(Finally, the last chapter for "The Demon Lord, Haruko". The sequel will be dubbed, "The Myth of Crystaelius", just for you all to know. Anyway, enjoy!)
The Demon Lord, Haruko-Chapter Thirty Four; Part Two
Todd spat out some blood as he winced in pain. His body felt extremely sore, hurting every time he inched or moved. His vision was also somewhat blurry, but began to clear as the small specks of water clashed on his face as the once drizzle of rain had advanced to a beginning thunderstorm.
Jet watched in wait as the Osiris Cannon began to charge slower than before, as if the amount was becoming too large. Haruko did not seem to move either, as if his entire concentration had to be focused on the gathering of the energy.
Clive had just finished his rushed explanation of what Haruko had explained to Jet, Todd, and himself, less than thirty minutes before.
"Now that I look at it from the way you explained, I feel kind of sad for Haruko," Virginia commented as Gallows shook his head. "How do we know he was even a goody- two- shoes before he transformed? His energy absorption clearly made him power hungry."
Virginia giggled slightly at Gallows's statement. "Wow, you actually said something that sounded pretty intellectual," she stammered between giggles. "And what is that supposed to mean?" Gallows snapped back, seemingly a little annoyed by the statement.
Clive closed his eyes, contemplating their next action. In actuality, they were defeated. Clive could not figure any way to disrupt or stopped the blast, and once the planet was destroyed, they would all suffocate and die in the freezing climate of space.
Yet, he refused to surrender and give up hope. He, along with the rest of his companions, each had at least one person they cared for or wished to protect.
Still though, the situation seemed inescapable, and their list of options had withered away to nothing.
"Mr. Jet?" The white- haired Drifter turned around suddenly, seemingly surprised by Todd's recent, and unexpected, inquiring.
"What is it?" Jet asked as Todd sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Jet asked, trying to keep his concentration on Haruko.
Todd sighed once more. "I've caused quite a burden for you and the others. You all saved my life, and yet, I've done nothing but hold you all back from fighting to your foulest. I've even gone to the extreme of attempting to kill you people."
Jet shook his head. "That was Ovius; you were just being used."
Todd smiled slightly. "No, Ovius and I are the same entity, the same person. Our minds were fused together when the Ovius chip was attached onto my brain." Todd sighed, somewhat relieved.
"But you know what? I don't resent the fact that I am cursed, or that I'm an outcast. It was because of all the events that happened that I became a Drifter and met all of you. In a way, I'm blessed, because my past self was able to see his brother again."
Todd smiled fully this time, a single tear beginning to form on his eye, but he quickly brushed it away.
"But you're still you, regardless of whether or not you lost your memories. Filgaia was reborn from everyone's memories, but I had nothing to do with it. The Jet Enduro I used to be contributed much more than I did. But I have to take his place, which is why I have to stop that cannon," Jet stated as Todd nodded, his smile fading away.
"I see. You're planning to cancel out the blast, right?"
Jet nodded. "It might not work, but it's worth a shot."
Todd gritted his teeth. "So, you're just going to throw your life away so effortlessly?!" he shouted. The sadness he had exhibited just a moment ago disappeared as his voice became filled with anger.
The sulky Drifter winced at this comment before replying, "What other choice do we have?! We're out of options, there's nothing left!"
"The blast will kill you though, and how do we know it'll even work?!" Jet closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. "Well, if we don't do something we're all going to die anyway."
The blue- haired boy began to cry slightly. "No, I can't let you kill yourself. I'll do it; I'll be the one to go… instead of you!"
Todd let the statement hang in the air as he attempted to hold on to the rest of his tears. Jet seemed surprised at the statement, but regained his composure instantly as the platforms shook violently once more. "Okay, and what makes you think you can stop the blast?"
Todd rubbed his eyes before answering, "I can force the Ovius energy to shield me. It won't let me die so it'll take the blast. The energy from the collision should be enough to stop the blast."
Jet sighed. "Fine, do what you want. You're not stopping me from doing what I'm going to do anyway."
Haruko felt the pressure becoming too high. The Drifters had weakened him slightly, so he could not hold as much energy as before, but alas, it was enough power to incinerate all of Filgaia and all of its inhabitants.
The shaking began again and continued as Haruko stopped charging. "All right then, watch, my good friends, as your beloved little planet is annihilated!"
Jet turned quickly away from Todd. "This is my only chance," he thought as he began to sprint to the edge of the platform.
Todd realized he was intending to jump off in time to be in range of the blast before it collided with anything else. He quickly dashed to stop his comrade, but was too late. The white- haired Drifter sprang from the platform and began to somewhat hover, slowly falling and beginning to gain speed.
Todd looked down at the endless drop before hesitantly jumping off after Jet, the wind scarring his face as the rain worsened.
"What do they think they're doing, committing suicide or something?!" Gallows exclaimed in surprise as he watched the two fall through the air about two yards away. Fear began to swell up within Virginia as she anticipated the fate of he companions, as well as the fate of her friends.
Even Haruko seemed bewildered, but he and Clive quickly understood what they were doing.
"No, he can't! I will not allow my ambition to be halted here!" Haruko roared as the demon fired the Osiris Cannon, intending to end the battle once and for all.
Time seemed to stop completely, every motion blurred as the enormous beam of golden energy sailed towards Jet. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the end.
However, something happened that he did not expect. The blast hit him, but seemed to flow right through him.
He quickly turned his head to see Todd absorbing the energy. "It's not possible! How could a feeble, weak human such as he absorb the greatest power?!"
The answer was clear though. Todd was channeling the power to Ovius. His body however, was at an extreme risk of exploding since he, along with Ovius, shared the same body.
Yet, a moment later, the absorption stopped, and the energy flew straight back at Jet and Haruko!
The blast had weakened tremendously, but was still powerful enough to be shot back by Haruko and collide with Filgaia.
Jet gritted his teeth as he focused to try and bring forth what little of Filgaia's energy he had within him.
A light green barrier surrounded Jet as the blast engulfed him instantly. However, the energy of the blast seemed different now. It felt weaker somehow, but its overall feeling had changed; it was not the energy of Filgaia.
Jet felt horrid. The blast was draining him as it merged with his own energy. Yet, he fought it; the blast seemed almost controllable though, almost usable.
The Drifter ground his teeth even harder before shouting in agony as he directed the blast back at Haruko.
The demon could never have comprehended the recent events as the blast slammed through him, gradually incinerating his stone shell. The total energy mass of the attack felt completely different than before. Part of it felt human, some of it even demonic, however, most of it was Filgaia's energy, and the power was much too strong for Haruko to control.
"How… I should have com…completed my goal. I suppose I was defeated once again… Are you happy… Mr. Enduro…?"
Most of the stone beast exploded as its remnants fell to the rocky surface. Jet and Todd slowly floated to the ground, as if an abnormal energy was guiding them to safety.
Tears, yet not of sadness, began to form in Virginia's eyes. The platform which sustained them had already begun to fall to the ground, forcing the three Drifters to jump off.
Virginia, seeing the entire group was falling too quickly, called out, "Lombardia!"
Almost instantly, the dragon sailed through the sky towards them, scooping them up as the last pieces of the Osiris Cannon, along with last body of Haruko, crashed to the ground.
Todd coughed out blood as he began to regain consciousness. He felt warm, extremely tired, and somewhat dizzy.
He attempted to sit up; however, his muscles were stiff and sore, causing him to wince in pain. There was a dusty smell in the room, the lights were dimmed, and, for some reason, he felt at calm. There was a certain peace, as if everything seemed right.
Todd slowly crept out of the bed, gradually beginning to walk as he tried to exit the room and travel downstairs.
Virginia gulped down the last of her glass of milk and let out a sigh of relief. Dawn came and went so fast, as if it was brushing off and ending the last segment in her life. It seemed so distant now, even though they escaped from Saint's Tower just the day before.
"Ms. Virginia?"
The girl turned her head to see Todd walking off of the last step of the staircase.
Virginia smiled at the sight of the boy, standing up slowly. "Todd, are you feeling okay? Hungry?" Todd shook his head. "No, I'm feeling all right, just a little sore," he replied, taking a seat across the table from her.
Virginia sat back down, rubbing her eyes. "We're in Jolly Roger if you're curious. The others are outside."
"Is Mr. Jet all right?" he asked as she nodded. "He's as normal as usual."
Todd leaned back against the wooden chair. "So, what are you guys going to do now?" Virginia answered, "I'm going to go back to my hometown of Boot Hill for a few days, probably just rest and check up on friends and family before going out again. Filgaia is restoring itself little by little. I really don't want to miss it."
Todd stood up and walked over to the doorway of the inn. "Well then, I hope you the best Ms. Virginia, just in case we never see each other again."
Virginia solemnly nodded as Todd walked out.
Gallows prepared his horse silently as Clive repaired a slight scratch on his rifle. "I suppose this is our goodbyes," the green- haired Drifter stated. Gallows nodded. "Yep, I'm sort of sad, seemed like forever, but now I can focus that much more on becoming a Baskar priest."
"Good luck then," Clive commented as Gallows readied to leave to Baskar Colony. "I already said goodbye to Ginny so leave my goodbyes to the punk and Todd," he ordered, before riding off into the sandy wasteland.
Todd walked outside as Clive was preparing to leave as well. "Mr. Clive, tell Catherine and Kaiytlin(not sure if it's spelled right) hello for me."
Clive nodded and smiled as Jet exited Emilia's ARMs-smith workshop.
"Hopefully we'll all be able to meet up again some day. Until then, I suppose it is good luck to all of you."
Clive nodded one final time before trekking out of Jolly Roger, leaving Jet and Todd alone outside.
Todd reluctantly approached Jet, scratching his head as the white- haired Drifter placed his ARMs away as well as a few other items.
"Mr. Jet, I had been thinking about this for a little over a few days, but I was wondering if I could travel with you for a while?"
Jet glanced over at Todd for a moment, considering the question. "I guess so, just as long as you don't get in the way."
Todd smiled. "Thank you, really, thank you."
"So, I guess you guys are leaving too?"
Virginia walked over to the boys, a slight smile on her face. Jet somewhat hesitantly held out his hand for a handshake, but Virginia suddenly latched herself onto him in a tight embrace.
"What are you doing?!" Jet asked, seemingly irritated by the action. Virginia giggled before letting go. "It was a hug for good fortune and good luck." The girl then embraced Todd, but he noticed the hug was not as affectionate for him as it was for Jet.
"Well, anyways, see ya," the sulky Drifter hurriedly stated, slightly blushing as he began to walk off. Todd nodded to Virginia before saying, "Yes, like before, good luck and goodbye Ms. Virginia."
Virginia sighed as Todd rushed to keep up with Jet. "Yeah, bye guys."
(There, I'm ending it there. This has been an enthralling experience for me to write a story that I find fun and interesting. I'm going to try get in the first two or three chapters of "The Myth of Crystaelius" in tomorrow and Saturday, so you can look forward to that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.)