Episode 7: In the Name of Equality!
Your honor.
His honor.
Her honor.
Their honor.
Where has our honor gone?
We are in a moral crisis.
And this calls for a moral revolution.
Hero...
Hero...
You have grossly forgotten a fact of life: that what goes up must go down.
The wheel of life rolls on. You, who had been appreciated in the past, went downhill; the claps died down and the screams have been silenced.
The blessings that were once bountiful have stopped coming; you no longer have any projects; and nobody hires you anymore because it is a natural thing in showbiz to hire anyone who is hot property in the present.
You are ashamed of your beginnings. You have waited for a long time to be recognized; but when you became a star, you have wasted the chance.
You have prevailed with your boastfulness; you were furious at the people who gave you the chance to enter the world of showbiz; instead of giving thanks, you prioritized deceit.
You don't deserve the name 'Hero'...
"Who are you!" shouts Hero while inside a dark, empty space.
"I am one of the people who have sharply criticized your behavior," a shadow says. "I am... Cristy Fermin."
"You again! You damaged my freakin' reputation! I still have a grudge against you!"
"I did not damage your reputation. I simply exposed your misbehaviors that an artist must not possess."
"Then why are you still haunting me! I should've cut you to bits to shut your foul mouth!"
"You must change for the better... because the fate of the entire Philippines depends on you. Or else, you will lose your very essence of humanity. You will be a savage animal."
After ten seconds of silence, no trace of Fermin's shadow remains. But another shadow shows up in its place.
"Hero! You deceitful dog! Your parents should've named you 'Loser'!"
"Hey! I know you! You're Joseph Bitangcol, right?"
"Right on the mark."
"Just like Cristy Fermin, I also hate you because you have stolen Sandara from me! Sandara's mine! All mine!"
"Quit your whining, Hero. I didn't steal Sandara from you. Your own gross ignorance paved the way for your separation from her."
"Grrrr...! I once recognized you as a friend, but now we're enemies."
"Of course. We're enemies now because your true colors have been exposed."
"Enough of your crap! Let's just settle it with a fight! It's on, freako!"
"Very well. Bring it!"
Star Circle Quest Fab 5 member versus Star Circle Quest Fab 5 member. Sword user versus sword user. The ethereal duel begins.
Duel Mechanics
If you're familiar with the Suikoden series, then you must know some facts about duels. But if not, here's the gist: two opposing forces have three choices: Attack, Defend, and Deathblow. Each choice is effective against some other choice (Attack is effective vs. Defend; Defend is effective vs. Deathblow; Deathblow is effective vs. Attack). The duel is over once a combatant's HP runs out.
Duel: Hero Angeles versus Joseph Bitangcol
Attack:
Yield to my sword...
Very well. I shall attack at will.
This blade will hurt, of course.
And now for my next maneuver...
I'll attack. What will you do, chump-ion?
Defend:
...
Hmph...
Come on! Let's see what you've got.
See if you can scratch me!
Prove that you're named Hero!
Deathblow:
Sorry... but I will take your life with this painful move.
I'll settle this with the upcoming move.
You deserve not to be a part of "Star Circle Quest"! Not even a champion!
I'm ashamed that I got along with you on "Star Circle Quest".
For Sandara's sake, I shall vanquish you!
(End of duel)
"Agghhh... You have won the battle, but if you won't change for the better, you will lose the war! Remember that!" Joseph says before he disappears into the void.
"Win the battle..." Hero ponders, "...but lose the war?"
"This is what you deserve if you pretend to love me!" a shadow of Sandara speaks spontaneously in front of him.
"Change for the better, or the people will change their attitude towards you," shadows of Hiroyuki and Akari speak impromptu behind him.
"Continue your cockiness and getting your head above the clouds," shadows of John and Heart speak unexpectedly beside him, "and you'll automatically receive a one-way ticket to purgatory."
"What! Not you, too! Why are you all condemning me like that! Arrgghh!" Hero shouts in despair.
Some moments later, he finds himself plunged into a literal downward spiral.
If you don't change your rotten attitude, Hero...
You won't deserve the name 'Hero'...
And the Philippines will still be in the chaos of the crisis...
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Hero wakes up shouting. The rest of the unified force are startled by this.
"Hero! What in spirits has happened to you?" Sandara asks Hero.
"I... It's a long story. Before I can continue," Hero answers groggingly from his nightmare, "gather everyone, because I have an important message to say."
The unified force gathers as instructed, and then begins to listen to Hero's monologue.
"I have come to realize that I made a terrible sin against all of you and perhaps the entire Filipino nation.
Deceit.
Boastfulness.
Selfishness.
Greed.
I have possessed those traits, but to play it safe, I hid them away so that my true colors won't be exposed. You never probably realized that, did you?
But now, a terrible nightmare told me to wake up to the truth. It said that if I don't change for the better, I can't lead all of you, much more the entire people, into a genuine fight for national unity.
To start off my forgiveness, Sandara...
I realized how much I became possessive of you. When you said one time, before this civil war, that you had a crush on Joseph, I immediately went furious. I even threatened to challenge Joseph to a fight. You consoled me afterwards, alright, but you didn't know that I still kept the hatred in my heart, ready to conflagrate when the time is right.
I. Am. Sorry.
To Hiroyuki, Akari, Multi, and all of your friends...
This is perhaps the first time you visited the Philippines, right? As a Filipino, I tried to show you what the typical traits are. Only positive ones, to save face. But when you experienced discrimination, I thought that you might be all mad at me, because I and Mr. Victorialuna are both Filipinos. So I tried to cover up by defending only the weaknesses and imperfections. Especially to Multi. In our local tongue, "Hindi naman tayo kulelat." We're not behind anyway.
I. Am. Sorry.
And finally, to John and Heart...
I knew how you sacrificed your lives to defend those Japanese teens from discrimination. But then, I took advantage of that fact, and soon, my noble purpose was replaced by the desire to just kill, kill, and kill.
I. Am. Sorry.
I know that talk is cheap, but I channeled my forgiveness and lamentations from my heart to yours. Via this forgiving mouth of mine.
So once again, I am sorry. To heart."
After several seconds of silence, the rest of the unified force accept Hero's apology in different ways.
"Well, we're in EDSA, right?" Hiroyuki then asks.
John replies, "Okie-dokie. Specifically, we're near SM North Edsa. Since it's a mall, we all have a chance to stock up on supplies before the final battle, right?"
"Yes. As my mom always says, 'Better ask the way than go astray'," Akari echoes.
"After all," cuts Masashi, "our combined money must be used for the greater good."
As recommended, the unified force enters SM North Edsa. There they buy the supplies needed for them to survive, despite the fact that the mall itself is near the hotspot of the civil war.
Meanwhile, back at the CHED office...
"I can feel it! Those despicable worms and their equally despicable goal of ousting me and trying to unite the people in the process! Ugh! My three servants, the Abu Sayyaf, everything else that I masterminded... Now they all fell apart! Grrrr!
But I will still have the last laugh! National unity will never happen, and those maggots will be gone in an instant once I have this!"
This statement is spoken by none other than Melficio Victorialuna. Now, he raises his hand, and chants yet another chant.
"Personae who paved the way to the much-needed division of the Filipino people due to politics, I will borrow your souls in order to solidify my rule over this nation!
Retired Gen. Fortunato Abat!
Former COMELEC Commissioner Virgilio Garcilliano!
The Magdalo Group and other rebel soldiers!
Leave your pathetic mortal bodies and join me in achieving eternal power!"
In a split-second, the aforementioned people, who are busy in their own little affairs, just simply dropped dead while their spirits fly hastily toward the CHED office and are absorbed by Mr. Victorialuna.
"Yes. Yes. YES! This is POWER! The power to rule the Philippines by building it and destroying it whatever and whenever I wish! This is the truth! This is the true armed struggle towards solidarity and democracy! I am a god! Hahahahahaha!"
And that act doen't end there.
"Now for a little trial of my new power. I will coerce surviving administration and opposition supporters into serving me with this! Nefarious Water Cannon, come forth!"
In an instant, powerful jets of water bombard every surviving administration and opposition supporter. In fact, they're more powerful than the water cannon used to soak Teofisto Guingona and co. at Mendiola.
The effect? The supporters now say nothing but "Victorialuna is truth. Victorialuna is God." while they walk like zombies in thin air toward the CHED office. Nothing can't stop them, not even bodies of water.
"And finally, to make sure that those Japanese worms and their allies never harm me, I will up the ante on both offense and defense! Wicked Calibrated Preemptive Response, come forth!"
Soon, monsters fill the Development Academy of the Philippines Building, which is where the CHED office resides. Even worse, Mr. Victorialuna's three servants show up in spirit form. They are, obviously, more powerful than before.
"Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! The shining path is near! This is the revolution of the masses! This is the truth! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!"
Mr. Victorialuna's evil laugh resonates in the stale air around EDSA.
And that evil laugh is heard even kilometers away, especially by the unified force, who are already done with the shopping.
"Ultimate... evil... kilometers... away..." Kotone mutters.
"I deduce that we must act immediately because Mr. Victorialuna has made his office a proverbial evil castle," Tomoko explains.
"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's open up a hearty can of whoop-butt, now!" Lemmy cuts in.
The rest of the unified force agree and together they got out of SM North Edsa, and into the highway which is now called The Ruins of Hatred at EDSA.
(to be continued)