, easily dwarfing the spirits of the two men who fought just a dozen meters away. She concentrated, and her face was as grim as the thunderclouds that boomed ominously overhead. Even those who were untrained in energy usage must have felt Regina's sheer power wrapping around them like a thick fog that was almost tangible. Regina's palms glowed and she extended both arms, aiming her attack at the golden barrier. If they could only get it down, the fight would be over. The goddess wore an intense look of concentration on her beautiful face and Samantha could only contrast that with the gentle ease with which she had previously used her power. Then it had been a few trivial exercises in power usage. This was for real.
Regina's palms erupted in a powerful stream of energy that nearly blinded Samantha's spiritual senses and, for a moment, overwhelmed both McGrath and Akuma. The attack struck the gold veil head-on with an energy that would have obliterated the Earth in a split second had Regina wished it. But the gold veil remained as solid and immovable as it always had been, as though Regina's effort made no impression at all upon it, and the goddess finally let go with a gasp. She sank to her knees, breathing hard from the effort, and Gill had to support her. "I-I can't," Regina rasped. "The barrier is far too strong for my power ... I didn't affect it at all ..."
"Regina ..." Samantha whispered, indescribable anguish in her eyes at being so close and yet so helpless.
"I'm so sorry, Samantha," Regina whispered. "If my powers weren't confined ... by a human body ... I could tear this veil down in an instant ... as it is ... I can't help him at all ..." But still she was gasping for breath and Samantha realized that the sheer power of the attack must have been almost more than her frail mortal flesh could handle. Samantha also knelt and held Regina's hand, staring helplessly at the place where McGrath and Akuma fought. Farther back, Blake was yelling threats and challenging Akuma to fight them all instead.
"That barrier is completely impenetrable," Chan reported as she whisked out of the surrounding air. "It won't let in even the smallest air molecule. Hiryu can't get inside, either. I'm sorry, Samantha."
"There must be a way," Samantha insisted as McGrath blocked a heavy blow aimed at his jaw.
"I tried going under the deck, too," Chan answered, "but the barrier goes all the way through the ship and to the bottom of the sea, it looks like. And if we move the ship, the barrier is going to move right along with it."
Meanwhile, Akuma hopped off the deck and triangle jumped off the main mast, gaining extra height. He flung one arm out and launched a fireball, but a moment later was sailing backwards as McGrath retaliated with the Half-Moon Kick. Unfortunately, the attack came at a cost; the fireball struck cleanly on an exposed arm and instantly the arm numbed. Akuma crashed heavily against the unyielding golden curtain, but he rolled aside and was on his feet a moment later; none too soon, as it turned out, for he had avoided McGrath's Mayhem Rampage by a bare half meter.
McGrath quickly wiped the sweat off his brow as Akuma tried to exploit the momentary advantage left by the whiffed Mayhem Rampage. He tried to pull Akuma into an elbow strike, but the Ansatsuken master was too cunning for that and McGrath considered the situation grimly. I know your moves, Akuma, and your style. But you're too experienced to try anything fancy, at least not before wearing me down to the breaking point. Try to hit me with the Shun Goku Satsu and I'll cram a Mayhem Rampage down your throat. You may have inhuman endurance, but even you wouldn't be able to withstand that. You're no Dadallent, you don't have his invulnerabilities. Although, strictly speaking, neither did McGrath. He'd have to fight cautiously until his friends could figure out a way to help him; one mistake, and it would be over.
McGrath saw an opening and struck, but without lunging forward the way a lesser warrior would surely have done. His vigilance paid off a moment later as Akuma blurred out and slid away; only a very short distance, though, just half a meter. This caused McGrath's attack to miss entirely but at least his balance hadn't been compromised. When Akuma lashed out with a knee strike, McGrath simultaneously responded with a high kick. Akuma caught the attack on crossed wristguards while his knee strike connected with McGrath's ribs; however, McGrath had anticipated the contact and safely Soul Reversed away the force of the attack.
A moment later he'd planted his kicking foot down firmly and brought both his arms around in one fluid motion, pressing his palms together. Then he struck, hard; still off balance from the knee attack and unable to use his arms to defend himself, Akuma nevertheless managed to jump back from the offensive maneuver. But the attack was too fast and caught him squarely in the chest, knocking Akuma back half a dozen meters and as such inconveniently out of reach for any follow-up attacks. Still, the Hell Press was the first real blow that either of the two had landed yet. As Akuma regained his feet, the first drops of rain began to fall lightly on the deck. The day had grown dark but flashes of lightning illuminated the entire battlefield in a surreal shade of white.
Outside the battle, Regina stood up with a determined look on her face and concentrated again, blasting at the barrier with all the power at her command. This attack lasted longer than her first attempt but again failed to affect the golden barrier and Regina collapsed to her knees. "My lady, you must not overexert yourself!" Gill said urgently, and Samantha looked as though her heart were torn between McGrath's battle and Regina's obvious suffering.
"No, I must ... I must reach him," Regina gasped out. "I promised that I would keep him safe ... with all my strength ... but even the ultimate circle of focus would be useless without more power ..." She paused, catching her breath, and then looked upwards into the rain that was now descending with greater intensity. "Dear sister," she whispered, "why are you doing this?"
"Do you mean to say that Marin -" Samantha began heatedly.
"I don't know!" Regina cried in anguish. "No one except a powerful god or goddess could maintain such a shield. But if it is Marin ... if it really is ... oh, to believe that my sister could do this would be an unbearable thought! And she isn't answering me! I ... I can't do anything -!" Regina sobbed into Gill's shoulder and Samantha could only stare hard at the goddess who was now as powerless as herself.
Wiping rain out of his eyes, Akuma concentrated on the battle. It was getting hard to see McGrath visually amongst the downpour and the lightning all around them was too sporadic to remedy that. But McGrath shone invisibly in the spirit world and Akuma himself could thus track him with eyes closed. He was still feeling the effects of the Hell Press, which had probably broken a rib or at the very least ruptured a number of blood vessels. McGrath slid forward with a jab; Akuma blocked it, expecting it to be a feint, and indeed it was. McGrath followed the attack with a lightning-fast elbow strike that Akuma ducked. He clenched his fist and rose up in the classic Ansatsuken uppercut, meeting McGrath's attack halfway. Their forces collided, but only for an instant before Akuma won out and the last hit of his uppercut clipped McGrath's chin.
Even though he'd avoided the worst of the attack, McGrath still smarted. Akuma launched a point-blank range fireball as McGrath reeled for a moment and the doctor had only the barest amount of time to knock it away into nothingness with a strike of his own. When Akuma jumped up and launched a fireball from the air, McGrath was ready; he skipped to the side, dodging the attack entirely, and the fireball blasted away a portion of the deck with a violent explosion. McGrath launched a Half-Moon Kick up at Akuma and the dark Ansatsuken master air-blocked it. The recoil pushed him back into the golden walls, but he rolled aside and slid harmlessly off of them.
"Damn it, isn't there anything we can do?" Blake demanded, striking a bulkhead in frustration.
"There may be a way," Regina said heavily, "but it would cost my mortal life. If I weren't confined by a human body, I could break the seal." Blake and Gill stared at her; they all did. "If you want me to, I can take my own life. Then I could break the barrier down, but ... I wouldn't be able to create a new body in time to see the rest of the tournament. Your choice," Regina offered, and she nodded at Samantha.
Heartbroken, Samantha only looked back and forth between the arena where her husband fought and at the goddess. Finally, she shook her head very slowly. "No ... thank you, Regina, but ... no. If worst ... comes to worst, then you can still resurrect him, can you not?" A lightning bolt struck very close to the ship and lit up the battle; Akuma had just sent McGrath flying with a circle throw, but McGrath skillfully executed a tech escape and landed safely on the deck.
Regina hesitated before replying. "I could, yes, but ... Samantha, resurrection is no light matter. Still ..." She tilted her head and looked upwards into the cloud-covered sky. She must have seen something, or else heard something inaudible, for after a long and pregnant pause she looked down and nodded. "Very well. If he falls, I will bring him back. His time to pass into the afterlife has not come yet."
"Thank you ... thank you," Samantha whispered, clasping Regina's hand.
McGrath grunted as he pursued Akuma, tracking his dangerous opponent through the torrential rain. He dodged a low-level sweep and jumped into the air, lightning opportunely illuminating the battlefield at that instant. McGrath descended like a falling meteor heelfirst, intending to drive the attack right into Akuma's exposed chest. But Akuma blurred away and the attack hit the deck instead, knocking a hole cleanly through the three-inch wooden boards. McGrath extricated himself just as Akuma's hands cupped together and he launched a blazing fireball. He might have stopped it in midair, but that took some spiritual power, and the more that he could conserve the better his chances were. McGrath rolled out of the way, the rain disorienting him for a moment. Farther back, the powerful fireball hit the golden barrier and washed away harmlessly.
McGrath regained his footing. Akuma circled in, too experienced to go for a straight rushdown. When he struck, it was with the swiftness of a lightning bolt and the ferocity of a tiger; McGrath could feel Akuma's malevolent aura beating against him almost like a physical wave. Almost more quickly than the eye could follow, McGrath blocked the attack and simultaneously countered with a vicious kick. This move Akuma dodged by spinning around and McGrath recovered just in time to block a retaliatory strike that came within an inch of crushing his shoulders. As it was, the attack staggered him. Akuma drove in for a second strike from above. McGrath deflected the attack harmlessly to the side, then seized his opportunity to step back and punch forward. Akuma blocked and countered, blurring out -
No, he didn't! That was no blur, he'd disappeared entirely! For a moment, McGrath's eyes sought frantically before locating Akuma's aura ... above him! Akuma dove down with a lightning swift and merciless chop, striking McGrath heavily between the shoulder blades. At the last moment, the doctor Soul Reversed away the worst of the attack but he staggered nonetheless, dropping to his knees and taking the opportunity to roll away along the slippery deck. It was hard to see anything in the heavy rain, but McGrath knew exactly what had happened. I've never seen him use that technique before. He must have developed it later ... borrowed from Dadallent, possibly? It does bear an uncanny resemblance to the Ninja Twirl ... A dull throbbing pain was spreading along his back and McGrath became grimly aware that he must be suffering internal damage.
"Hang in there, doctor ..." Captain Commando murmured under his breath.
"I can't bear to watch this!" Chan cried above the raging winds, burying her head in Hiryu's shoulder. He reached down and gently stroked her hair, but his eyes were fixed firmly on the battle in front of him.
"C'mon, doctor!" Blake Wallis shouted, jumping wildly around the gold wall like an overenergetic cheerleader. "Kick his sorry ass!" Samantha's eyes concentrated hard on the battle, while Lloyd paced back and forth worried on the quarterdeck of the ship. Regina clung to Gill's arm and wore a look of concern, plainly fearing for McGrath's safety. Gill and Jedah, for their part, remained impassive; as they did not look around, it was easy to tell that both of them were also concerned.
McGrath stood up, assessing his opponent once more. This time there was a small smile on his face, and he was pleased to see that Akuma was also smiling - not a leer, or a taunting grin, but a genuine smile. Now I understand, Akuma ... what you mean when you talked about the thrill, the excitement, the passion of the fight. This ... this is the intangible but very real anticipation at the thought of facing a worthy opponent. Now I understand. To choose the way of the true warrior is to truly live every moment of your life. And the air that we breathe is sweeter because we are mortal and must one day die, losing everything. So you are alive. McGrath wondered if he, too, would have chosen to walk the warrior's path if he had known this earlier.
But there was only the here and now. Akuma ate up the distance with a blazingly fast Hurricane Kick. McGrath dodged behind a mast; Akuma's foot struck the wood hard and cracked it, but the attack did not go through. McGrath slid forward with a punch, which Akuma blocked as he came down. They settled into a grim dance, punch, kick, parry, block, riposte attack ... both of them masters of battle, and the dance was eerily beautiful. Though the rain kept the battlefield dark, now lightning was flashing almost constantly. McGrath and Akuma were both soaked to the bone. A terrible gale battered the ship and made the footing unsteady at best. The boom of thunder prevented anyone from hearing the blows being exchanged.
Akuma forced himself to breathe evenly. Breathing was the foundation of one's ability to fight, and someone who couldn't breathe properly was already lost. McGrath nearly swiped out one of his eyes, Akuma only dodging away at the last possible moment; the attack brushed against his cheek. Akuma also struck, a deep vicious attack on McGrath's solar plexus. McGrath blocked and backed away; seeing a chance, Akuma took a running start into two steps and soared into a flying kick, heedless of the rain washing around him. McGrath rolled to the side; Akuma's heel crashed into the main mast and with a terrific crack that was heard even above the storm, the mast broke into two. The enormous upper beam swayed ponderously and was caught by the wind almost immediately, heaving as it tilted. But that could wait. McGrath launched another assault on Akuma and again the two of them were moving with impossible speed as they traded blows.
The huge mast toppled against the golden curtain; since the curtain would not give way, the mast did instead and cracked about halfway down its already severed length. Then both pieces dropped heavily into the main deck, McGrath and Akuma only jumping back at the last moment to avoid them. One piece jammed itself between the shattered stump and the golden veil; the other rolled with the treacherous sea, cloth flapping along its length. The heaving deck made fighting a difficult proposition at best; Akuma contented himself with launching a fireball and then phasing behind it, coming out of his movement right as McGrath neutralized the fireball. The deck suddenly tilted back and McGrath mentally berated the unlucky move; when Akuma struck with a forceful blow, McGrath lacked the leverage necessary to block it. He instead hopped back, but now he was in a bad position, essentially forced to fight an uphill battle.
McGrath traded space for distance, allowing Akuma to gradually press him backwards under a withering barrage of attacks but keeping his opponent at arm's distance. After one particularly nasty encounter, McGrath had scored a solid Hell Press on his opponent at the cost of two heavy punches into his chest. Akuma was down on his knees from the sheer shock of the blow, but he forced himself up in time to meet McGrath's attack. The first punch nearly went wide as the deck heaved, almost throwing McGrath atop Akuma; McGrath aborted the attack and instead somersaulted through the air, landing behind Akuma and delivering a glance knee strike before his opponent could avoid it entirely.
"They're starting to flag," Commando observed. "Let's hope that Akuma has less stamina."
"Don't let that little ..." and Blake unleashed a torrent of abuse and obloquy, shouting unprintable descriptions of Akuma's ancestry, appearance, future prospects, and sexual preferences. "You can do it, doctor! Beat the crap out of him!" He kicked the shimmering gold barrier violently; despite the pain that shot through his leg, Blake continued his spiel unabated.
"We have to get help. Call the IDC soldiers, at the very least." Commando concentrated; when nothing happened after a long pause, he pursed his lips in frustration. "Teleportation is down. This whole setup reeks of a trap by Marin." On the sides, the camera crews apparently still had no luck trying to restore their equipment. Lloyd stalked around on the quarterdeck like a caged panther.
As they watched, the treacherous deck abruptly shifted, nearly throwing everyone into the sea. McGrath, in the middle of a strike, lost his balance and Akuma was upon him in a flash. The Ansatsuken warrior laid into the doctor with a series of powerful attacks, not of all of which McGrath managed to block. Shaking rain - or was it blood? - out of his vision, McGrath finally stopped defending long enough to seize Akuma's shoulders and pulled, hard. The price was heavy, for Akuma's fist crashed into his undefended stomach; however, McGrath's maneuver allowed him to escape from the debilitating position. He was on his feet in an instant, wiping his face clean. Yes, it was blood; even in the relentless rain, there could be no mistaking the color or the stench.
As Akuma returned to renew the attack, McGrath met him halfway and they stood deadlocked on the ship. But now McGrath was definitely moving more slowly; despite the fact that it wasn't by much, still he had lost his parity in tactical speed. Akuma swung around and clipped McGrath on the cheek; McGrath dropped to the rain-soaked floor, hard, and countered with a vicious sweep that Akuma hopped over. This was exactly what McGrath wanted; he alpha canceled the sweep into a Half-Moon Kick with superhuman speed, although his whole body screamed in protest. Both of his feet collided into Akuma's jaw and the Ansatsuken warrior was sent flying backwards for a few meters. Akuma crashed into the golden veil and this time did not regain his feet lightly.
Akuma stood up, steadying himself for a moment as he considered McGrath through slitted eyes. He's all that I've heard him to be, and more besides. Now you know, Ernest, what it means to live the fight. I am glad that I know you and that I once called you my friend. McGrath attacked this time, intent on pressing the momentary advantage. Akuma met the attack with a feint, but McGrath was too cautious to fall for the trick. Akuma blurred backwards and released a powerful fireball as he phased into solidness once again, but McGrath had already reacted. Even as the fireball flew from Akuma's hand like a living phoenix, McGrath was no longer there. Instead, he had jumped to the side and rebounded off the deck with a handspring, pushing his whole body behind his retaliatory attack. Akuma blocked but guard crushed anyway and was sent skidding ingloriously down the length of the deck. Lightning flashed in the black sky.
"Yeah, go doctor!" Blake screamed.
"Ernest ..." Samantha whispered. "Dear God, defend him!"
"Watch it," Commando warned. His more experienced eyes had followed the battle closely since it began. "It's not over yet. Soon, maybe ... but not yet. C'mon, take him down - no!"
"Eek!" Chan cried. "What happened?!"
As McGrath followed Akuma to the other side of the ship, the dark warrior had begun the fight anew. McGrath knocked aside a straight punch and aimed his Hell Press directly at Akuma's heart; had it landed properly, the battle might have ended right there. But Akuma stepped forward and took the attack before it had covered enough distance to reach full power. It was a staggering blow that would have dropped a rhinoceros dead, but Akuma was no ordinary man. With McGrath's arms committed to his Hell Press, he could not effectively defend against the counterattack. Akuma rent the air with a mighty uppercut, making McGrath nearly double over upon the first impact of his fist. Nor was that all; as Commando and Samantha watched, both horrified, Akuma spun around and rammed his elbow into McGrath's stomach, then came around for another uppercut, and then again. This last sequence sent McGrath tumbling backwards with blood streaming from his mouth, blood that marked a clear trail in spite of the rain.
Amazingly enough McGrath was still in the fight. He crouched on his knees, breathing heavily and gingerly feeling his battered body; Akuma, in the meanwhile, had a fist pressed to his heart. Taking a Hell Press was bad enough, but ignoring it and pushing his body into the Destroyer Dragon Rave was far worse. And while McGrath was bleeding, Akuma was grimly aware that he himself was suffering from internal injuries due to having been hit by three cumulative Hell Presses. This fight had gone on for nearly an hour and would be decided now. In front of him, McGrath broke into a dead run aimed straight at his dangerous opponent.
Akuma intended to intercept the run with an uppercut at the last moment. Not a powerful one - the cooldown of a strong uppercut would leave him open to different attacks if it whiffed - just light enough to stop the attack. But he was appalled when his fist met only empty air, McGrath having skidded almost to a halt. Instantly it was too late; McGrath struck and opened into his Mayhem Rampage, one knife hand chopping hard into Akuma's elbow. Each attack of the Mayhem Rampage, while slow in and of itself, still bore no threat of being stopped. Each strike in the sequence set up the next one, and so McGrath methodically proceeded to demolish Akuma's vitality under a surgically precise barrage of attacks that culminated in a powerful Half-Moon Kick. Akuma flew back, hard; there was a sickening crunch as he collided into the immovable golden barrier and his left arm gave way. Sharp pain lanced up his left side instantly.
Forcing down the pain, Akuma rose to one knee. His left arm was useless now; the bone must have been broken in at least two places. With the discipline that comes from a lifetime of combat, he steadied himself and focused on McGrath, only on McGrath, ignoring everything else. Apparently the attack had taken much out of McGrath also. Akuma focused, concentrating his energy into his right palm. Then, as countless flames began to form around his body, he stomped hard and sank into a horse stance, nearly breaking through the deck with the sheer force of the step. Then he flung out his left arm, unleashing a torrent of pure energy that burned a bright path through the rain-splattered battlefield. More quickly than the eye could follow, the attack rushed straight at McGrath.
Akuma could scarcely believe what his eyes told him next. McGrath had already seen the attack coming, of course, but Akuma had believed that he would not be able to avoid it regardless. So he was shocked and stunned when McGrath broke into a flat-out sprint, the energy of the beam washing through him without effect and flowing harmlessly off the golden curtain far behind. It was incredible, and yet it happened; McGrath ate up the distance between them with impossible speed and a shout that tore through the air, rising above even the fury of the storm.
"Maximize!"
Akuma's blood froze; that was the war cry of the legendary MAXIMUM Mayhem Rampage. In an instant, McGrath had dashed right through the beam cannon without letting it touch him, as if it were not there at all, and homed in straight at Akuma. If he hits me with that technique, it's all over ... But there was no time to think and barely any to react; McGrath was nearly there. Akuma braced his body for one last, supreme effort, drawing upon as much of his energy as he dared to fuel his counterattack as the flames from his beam died away. His own warcry thundered through the air as he, too, struck McGrath in the instant that the doctor reached him.
"Misogi!!!"
He'd vanished in the very last instant before McGrath struck with the deadly MAXIMUM Mayhem Rampage. McGrath's attack whiffed entirely and he instantly realized his opponent's intentions. But by then it was already too late; Akuma appeared above him and drove his one good arm down with all the force of a falling star, crashing directly into the back of McGrath's exposed neck. Somehow, even then, McGrath managed to Soul Reverse the attack, yet it did him little good. The shock of the strike penetrated his entire body and went through him into the ships. McGrath hit the deck, hard, as the sheer impact of the attack caused the whole top deck to spiderweb into a network of cracks. The fight was knocked out of him. It was over.
"Ernest!" Samantha shrieked.
"No!" Commando cried.
Still conscious, McGrath rolled over to look into Akuma's eyes. The dark Ansatsuken warrior himself could barely stand as it was, but he held his useless left arm with his right as he fixed pitiless eyes on McGrath. The rain spread a soothing sensation over McGrath's body, or was it simply washing him in preparation for death? "It is finished," Akuma rasped, barely audible over the storm. A loud crack interrupted him as the deck splintered and gave way in multiple places. "Any last words?"
"Ernest!" Samantha shouted. "Ernest!" The seas heaved, nearly throwing her off her feet and causing the quarterdeck to split in two. Samantha lost her balance and collided with Lloyd; Regina floated an inch off the deck surface, looking for a entrance through the golden barrier. "No, Ernest!"
McGrath whispered something.
"What?" Akuma demanded, reaching down and grasping McGrath's shirt. A stroke of lightning illuminated his features; there was no mercy in his eyes, but there was a look of deep respect granted only to a worthy opponent whom one has overcome at last. As Akuma seized McGrath by the collar, he suddenly felt energy rush into his body along his arm, as much or even more than he had used to execute his devastating Kon Goku Koretsu Zan. Likewise, it was not friendly energy either. The power exploded and Akuma slumped down without a word next to McGrath.
"Revenge," McGrath whispered, and his eyes closed too.
With an earsplitting roar as though the foundation of the Earth itself had broken open, Ruby Heart's pirate ship cracked along its length and the golden veils vanished into thin air. The left side capsized instantly, spilling the camera crews and others into the cold waters. The right side floundered, but only for a moment; then it too capsized and all were in the Atlantic. Disappearing from the surface with surprising speed, the ship vanished beneath the turbulent waves. For a long moment there was only the toss and fury of the storm; drawing a deep breath, Regina dived into the waters. After an instant, Commando and Strider's heads broke through the surface, dragging a miserable Sakura between them. Soaring twenty feet above them, Chan kept a sharp eye for any movement, not that it was easy to see anything in the terrible weather. A moment later Blake Wallis also surfaced, Lloyd following him.
Gill swam his way to the two Phantoms. Regina's head appeared, but she paused only to take a deep breath and dive back down. Samantha tried to follow when she surfaced but her two squadmates pinned her down, shouting at her to stay up. She shouted back orders to let her go and they hung on more tightly. In the end, Gill came over and it took all three of them to keep Samantha afloat while she thrashed wildly in the raging sea. "Call for reinforcements! Here!" Blake shouted above the storm. He let one arm off Samantha and threw an IDC communicator at Commando, but Samantha nearly pulled him down for it. "It's waterproof! Use the preset frequency marked 'BEAT,' and be quick about it!"
Samantha calmed down, her frenzied anxiety gradually giving way to black despair. "Ernest ..." she sobbed, and neither Blake nor Lloyd could tell if it was rain or tears that they saw streaming down her face. "Ernest, please, come back to me alive ..." Jedah and Regina surfaced half a minute later; when the eager look that Samantha sent their way was met by a grim shake of the head by Jedah and a sad one by Regina, the Phantoms saw their leader's heart shatter. Regina calmed the storm with a gesture and with a great display of power brought them out of the water, floating on an invisible curtain of air. Still, it was a cold and wet two hours before the first IDC rescue squads arrived on the scene.
They searched for seven hours, but the body of Dr. Ernest Christopher McGrath was never found.