CHAPTER 79: ROAD TO PERDITION, PART 3
The world has gone black for Arnold Shortman.
Moments ago, he was fighting for his very life against the most dangerous man he had ever faced, all in the final battle for the soul of Hillwood. Putting all of his heart and soul and body on the line to defeat this enemy, he had pushed himself to a place where even he has difficulty coming back from; his body beaten and abused far beyond any normal human being could survive.
Outside his place of rest, the people of Hillwood continue to fight on for their city without pause, and without doubt in their hearts. It is because of their spirit and drive to take back their city that drives something in Arnold to continue on himself, and what lets his body begin to heal again.
The world returns to Arnold Shortman once again, and it reveals itself to him in his eyesight.
When his eyes open, the first thing that he sees is that he is bound and on his knees, unable to move. His legs and hands are both tied together and the rope's knot is out of his reach, leaving him unable to untie himself out of his restraints. Struggling, tempting as it is to try, has no effect on the ropes either.
After his effort to release himself, the next thought that came to his mind was the last memory he held: While still unconscious from his massive blood loss, he had one final image of the Freak standing over his face, still showing himself to be alive and continuing to fight...
...and seconds before that, Helga Pataki, saving his life by removing the blade from his heart, then knocked down by that same enemy.
His refound senses drove him to quickly search for any sign of either of the two, soon finding the former standing at the edge of platform he was standing on. It was then that it occurred to him that he was standing on top of a building, most likely the same one they did battle in before.
Having abandoned his trench coat, the Freak stood over the building without a shirt, looking down on the battle still unfolding below. Turning back to Arnold, the scarring on his chest showed a new saying written on it, now reading: 'BORN TO DIE', referring to his goal and his fate.
Looking back at his captive, the Freak smiled on him with a chuckle.
"Hey Arnold. Welcome back to the living." The Freak said.
"Curly?" Arnold asked.
"Yes. I'm still alive. Unfortunately for you and me. It looks like you'll have to try a little harder than that."
The Freak turned back to his view of the battle below, continuing to look down on the denizens of Hellwood carry on their fight.
"You're healing up quite nicely. Must be your connection to the people of Hillwood. As they keep their spirits up, yours stay up. Same with me. I stay connected to my people, too. They go on hating and destroying, raping and pillaging, living out all the worst desires of the human heart. And I reap all the benefits of their fun." The Freak said.
"Then you should know that your whole experiment's failed. The people of Hillwood aren't sitting by and taking your abuse anymore. They're standing up and fighting. You're losing." Arnold said.
"Just because you managed to round up your troops and gain some following again doesn't mean I'm done. I've won when you've killed me and finally break your morals. You still have yet to do that."
"I'm not going to do it, Curly. Even before, I wasn't going to kill you. That blade in your heart wouldn't have killed you."
"No, of course not. It doesn't matter. My death is still preordained, no matter how it comes. The important thing is that I still win."
"Win what exactly? What are you trying to accomplish, Curly? What are you after?"
"I'm after the truth behind the idea of heroes: There are no true heroes."
The Freak again turned back to Arnold, preparing to deliver a speech to clarify his position.
"What have we learned so far with Hellwood? The idea of peace is just a social construct. When you live in somewhere that's got a stable economy and good living conditions, people can get along just fine. Sure, you'll have your fringe types that hate other people for being brown or putting the wrong combinations of genitals together, but that ultimately doesn't add up to much. Why go out and cause trouble when you've got a good life? Sure, you really hate those icky, icky, gay people, but the idea of eating out at that fancy restaurant you like sounds better, and you can't go if you try for some violence and get thrown in jail, now, can you? There's incentive and disincentive structures to take certain actions. That's how we build a society. Once you have those simple building blocks in place, you can set up all kinds of rules and people will always follow it to a 'T' to make sure they live on the next day. But a society is only as good as its capability of survival. Look at the fall of countries like Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. Economic and living conditions went down, and with it went the people's belief in their societies. Their countries collapsed, and, when they fell, none of their people ever looked back at it. They just moved on and tried to create their new worlds all over again. With the old powers gone, someone else was free to step into that vacuum and make their own world just as they saw fit, and, because they were the ones who made it work for people to survive, people followed those leaders along. That's how we have some of the most influential people in the world today. They become our heroes. We look up to them, we study every word they say, every action they take, and we try to become like them in hopes that we'll make some of the changes they made, too. But with a bigger magnifying glass and a finer-toothed comb, you'll find that some of the so-called 'heroes' we have in the world are not as great as people made them out to be. Ghandi was the man who led a peaceful movement which freed India from British rule, and he sent plenty of others to do the same... but the quiet part the skip over is how he slept with underage women naked to test his willpower. He's not perfect. Martin Luther King was another man who led a non-violent movement to get rights for others and a very religious man... but they also don't tell you he cheated on his wife and was a raging homophobe. Mister fucking Rogers was a sweet old man on T.V. that said he loved you just the way you were and told you to love others the same... but apparently he didn't share that belief to old Officer Clemmons, a gay man, and told him to stay in the closet and marry a woman, not even letting him be out on his show. Yet these are just a handful of people that we hold up as 'perfect' human beings, as if they're some kind of example for themselves or their children to be. I've spent my whole life looking for some hero like that... but I haven't found any yet." The Freak said.
"Everyone makes mistakes, Curly. Nobody claims that they're perfect, and they're lying if they do." Arnold said.
"But you've claimed you're perfect. That you were made the way you are by the Green Eyes, and supposed to bring about the ultimate peace to the world. You even told poor little Helga that you were better than her. So was all that a lie?"
Arnold groaned under the difficulty of the question, trying to find an answer satisfactory to them both.
"I was in the wrong to say that to Helga. But that has nothing to do with what I am. The Green Eyes gave me powers and responsibilities to help others with it. I'm supposed to set a better example for people to follow. All those people you talked about might have had their flaws, but that doesn't make them bad people. One wrong doesn't nullify all the good someone does." Arnold said.
"But it proves that they're not perfect people. That they're not gods." The Freak said.
"Nobody says that they are. Maybe we can build up the wrong idea of a person sometimes, but it doesn't mean that they still are perfect."
"Exactly the problem. You got people to follow you because you upheld your own sense of morality and enforced it where you could. You used your power to shape the world again as you saw fit. You wanted to set the world how you wanted to be. The people with power over society get to shape it any way they want. That's the way it works."
"I was changing things to help people to survive. You were changing things to make people suffer."
"I didn't go out to change anything. I wasn't going off and inspiring people to do anything I thought was right. I don't believe anythings right. All I did was try to show them that there really is no such thing as a hero, and you were the prime example of that."
"So then why did you cause so much pain and death and encourage others to do so? Wasn't that your idea of changing the world as you want to see it? And why would you encourage Willie, Wolfgang, and Lila to do the same?"
"I couldn't give a shit less about how the world decides to run itself. I can't stand the world or the idiots that live in it. For the 3 stooges, each of them only added to my point. They each had their own heroes, their own moral codes, and they made their own societies based on those rules. They were essentially no different than you, but they proved to be nice little adversaries to try to make you step outside your box of thought and try to see my point. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to do the job, so that left me to do it right. Speak of the devil, as for me, I did what I did for 3 reasons. 1: It helped to break you down more and more. I know how much you rely on the people to give you strength and how you like to make things better for them. I know that for every one of them I took from you, it would eventually build up to my second reason. 2: To make you want to kill me. I had to give you a reason to want me dead. If I go on killing and killing and not stopping, the only option you've got to stop me is to end my life before I end others, isn't it? Well, I'd like to think so, but you haven't gotten that message so far. And, of course, reason number 3..."
The Freak began chuckling at the thought of his third reason, amused by the idea as he shared it.
"...because it's just so much fun. The one thing I could never stand about people is just how relentlessly annoying they are. They always want something. Whether it be just to talk to another person about whatever's on their minds, try to fill their time with some object or activity of pleasure, find someone else to fuck, they're always looking to each other to try to prove to themselves that they're alive and they exist. I know I'm alive and I exist, and I sure as hell didn't need another person to do that. The stuff you call human nature and humanity? It's nothing but noise to me. It's so noisy and annoying that the only way I can really get any respite from all of it is to end the same life that's becoming an irritant in mine. All their thoughts of love and friendship are like pollutants to me, and the only way I find peace is when they're finally gone." The Freak said.
"You once loved Rhonda. How does that fit into your paradigm?" Arnold asked.
The Freak appeared to show frustration with Arnold's question, as if caught in some sort of lie or confronted on a personal embarassment.
"That was before I came to my senses. If anything, it's Rhonda I have to thank for that wake-up call. Even if details of that event are a bit... skewed in my mind, the end result is still that I learned the real truth. And here we are now." The Freak said.
"I still don't see what you have to gain from this, Curly. Let's say I kill you. I'll have shown I gave up on helping someone by ending their life. You'll have won. But you won't be around to see or enjoy it. What good is that victory to you then?" Arnold asked.
"I'll have left something behind for myself. Something for people to remember that I was here."
"Destroying Hillwood isn't enough of a legacy for you? All the lives you've taken aren't enough for you?"
"No. Dozen of people went down in history for being mass murderers or genocidal maniacs, but only a few went down for being someone who made a difference. Dahmer, Gein, Gacy? They were just killers. Small fry. They had no impact other than just being completely fucked up. Adolf Hitler? Joseph Stalin? Mao Zedong? Pol Pot? They went down as ideologues. Visionaries. People who changed the course of history both for their own societies and the rest of the world. That's how I want to be remembered. And the only way I can get that is through you. Almost everyone on this Earth wants themselves to be passed down through passing on their genes. Squat out a baby, feed and raise it for a few decades, and hope it does the same for you, then maybe you can live on. But that's ultimately no good. When you leave something behind that only affects one person, you can just be forgotten. But when you impact so many people that it alters world history, they can't forget you, because they refuse to forget you."
"So that's what this's all been about? Just an attempt to stay immortal? You've destroyed your own home just so you could be remembered and hated?"
"That wasn't the goal at first, I admit. At first, it was all just a touch of fun for me trying to see what I could do with your powers. But that talk I had with god changed everything. I learned what my purpose is. I learned what my life has been leading up to. What I have to do with it. If I'm going to die, I need to leave something of me behind."
"You don't even know if what you spoke to was even real. How do you know it's not just a hallucination?"
"It doesn't matter. Some time ago, the president authorized a complete airstrike of Hillwood, and it'll be destroyed in a matter of minutes."
The revelation led Arnold to open his eyes further and look to the Freak more intensely, letting out a gasp of breath with the fact.
"What?!" Arnold asked.
"That's right. After my little broadcast to the world, they've decided that I'm too dangerous to deal with and they're going to kill this whole city just to kill me. With the use of nukes, it will kill even both of us. We're both already dead. All three of us." The Freak said.
"Three?"
The Freak led an open palm to his side, showing the last of the 3 involved in the final moment of Hellwood. Though it should have come as no surprise to him, the final of the players was the one of the two people that had first come to his mind upon awakening, but had slowly forgot about until now:
Helga.
Laying unconscious on the ground, her hands tied behind her back, her unconscious state brought a scare to Arnold, making him scream out her name.
"HELGA!" Arnold shouted.
"Calm yourself, she's not dead... yet." The Freak said.
Grabbing her by the shoulder, the Freak spun her body around, showing an object that laid on her back. Attached to her body was a large pack of C-4, coupled with a countdown timer and various other electronics. Further concerned over Helga, Arnold struggled against his restraints yet again, once again to no avail.
"I figure, if this won't make you kill me, nothing will. I remember how well you fought against me when I shot her through the chest, but you still had plenty of time to make it work and save her. This time, there'll be no chances. When this timer goes to 'zero', so does her lifespan. No transplants in the world can save her from being reduced to a pile of meat chunks." The Freak said.
Stepping over to another spot of the building, he picked up two swords set aside for himself, taking them both.
He then threw one of his swords up in the air, letting it swing around as it made its way towards Arnold. Arnold expected the sword to come falling directly into his body, leading him to close his eyes embrace for the impact. Instead, the blade did not cut him in any way, but instead cut through the ropes tying his hands and feet; expertly thrown to hit the targets and not him.
Stepping up from his place on the ground, Arnold picked the sword up, wielding it with the intent to attack. Reaching behind his back, the Freak pulled out a remote detonator, holding it up towards Arnold. Realizing the leverage that the Freak held over him, Arnold did not advance, instead keeping his distance and observing to preserve Helga's life.
"There's no way out for us now. Let's finish this before the airstrike drops." The Freak said.
[Soundtrack Cue: Avenged Sevenfold - Not Ready to Die]
Pressing the button to his remote detonator, the Freak started the countdown on the bomb. The action made Arnold let out a slight gasp, knowing that Helga's fate was all but sealed now. His eyes went straight to Helga, putting his main focus on the bomb strapped to her back.
At the command of the remote detonator, the bomb activated, with the countdown timer activated. The countdown timer started at a time of 7 minutes, and slowly began making its way down to 'zero', with the Freak sarcastically whistling the main riff to Europe's The Final Countdown as he did so.
"6 minutes is all I've got left to play with you. That'll be our time limit. If you win, you might be able to save her. You could enjoy one last brief moment of love before it all ends." The Freak said.
Continuing to whistle along to the song, he tossed the remote detonator over the side of the building, ensuring that there would be no chance of ending the detonation sequence. Returning his free hand to his sword, he aimed it towards Arnold, ready to fight at last.
Knowing that there was now no other way to save Helga than to remove the Freak from his way, Arnold held up his own sword, keeping a tight stare on his enemy for his chance to attack. Holding up his own sword, the Freak held his open hand towards Arnold, then himself, waving him to approach in a taunt.
Beginning with a dash towards him, Arnold fulfilled the taunt.
5:30
Running straight towards the Freak, Arnold jumped towards him and flipped in the air, throwing a downwards slash towards him as he spun back to his feet. His slash was blocked away by the Freak's own sword, leaving neither landing a hit towards one another yet, prompting Arnold to try to make his first hit again.
Moving right back up to the Freak, Arnold made his way to make his second attempt, swinging his sword straight towards his enemy. Keeping himself preserved against his opponent's attacks, the Freak continued to block away his slashes, knocking back each fall of the sword that came towards him.
In keeping back the slashes of the sword, the Freak pushed back with an offense of his own, seeking to match the attack thrown his way with one in response. Just as he was skilled at keeping back any attack that came his way, he was more than capable of dealing out his own.
However, Arnold, too, proved himself capable at defense as well as offense, especially with his given inventive of saving Helga. With two opponents standing against each other at opposite objectives, they quickly became stuck in a deadlock of moves that put neither party further to winning against the other; forced to keep on fighting as they were in hopes of gaining some leverage.
Driving his sword back down, Arnold slashed a cut across the Freak's chest, finally landing his first hit. The cut landed across the scarring on the Freak's chest, cutting through the first two words on his body, leaving just the word 'DIE' before the wound had healed and recreated the phrase.
Looking down at the now healed wound, the Freak looked back to Arnold in rage, running forward with his sword.
5:00
Locking their swords together, the two put themselves up face-to-face, each staring the other down. Having spent a full month fighting a war with each other, no catharsis is enough for the resentment that they hold for each other; a truth that both shared in their minds as they looked upon one another.
Breaking the hold of their swords, the Freak made use not only of his blade, but also his legs and feet, beginning to kick at Arnold between slashes and strikes. Blocking Arnold's sword and driving it to the ground, the Freak jumped forward with a roundhouse kick, hitting Arnold in the face and knocking him back.
Moving forwards to his opponent, Arnold threw a slash towards his legs, prompting him to jump over the attack. Lunging forward with his jump, he landed across to his other side, extending his sword out as if prompting Arnold to approach him and start attacking again.
The Freak gave him no time to meet with the taunt, instead heading forward and thrusting forward with his sword. Stepping to the side, Arnold held his own sword up to his chest, blocking the incoming strike of the Freak's sword swinging towards him, merely knocking him back instead of cutting him.
Running back towards his enemy and jumping in the air, the Freak swung his sword down towards Arnold, aiming to make a cut into his shoulder. Holding his sword above his head, Arnold blocked the strike from reaching him, leading the Freak to use his momentum to jump over him.
4:30
Advancing forward with his sword, the Freak began pushing Arnold back to defend himself, gaining advantage over his opponent. His advancement led Arnold to stumble his way to the edge of the building, reminding him that an increase in effort on his part was required.
Blocking one final slash by holding his sword up, Arnold pushed the Freak's weapon back, following by throwing a kick to his chest. This time, he began to advance forward with his own sword, leading the Freak to change up his tactics to adjust for his attacking blade.
Defending against the piercing thrusts of Arnold's sword, the Freak spun and blocked one final strike, using his free hand to grasp the thrusting enemy hand. Having Arnold in his grasp, the Freak gained the freedom to cut into his opponent all he desired, but not without said opponent's defenses.
Dodging away from incoming strikes and knocking back the Freak's armed hand with hits, Arnold finally freed himself with a punch to the Freak's face. Jumping to kick him in the chest, Arnold followed by spinning with the momentum of his kick, landing a hit into the Freak's chest.
Ducking under the next sword strike of the Freak, Arnold threw his sword to his feet, only to find his enemy jumping in the air to avoid his strike. Using his leap to prepare another attack, the Freak brought his sword back down towards Arnold during his descent, only to have him move and leave the sword hitting only the ground.
Rolling back away from the strike, Arnold still remained on his knees; a position free for the Freak to exploit. Spinning with his miss to gain momentum for another strike, he threw another downward sword strike, finding his hit blocked by Arnold's sword held above his head.
4:00
Still, even with the protection of the sword's blade against the Freak's blade, Arnold was not free from any effects from the attack. Pushed off his balance from the blow, Arnold was forced to the ground; his legs and feet no longer able to hold his body up with the added weight of the force.
Bringing his enemy down to fight on his territory with him, Arnold kicked at the Freak's feet, forcing him to fall to the ground as well. Driving his own sword down towards him, Arnold began slashing at the Freak to land a hit towards him, only for the Freak to roll away and avoid the attacks.
Rolling to come back to his feet, the Freak stood up to fight once again, with Arnold doing the same. Moving back to mutual slashes and blocks, the two were stuck in a deadlock of such attacks once again, with the occasional sprinkling of a new attack to break the mold.
After blocking one sword strike away, Arnold threw a kick to the Freak's face, which he ducked back to avoid. Bringing back his foot for a strike to his back, this attack managed to land to its target, hitting the Freak in the spine. Painful as the attack was, it ultimately did little more than simply knocking him a few feet forward and anger him to keep on fighting.
Slashing away once again at Arnold, the Freak managed to block away another of his attacks, freeing up his chest and torso to attack. Fulfilling the potential attack with kicks to both, the Freak grabbed Arnold by the head and pulled him in a hold, bringing his sword to his enemy's throat.
3:30
Bringing up his own sword to block the attack, Arnold spared himself of a cut to the throat, further sparing himself from the position by kicking at the Freak's feet. Knocking away his enemy and freeing himself, Arnold once again continued attacking, moving forward to his opponent.
Meeting their swords in a mutual lock, the Freak threw a sweep to Arnold's feet, knocking him on the ground. Not willing to let him stand up again, he began stabbing his sword to the ground, aiming to pierce through Arnold and end him at last, but his opponent's evasive rolls proved that task to be hard to obtain.
Stopping his roll by locking the Freak's sword just above him, Arnold reached up his feet and wrapped them around his head, bringing his opponent back to the ground with him. Taking advantage of his enemy's position on the ground, Arnold threw his sword towards the Freak, only to have it blocked.
Continuing to battle while on the ground, the two tossed and tumbled around in place, each striking and blocking one another at their lowered elevation. Arnold stood up in a kneel to deliver a downward slash to the Freak, but was blocked away with his enemy's sword and hit in the face with a kick.
Knocking Arnold on his back, the Freak belly-flopped down to throw his sword down on him, having it narrowly blocked with Arnold holding his sword up to it. Throwing his sword under him, the Freak sought to cut him while down, but Arnold avoided it with a kip-up, putting himself back on his feet while avoiding the strike.
Slashing once again with his sword aimed to his opponent's feet, the Freak sent Arnold jumping in the air to avoid it, thrusting forward with his own sword in retaliation. Holding up his own sword to deflect the hit, he stopped Arnold's sword by meeting the tip of the blade with the body of his own, just barely avoiding the cut.
3:00
Lunging forward again with his sword, Arnold tried to make a stab into the Freak, only to find him slouching back to dodge the hit. Swinging his sword all around in hopes to get a hit, all of Arnold's strikes were dodged by the Freak; moving around in all manners of ways in place to avoid the attack.
Blocking the next hit with a lunge of his own, the Freak's attack was blocked with Arnold's sword. Pushing against the sword with his own, the Freak sought to knock the weapon out of his hand, leaving the two grinding their swords together and above their heads in a circular motion and test of strength.
Breaking off the hold, the Freak threw a slash towards Arnold's head, only to have him duck under it and continue his momentum by thrusting forward. Just barely missing a stab to his throat, the Freak dodged his neck away from the attack, blocking by moving his sword up to his throat and pushing the sword away.
Lunging towards one another, the two mutually threw stabs towards each other, both just missing and only cutting into their cheeks. Spinning around while still close, the two clashed their swords together, following with the Freak kicking Arnold in the chest, knocking both him and himself back at opposing sides.
With the Freak jumping towards him with a slash in the air, Arnold dodged the attack by falling to his back, bringing himself back up with a kip-up. Taking advantage of the Freak's placement on the ground, he turned and ran up to him with his sword, aiming to cut him while down.
Throwing kicks towards Arnold to prevent him from coming in with his sword, the Freak's defense managed only to pay off moment away from him slashing away with his sword, giving him the need to block with his own. Striking back at Arnold's sword attacks, the Freak rolled back and stood back up, getting back on his feet to fight again.
Instead of continuing to fight, the Freak instead dashed away from Arnold, taking a moment to prepare for the next part of his fight.
"Not too shabby, Arnold. But I'm not one to make things easy on you." The Freak said.
2:30
Taking his sword in both his hands, he seemed to pull it in two entirely new swords, now wielding two weapons against Arnold. Dashing back forward, the Freak not only seemed to be running towards Arnold, but now even flying off the ground itself to gain more speed.
Moving past Arnold without an attack, the Freak once again dashed towards Arnold, and again did not make an attack. Pushing himself back towards his enemy a third time, he then finally made his strike, throwing both of his swords down to Arnold in a downward slash.
Blocking away the strike by putting his sword above his head, Arnold next received a kick to the chest, pushing him back and left vulnerable to the Freak's next attack. Taking the advantage as it presented itself, the Freak moved forward with his new approach of using two swords.
Spinning around and swinging his swords to Arnold in a round motion, he stopped and made passes at his head and feet, pushing on after the preceeding attacks made no impact in its target. Side-stepping towards Arnold, the Freak began chopping to his side with the swords, aiming his strikes towards him.
Dodging his attacks once again, Arnold began retaliating with his own attack, thrusting his sword forward. Moving back to avoid the blade, the Freak caught Arnold's sword between his two own, leaving him unable to free up his weapon from his tight metal grasp.
Flicking the sword aside, the Freak threw away the wielder of the sword with it, sending Arnold spinning around to fall to the ground. Recovering himself in midair, Arnold safely landed himself back on his two feet again in a crouch, positioning himself up to continue fighting once again.
Thrusting forward with one sword then another, making stabbing attacks that moved in rapid succession to one another, the Freak made his next approach in his attack. Parrying the sword strikes with his own sword, Arnold followed by knocking back the Freak's extended arm with an eyebrow kick, followed by a side kick that landed in the Freak's torso.
Running back towards his enemy, Arnold began slashing away at him, hoping to finally land a hit into the Freak and see and end come to their fight. With Arnold picking up speed in his attacks, the Freak was forced to pick up the pace as well to compensate, though not by much with the help of two swords on his side.
Capturing Arnold's sword between his two own yet again, the Freak raised it up and kicked him in the face, making use of his newly made opening. Advancing forward in a similar approach to Arnold's previous one, he began rushing forward and slashing his swords like mad, with Arnold needing much more need to give focus and energy to keep up with the new challenge.
Needing to free himself from the onslaught of swords flying his way, Arnold followed one parry by swinging himself forward with one slash up, moving to throw a kick to the Freak. Landing the hit in his chest, Arnold followed through his jump and landed back on his feet, moving to his next attack.
Continuously spinning around while moving towards the Freak, Arnold swung his sword with each rotation, making his way around to the Freak's opposite side and jumping with a downward throw of his sword. Spinning himself around again, he repeated the approach of attack, once again pushing the Freak back.
As he made his new spin, he flipped himself up in a cartwheel, throwing two kicks to the Freak in the process. Following up the spins with a roundhouse kick, Arnold concluded his assault by throwing a slash towards the Freak, knocking his enemy back from the continous attacks.
Jumping over Arnold, the Freak spun himself around over his head, landing a double kick to the back of his enemy's head before landing on the ground. Taking maximum advantage of his double swords, he copied Arnold's spinning attack, slashing his swords away like mad.
Barely able to keep up with parrying the Freak's attack, Arnold's new challenge was met with his enemy jumping and rolling in the air, throwing a kick to his face before landing. Not letting the blow stop him, Arnold brushed it off and moved back in with his swords, still intent to win.
2:00
As the two continued to rage on in battle, Helga still sat on the sidelines, unconscious and unaware of the bomb strapped to her and set to explode. With the two opponents caught in a deadlock of battle that seemed to go in neither direction, she seemed helpless against the imminent threat of the bomb; doomed to be killed in its explosive blast.
But Arnold and the Freak are not the only two that exist around here on this battlefield with Helga. Joining discreetly but holding just as much relevance is Rhonda Lloyd, sneaking in now to come to the aide of the downed and hostage Helga to remove the bomb.
Taking one of her swords and beginning to cut through the bomb's straps, Rhonda's actions began to wake Helga, groggily becoming aware of her surroundings. The first objects in her focus were her beloved Arnold and the dastardly Freak still colliding swords, fighting without end.
"Hey Arnold!" Helga shouted.
Helga tried to pick herself up, but she was kept down by Rhonda, putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her stationary.
"Don't move. You've got a bomb strapped to your back." Rhonda said.
Receiving the terrifying news, Helga began to panic, turning to her back to try to see the bomb.
"What?! Get it off, get it off!" Helga shouted.
"I'm trying. Just hold on and stay calm." Rhonda said.
Helga's momentary selfishness was replaced with a look back to Arnold, noticing his fight with the Freak still not making progress.
"No, wait! What about Arnold? Can't you help him first?" Helga asked.
"He can take care of himself. Besides, this bomb might be just what he needs." Rhonda said.
1:30
Moving back forward with his swords, the Freak threw one towards Arnold in an attempt to drive it into him. Realizing that time was beginning to grow short on his side, Arnold knew that a simple swordfight like this could not carry on much longer, and began to change his approach to the fight.
Rather than parry the incoming sword, Arnold threw a cut to the Freak's hand, landing it in his wrist. Feeling the first blood drawn at last in their fight, and in a piece of his body essential to using his sword, his grip on the sword released, letting it fly into the air and disarming him.
Driving his remaining sword down to Arnold, the Freak received a cut in his other wrist as well, making him lose his other weapon. Now having the Freak disarmed and vulnerable, Arnold threw a slash across his chest, spinning around to deliver a greater blow that was more effective than most.
Taking his sword to the Freak's side, Arnold sliced his body in half, sending his severed upper half flying in the air. Still showing his healing powers to be greater than that of Arnold's, muscle, tissue, blood, and fibers all reached up from both halves of his body to reconnect as one, pulling him back together as a whole.
One of the swords that the Freak had released from his grip, still flying in the air, had started to come back down and fell into his hand again. Seeming to fully recover from the attack, he took his sword up and readied it to fight again, with Arnold doing much of the same in return.
1:00
Coming to attack each other yet again, the two clashed their swords together in rapid succession; slashing and parrying at each other at high speeds. Both far beyond driven to defeat one another and their natural abilities pushed to their absolute limit to accomplish that task.
Pushing their swords' strength to their limits, the metal build of the blades beginning to chip away and bend from their strained use, their bodies, too, found their own mettle put to the test. Their movements had already met those of some of the fastest and most experienced martial artists, but each passing second seemed to show an increase in speed.
Soon, their movements began to surpass those of the most talented and experienced martial artists, breaking world records with each second that passed in their impasse. Even with the pushing of limits being made here, they were still not done pushing themselves on what they could do.
Pushed even farther than their previous efforts, their movements began to exceed the human perception of sight itself; their arms and blade moving so fast that no observing eye could process where they moved. Their swords no longer even began to sound like traditional blades cutting through the air, but instead something akin to miniature breakings of the sound barrier.
Eventually, this came to a stop when their bodies were not what broke, but their swords. Having collided against each other one too many times, the blades broke off from their final collision; reducing the size of their blades by half. The temporary surprise of the event granted Arnold a moment to use against the Freak, driving what remained of his sword into his hand.
0:30
Slicing into the flesh once again, he cut the Freak's hand clean off, leaving him to scream from the pain. Still making use of his partial sword, Arnold began slicing away into the Freak's body, cutting away at flesh and skin without remorse. Though his body was more than capable of replenishing the lost skin and blood from each cut, the Freak's mind was still much off-put by the pain, screaming with each cut.
Finally, Arnold spun and stabbed the Freak in the stomach, driving the blade across his belly, leaving blood and organs to spill out from him in an act of disembowelment. Grabbing him by the neck, Arnold followed by punching him in the face, sending him stumbling back towards the edge of the building.
0:20
"HEY ARNOLD!" Rhonda shouted.
Turning to the scene of Helga, Arnold found Rhonda holding up the bomb, now safely removed from her back. She tossed the bomb over to Arnold, leading him to catch it in one hand. Taking another to the Freak's shoulder, he shoved it into the open gash in his stomach.
Pushing the large explosive through the wound, Arnold made the Freak begin to spew up blood and more organs; all pushed out of their place from the intrusive bomb being shoved in their places. Feeling the bomb inside his body, the Freak was now sent in pain more unbearable than he could stand, leaving him to stumble in place in a mindset barely conscious anymore.
0:10
Taking one last look into the Freak's eyes, Arnold shared one last word to him before throwing his finishing blow.
"The freak show... is over." Arnold said.
Jumping up in a spin, Arnold threw a 360 roundhouse kick to the Freak's head, landing a hit square in his jaw. Knocked back from the hit, the Freak was knocked over the edge of the building, falling off and sending him falling back over and down to his fate at last.
As he descended, he gave out one final cry to his opponent, swearing his name in his last moments.
"HEY ARNOLD...!" The Freak shouted.
0:00
Once the countdown timer hit 'zero', the bomb finally detonated, taking the Freak with it in the blast. Turning away from the explosion, Arnold covered his eyes from the blast, only turning back when the blast had subsided and all events were over. Walking over to the edge of the building, Helga and Rhonda joined him, both looking down at what remained of the Freak below.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
"Is he dead?" Helga asked.
Arnold carefully looked into the mind of the Freak before answering, ensuring that he would not continue fighting back.
"Might as well be." Arnold said.
Holding his severed hand in her own, Rhonda tossed it down to his remains below, leaving the last piece of him with the whole.
"Good riddance." Rhonda said.
The trio shared a brief moment to breathe following the defeat of the Freak, taking their time to collect their thoughts and find what moment of peace they could seize in the moment. Looking to the streets of Hellwood, they watched as the battle raved on between the citizens of Old Hillwood and the followers of the Freak; their fight carrying on without any signs of letting up.
Opening his mind to the astral plane, Arnold let out a message to the followers of the Freak, informing them of their leader's fate.
The Freak is dead. You have nothing left to fight for. Put down your weapons and surrender. Arnold said.
Despite his message being sent out to the fighters, no one seemed to acknowledge or follow his orders; all still continued to fight, all still intent on defeating the citizens of Old Hillwood. Arnold took the sight with a degree of disappointment, not understanding why they continued to fight.
"I don't get it. The Freak's gone. He never cared about them at all. He just wanted to fulfill his own need to stop me and prove me wrong. What do they have to gain by still fighting?" Arnold said.
"Maybe because they fight for the same reason that the Freak did. They believe in the same thing he did, and they won't stop until they get what they want." Rhonda said.
Arnold seemed to show more disappointment with the answer, giving a discontent look.
"Then maybe it's time to stop fighting and we need to make an approach of-" Arnold began to say.
Before Arnold could finish his sentence, both him and Rhonda noticed a new presence on the astral plane, bringing the two an uncomfortable feeling that signalled a sense of danger. Turning their attention to the presence, the two projected their minds to seek it out, finding something far more terrifying than they could have anticipated.
Approaching the island city by air was a squad of bomber planes making its approach towards the center of Hellwood, each carrying on it a nuclear bomb matching that of the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The brief glimpse given into each of the pilots' minds told them that they had every intention of dropping the bombs, leaving them with a dire situation on their hands.
"Oh, no." Rhonda said.
"What? What's wrong?" Helga asked.
"The Freak wasn't lying. The president just ordered the Army to bomb Lang Island. They're going to destroy Hillwood and kill everyone on it." Arnold said.
Now panicking from the news, Helga's concern turned to pure fear, with her elevated voice expressing the emotions accordingly.
"WHAT?! But- But you beat the Freak, they can't do that, right? The threat's gone!" Helga said.
The statement brought an idea to Arnold, giving him a reminder of a previous encounter which could spell salvation for Hillwood.
"They don't know that yet. But we can tell them." Arnold said.
"How?" Helga asked.
"The villains I fought were sent here to take out Curly. They were given these to signal that the job was done."
Reaching around his back, he pulled out a saved item from before, stashing it behind himself in case. What he pulled out was a set of flares, and a brief memory gained from the mind of Nailbomb returned to his head. Telepathically sharing the memory with the others, Rhonda and Helga both saw it played out.
The journey of the helicopter came near the end of its flight, coming just miles away from Lang Island. Flying past the borders and guard posts, it flew towards the island, coming up on the city of Hellwood. Bound to leave the helicopter in minutes, the villains were prompted to ready themselves, doing the last checks on their equipment and weapons.
Just before landing, one soldier handed off a flare to Nailbomb, instructing him with what to do with it.
"When the threat's been eliminated, you head to the Tucker Bridge, burn this flare. They see this green flare, they'll let you back out." The soldier said.
"Got it." Nailbomb said.
With their minds returned to the present, the group instantly realized what needed to be done, with Rhonda taking up the task along with the flares needed to complete it. She reached out to grasp the flares from Arnold's hands, but he was not ready to release them into hers yet.
"I can move faster on foot. I'll head to Tucker Bridge. You two need to get out of here regardless of what happens." Rhonda said.
"But what about the people of Hillwood? About Gerald and your father?" Arnold asked.
"We can't save everybody right now. They're too stuck on fighting to do anything properly for that now. If I can get to the bridge on time, they'll be safe. But above all, you need to get Helga out. If I don't make it... I don't want to have died for nothing."
Understanding her reasoning for wanting to fulfill the task herself, Arnold released the flares, letting her take them.
"Okay. Please, for the sake of Hillwood, make it on time." Arnold said.
"I will." Rhonda said.
Running to the side of the building, Rhonda jumped off it, leaping off to the adjacent rooftop to make her way to Tucker Bridge. Needing to bring his own woman to safety, Arnold picked Helga up in his arms, jumped off the other side of the building, and descended down to the ground by skipping off the walls of the buildings in the alley they fell down.
Landing safely on the ground, Arnold set Helga back on the ground, leading her to their new place of interest to escape from Hillwood. Their first stop was an abandoned car in a series of others, breaking open a window and stepping inside for Arnold to hot-wire it to start.
"So how are we going to get out of here before the bomb hits?" Helga asked.
While trying to hot-wire, Arnold quickly tried to think of a solution, pondering what location and escape route out of Hillwood had not been taken yet. His answer was...
"Union Station." Arnold said.
"The train station?" Helga asked.
"There's one old tunnel that leads out to Francesca Bay to the Skookumchuck River. We can leave by boat that way."
"What makes you think that people haven't tried it already and taken all the boats? Or its lined up with soldiers?"
"I don't. But it's our best and only shot."
Right as Arnold finished his sentence, he completed the hot-wire, starting the car and preparing their escape vehicle. Not having any more arguments to give on their departure, Helga followed Arnold into the car on their journey to Union Station, praying that this gamble would be their salvation.
As they departed from their previous scene, however, there was one more player that had caught ear of their plan, and had every intention of joining them. This player was, at the moment, nothing more than a blob of mass that barely held any conscious as it was, but it still possessed a will to live, and that will kept it powered on.
Reaching out for a hand severed from its whole once, the mass reattached it to itself, reconstituting one piece of the whole again.
Arriving at Union Station, the two drove their way up to their destination, darting up the stairs and landing the car into the main station. Turning the car towards the tracks that led to Francesca Bay, Arnold put the car on the tracks and began driving it down the empty tracks.
Having plenty of room to maneuver the vehicle down the abandoned tracks into a tunnel, Arnold had little difficulty in making his way down the path; his trip seemingly having little difficulty any longer. Pushing the gas pedal as far down as he could drive it, Arnold drove as fast as he could down the tunnel, hoping that he could avoid the blast should it come, and hoping more that it would not come at all.
Finally having a moment to relax again, he and Helga took their time to breathe, waiting for their time to make their way to the other side and be free at last. Leaving the living nightmare of Hellwood far behind them, they had no time to grieve and mourn those lost yet, but a reflection on all that unfolded is still warranted for them.
Helga, having undergone her own tribulations for the tragedy, had only one thing to say regarding her experience.
"I love you, Arnold." Helga said.
Following the traumatizing and horrible trials that the city of Hellwood had given him, how many people important to him he had lost, how far he had fallen as a person, and even how much he knew was gone was not the primary thought in Arnold's mind at the moment, but it was how Helga had done him wrong.
Betraying his trust with her pseudo-affair of Baise-Moi, telling a narrative about her false pregnancy to lead him on a lie, and even being the cause of his unfounded love of Lila are all at the forefront of his mind, but at the same time he cannot deny the many times that she has put her own life on the line to save his and tried to rectify her mistakes and wrongdoings.
Though his feelings are as of yet unresolved, he can still permit him to say...
"Yeah. I guess I love you, too." Arnold said.
Before any more contemplation could come of their drive to freedom, however, one last trial of Hellwood began making its way towards them to test them. Coming down the tunnel was a pair of headlights belonging to a car, leading them to realize that they were being followed.
"Who is that?" Helga asked.
Feeling a presence on the astral plane all to familiar, Arnold had already realized who was in pursuit before he made himself visible.
"No." Arnold said.
Making his way closer, the approaching vehicle was a small jeep driven by the still-surviving Freak, driving towards their car and gaining fast. Coming into view in the dark tunnel, his body was still mostly mangled and scarred from the internal explosion, but his pieces and parts were all still held together, and showing to be healing relatively fast to keep up with his targets.
"HEY ARNOLD!" The Freak shouted.
Standing up in his seat, he brandished a machine gun, pointing it straight at Arnold and Helga as they drove.
[Soundtrack Cue: KMFDM - Adios]
Making use of her abilities of super-speed, Rhonda ran towards her destination of Tucker Bridge, keeping her flares tight in hand. Paying no mind to the battle behind her or her urge to run back and warn the others of the explosion, strong as it was, logic and reason shone through to tell her that the current method of stopping the explosion was the more effective solution.
Running her way to the bridge, her path to victory was not as clear as Arnold's; with an entire portion of a city abandoned and rule of law gone, the roads and highways ran crowded with cars, collapsed buildings, and other debris standing in her way, leaving her with the need to avoid it.
Jumping over the various objects standing in her way, she displayed talents of parkour to navigate around her surroundings, leaping over rubble and obstacles as if they were but merely part of some playground or other form of recreation. Were there any other situation where urgency was not required, she might have even granted herself a sense of fun from the task.
But there is no time for fun with the fate of an entire city and its lives in stake. Pushing forward and faster, she continued on her mission.
Firing his machine gun at his targets, the Freak began shooting at Arnold and Helga, trying to end their lives at last in one final attempt to claim victory.
"GET DOWN!" Arnold shouted.
Pushing Helga's head down below her seat, Arnold put his own head down as well, both ducking from the incoming fire of the Freak's gun. Bullets flew over their heads with several sounds of 'whizz' going past them, as well as the louder shattering of glass and denting of metal from the bullets.
With the windows being shot out by the Freak, the two were forced to endure feeling glass fall on them, hoping that neither would be cut from the shards running over them. Not allowing Helga to come to any harm, Arnold tried to place more of himself over her, shielding her from the falling glass.
The bullets came to a stop when the Freak had run out of ammunition to his weapon, leading him to take out the magazine and reload.
On the streets of Hillwood, its citizens still remained locked in its civil war; neither side in the battle aware of the oncoming threat that made its way closer and closer, bringing their doom and death with it. Instead, everyone on the ground still continued to fight out unawares, each party still trying to claim victory for its own ideology.
The incoming bombers, conversely, had no such concern nor awareness of who was fighting and why. The pilots behind the planes are but men sent on a mission on official orders, and they have no consciousness on their minds regarding the task, for allowing themselves that luxury would cause them more grief in life than any could bear to live with.
Instead, they kept their fingers held tight on the controls, ready to drop their bombs.
Reloading his weapon, the Freak fired on Arnold and Helga once again, now having a full magazine to deplete on his targets. Still keeping their heads down, Arnold began swerving their car from side to side, crashing into the sides of the tunnel in hopes of sparing them any hits of the gun.
Having little success in the way of this approach, Arnold opted instead to try something more daring. Waiting for the Freak to run out of ammunition yet again, his time came when he stopped firing, leading him to drive his foot on the the brake pedal instead of the gas.
With Arnold bringing the car to a temporary stop, the Freak, looking down to reload his magazine, did not have time to place his magazine back in the gun. Instead, too late to react to the car in front of him, he dropped the magazine, letting it fall to the floor by accident.
Grabbing the magazine to reload it, he was once again stopped by Arnold hitting the brakes to the car, making him drop it again.
Finally making her approach to Tucker Bridge, Rhonda stopped at the edge, preventing herself from falling off the broken end and falling into the Skookumchuck river below. Looking at the other end of the bridge, she took notice that the Army troops positioned on the other side were beginning to pack up the last of their equipment, meaning that they would soon be gone without seeing her warning.
Knowing she had no time to waste, she took out her flares and smashed them to the ground, igniting them and sending off a green fire and smoke in the air with their activation. Dropping to her knees, she waved them in the air, screaming along with her motions in hopes of gaining attention.
"HEY! OVER HERE! HEY!" Rhonda shouted.
Unable to efficiently reload his weapon, the Freak tried instead for a new approach to make his attack on Arnold. Instead of putting his magazine back into the gun, he put it between his teeth, gnashing them down tight to ensure he would not lose it. Dropping the machine gun around his back in a sling, he stood up on his seat again, climbing over to the hood of his jeep.
As Arnold's car came close in again, he jumped off his own vehicle onto Arnold's, abandoning his own and letting it crash behind. Grabbing hold of the roof and pulling himself in, the Freak finally gained the footing and moment to reload his machine gun, placing the magazine in and cocking it back.
Just before able to fire the gun, however, the Freak looked up to notice a portion of the tunnel had been caved in, leaving barely enough room for the car to fit through. Quickly aware that he would soon be left stricken by the cave-in, he gave a scream in terror as his fate awaited him.
As Arnold and Helga drove under the cave-in, they ducked down yet again, sparing themselves from the mass shaving off the roof of their car. Upon sitting up straight again, they realized that the threat of the Freak was gone, giving them a small sigh of relief.
But that sigh came to a stop when a sight of the Freak came into their view on the rearview mirrors, showing him holding onto the back of the car.
As the bombers made their approach, the men who sent the planes on their way to destroy the city watched idly by as they continued to go, anxiously awaiting for them to fulfill their task and end the debacle for them once and for all. Of all present in the room, none are so more eager to see the end come than President Arcudi, holding his hands together and keeping his eyes locked on all screens covering progress.
All he can think about is how he wishes the planes would move faster.
Still holding her flares up high, screaming out her lungs as she did so, Rhonda tried desperately to get the attention of the soldiers on the other side of the bridge, but her efforts did not seem to pay off as of yet. Nonetheless, despite all signs showing that she had no success, she would not stop until she had gained success.
"OVER HERE! COME ON, YOU BASTARDS, LOOK OVER HERE! LOOK AT ME!" Rhonda shouted.
Climbing up the half-destroyed car, the Freak made his way inside the passenger's seat, stepping forward and aiming his gun directly at Helga's head. Blocking the weapon just as Helga moved her head, Arnold forced the gun away, leading him to only shoot the wall.
Stepping out of his own seat, Arnold made his way up to fight the Freak again, ensuring the threat would be over.
"Helga, take the wheel!" Arnold shouted.
Taking the driver's seat and steering wheel as instructed, Helga took over the task of driving, leaving Arnold to conclude his fight with the Freak once and for all. Releasing his finger from the trigger, the Freak saved his ammunition and tried to save it for the person in front of him, struggling to free his hand to aim it again.
Headbutting Arnold in the face, the Freak succeeded in freeing his hand, aiming his gun straight towards his target. Moving his hands to the sides of his machine gun, Arnold flipped the weapon straight out of his hands, causing it to land in his own and take control of the weapon.
Aiming it straight at the Freak's face, Arnold pulled the trigger.
Rhonda still held her flares high in the air, hoping to gain the attention of the Army troops on the other side. With the planes coming closer and closer by the second, her attempts to get their attention began to grow more frantic and desperate, her screaming starting to wear her voice down.
Though her attempts seemed to have no payoff, they finally began to bear some little fruit set to grow and blossom. Hearing just a faint scream come from the other side of the bridge, an Army troop, taking a moment away from packing up equipment, pulled out his binoculars to the bridge.
Looking at the edge of the bridge to see Rhonda waving her arms and screaming, his focus is the green smoke, showing the sign that the threat was over.
"I got green smoke, I got green smoke! Someone call the White House!" The troop said.
Quickly relaying the news to the White House, the lone soldier's C.O. (commanding officer) placed a call to the president and his cabinet to inform them of the ended threat. A general was the one to pick up the phone, skeptical of what news would be shared with him.
Hearing it come to his ears, his eyes opened wide and his adrenaline began to run, signalling him to spread it to the president.
Pulling the trigger to the Freak's weapon, Arnold's action did not lead to any bullets fired at his target, but instead was rewarded with a stifled 'click', showing the gun had become jammed. Chuckling at the sudden show of luck, the Freak knocked the gun aside, punching Arnold in the face.
Preparing to punch him again, the Freak's next hit was blocked by Arnold's free hand, throwing his own punch to his face. Tumbling back on his unstable platform of the still-moving car, the Freak struggled to stay standing upright, with Arnold sharing the same difficulty.
Reaching out for each other, the two grasped one another by the shoulders, both using each other to stabilize in their standing position. Unable to use their arms to attack, they instead began headbutting one another, colliding their skulls together with as much force as they could spare.
Each attempt made the other more and more dizzy with each hit, leaving them able to attack less and less.
At the White House, news of the signal came to the president and cabinet, but the answer of how to respond to it was not made clear. Each cabinet member insisted vigorously that the president call off the airstrike, but not a single argument seemed to land to the commander-in-chief.
"Sir, you have to call off the strike!" One cabinet member said.
"We've received green smoke! The threat is over!" Another cabinet member said.
"The flares were given to the team of supervillains we sent down, and they were all killed. Anybody could've used them." President Arcudi said.
"But only they knew what those flares meant and where to use them." A different cabinet member said.
Headbutting Arnold one last time, the Freak sent him falling on his back, landing near the broken windshield. Grabbing him and spinning him around, the Freak began pushing his neck towards the glass of the broken windshield, aiming to cut it open on the jagged glass.
Trying her best to stop him from succeeding, Helga used a free hand to hit him, but her hits had little effect on the Freak to even get his attention. Prevented by nothing in the way of finally defeating his ultimate opponent, the Freak drove Arnold's neck closer and closer to the glass.
Hope seemed to be all but gone for Arnold, but it had come his way again in the form of light. The end of the tunnel began to come into view, with their destination and freedom at the end. A sliver of joy came to the faces of Arnold and Helga, thankful that their salvation had come at last.
"Hey Arnold! Look! Sunlight! We made it!" Helga shouted.
The White House still showed much confliction over the airstrike, with nearly all members calling for the airstrike to be called off while the president still remained unswayed. As the debate ranted on, the president received a call from the head of the pilots, informing him of their current position.
"Coming up on target now, sir. Awaiting approval." The pilot said.
"Sir, you can't do it. Millions of lives are in the balance." One cabinet member said.
"Awaiting approval for airstrike, sir."
"You have to call this off, sir. We'll be eviscerated in the next election for sure, and perhaps even tried in a court of law. It's our lives on the line, too." Another cabinet member said.
"Sir, I'm coming up on the target now! It's now or never, sir!"
"Damn it, Milius, there are human beings down there! Do you not give a shit about human lives?!" A different cabinet member shouted.
Ignoring the cabinet members once again, growing frustrated with their pleas, President Arcudi picked up the phone, angrily shouting out his orders to the pilot.
"DROP THE BOMB NOW!" President Arcudi shouted.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Dropping the bomb as ordered, the head plane released his payload on to the city of Hillwood, sending a multi-megaton load of death and destruction flying down to it and its people below. Flying off shortly after the release, the planes left their target behind, leaving the bomb to fall and blow.
Somewhere on the ground, there existed one battle private from the affair of all else below, between two individuals with a grudge between each other that was built up for nearly a year. These two are Lars and Larsen Rodriguez, alternate counterparts of a same person.
Wrestling against one another to finally best the other, the two were met in a stalemate; neither able to best the other.
"Come on, you mother- Ugh! Damn you!" Lars said.
"Bring it on, you piece of- Gah! Go to hell!" Larsen said.
Stuck in their fight and concentrating solely on each other, the two were aware of little else but trying to win, but that task had taken a step to the side-lines upon hearing roaring engines in the air. Looking to the sky to investigate the sound, they saw a plane drop a bomb down to the city, making it clear that neither would win.
"Oh, shit." They said in unison.
With the realization that neither would survive today, the fight ended in an instant, both lowering their arms in a draw.
"Well, we're dead." Lars said.
"Wanna suck each other's cocks before we die?" Larsen asked.
"Faggot!"
Knowing that no one would be around to judge or shame him for the act, or that he would live long enough to regret it, Lars changed his mind.
"Okay, sure, why not?" Lars asked.
Lowering themselves to the ground, the two enemies shared one final moment before their deaths.
Looking to the sky and seeing the bomb drop, the people of Hillwood all stopped in one moment and watched the planes come in to release the bomb. One by one, the crowd all stopped fighting one another and turned their eyes up to the sky, the battlefield growing silent as they observed the end come.
Watching the bomb drop and start to fall towards them, each and every person in Hillwood quickly understood that all they were fighting for was all for naught now; their lives to be ended in seconds and all that they knew gone without a trace. Dropping their weapons, they felt all senses of self start to leave them in silence, as if their souls were euthanized before the worse came.
Turning to the closest person to them, whether previously an friend or foe, they hugged the person closest to them, finding comfort where they could before the end. Men, women, and children of all races, genders, beliefs, and all differences all finally found a way to come together, but at the price of their own lives.
Out of the blue, reaching out for two specific souls, a white specter by the name of Vlad Plasmius reached in and grabbed two needed individuals: Gerald Johanssen and Buckley Lloyd. Snatching up the two heroes, he flew back up to the sky, saving them from the incoming bomb.
Rhonda, helpless to watch the bomb start to fall, screamed out in pain, knowing that her efforts had failed.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Rhonda shouted.
Then, the bomb hit.
The blast of the bomb merely threw Rhonda off the edge of the bridge in to the Skookcumkhuck River below, leading her to splash into the water. Still possessing her superhuman abilities, she survived the blast and fall without much injury, but the rest of the people of Hillwood were not so lucky.
In one instant, the lives that were once the people of Hillwood were all turned to nothing in less than a nanosecond; vaporized at the blast of the bomb and gone forever it its explosion. Those not immediately in the vicinity of the blast were burnt to a crisp in seconds, with radiation cooking them alive.
As the shockwave hit, buildings and all sorts of man-made constructions were reduced to rubble, as if made of mere paper-mache or cardboard rather than metal and brick. If the removal of all human life was one step towards erasing its existence here, the destruction of its creations would ensure it.
Beloved locations that were once places people visited for recreation or food, homes that were once the resting places for lives looking for temporary refuge from the world and building places for families, places where history and memories were made for many; all wiped out in an instant of time as if it never existed at all.
Down the tunnels of the train system, the shockwave began to follow through, reaching the departing Arnold and Helga as well as their tagalong of the Freak. Once the shockwave had reached them, the car was blasted off its place on the ground, sent flying in the air.
Tumbling through the exit of the tunnel, the car came to a crash into a rock at the edge of Francesca Bay, just barely missing the river below and exploding on impact. Arnold and Helga, having grasped each other and tumbled to the ground. Making their way on their feet, the two looked back to Hillwood, seeing in its place a large mushroom cloud that was once a vast and lively city.
In one of the countless millions of gatherings of humans on the planet lies a small island, and one of its cities, a gray and insignificant city named Hillwood, is now dead.
Taking in the sudden pain and loss of millions of souls in the blast, Arnold dropped to his knees, groaning at the massive income of mental energy. Coming down to the ground and holding him tight, Helga tried her best to help relieve Arnold of the pain, but her efforts would not be anywhere near enough to help him.
"No... I failed... I failed my city... I failed them all..." Arnold cried.
Out of the wreckage of the destroyed car, coming out from the inferno was what remained of the Freak, still alive even after all the abuse he had taken. Having been badly injured from the crash, however, he still showed that he was not without taking his punishment and abuse and not show a sign of it.
One arm was completely missing from his body and one leg was reduced to mostly bone, a chunk of his torso was gone with organs spilling out before they could reform, and half of his face was completely burned off with an eye missing. Stumbling out from the wreckage, he made his way towards the two, announcing his presence.
"Hey Arnold!" The Freak shouted.
Temporarily brought out of his pain to focus on the threat behind them, Arnold turned to the Freak, with Helga cowering behind him. Raising his machine gun back up to Arnold, the Freak prepared to fire. Having no care in his body any longer to keep on fighting, Arnold made no attempt to stop the Freak or evade the fire, but instead stood in place with Helga safe behind him.
Pulling the trigger to his machine gun, the Freak's weapon clicked empty, showing no more luck on his side. Raising out his remaining arm, he no longer limped towards Arnold, but seemed to surrender at last, or at least make no more attempts to fight back.
"Well... here we are. You just couldn't do it. You couldn't go back on your principles. And what did it get you? Everyone you know is dead, and your home city is completely gone. It's all over now. You've got nothing left now but me. There's no reason not to kill me now. C'mon. Finish me." The Freak said.
Instead of fulfill the Freak's request, Arnold stood up from his place, not moving from his place. Helga still remained by his side, expecting him to move forward and let out his pain on him, but her waiting for that moment would not yield any results. Arnold still did not make any attack on the Freak, instead remaining still.
Disappointed yet again, the Freak gave a scowl.
"C'mon, man. What the hell is wrong with you? I've taken everything away from you. What more do I have to do to get you to give up? I've killed all your friends and family, I burned down your house, I violated and killed people in every way imaginable. I became the worst possible person I could to get you to kill me, and you won't do it. Why not?" The Freak said.
"I can't. That's not who I am." Arnold said.
Annoyed with the answer given, the Freak gave a groan, not understanding the answer given to him.
"Then who the fuck are you? Why is it you can't do things other people can't? You're not normal. People aren't incorruptible like this. They're not supposed to be. They can't be. I sure as hell wasn't like that." The Freak said.
"Maybe it just doesn't come from somewhere within. It comes from where you were brought up and raised." Arnold said.
"I grew up in the same place as you, man. I had loving parents just like you. I went to the same school as you. I knew the same people as you. Why am I not like you? Why are you not like me? Why are we so different?"
"We just are. That's the way it is. That's human nature."
Still not satisfied with the answer, the Freak shook his head, sighing as he did so.
"I don't understand you. I just wish, I really wish, that I could just see things the way you see them. Maybe I could finally see it your way." The Freak said.
Gaining an idea on how to fulfill that wish, Arnold carefully thought over the phrase, fully forming the idea into a plan. Stepping forward towards the Freak, Arnold grasped his hands around his head, lowering his forehead against his own. Unsure of what he was trying to do, the Freak grew cautious of what he was trying to do.
"Wh-What are you doing?" The Freak asked.
"I'm trying to help you understand. I'm showing you it my way." Arnold said.
Opening his mind to the Freak's, Arnold put the two in a state of mind that put the two in total synchronization; two minds operating as one in one shared moment together. Making his memories put up and front for the Freak to observe and view, Arnold let him experience them all for himself, giving him a taste of his life.
Receiving an entire life in one moment, the Freak gasped, feeling it touch himself in a place he never thought existed.
[Soundtrack Cue: Geinoh Yamashirogumi - Illusion (from Akira)]
Born in a temple belonging to an ancient people known as the Green Eyes, a baby boy is welcomed into the world in the midst of a violent volcanic eruption; putting all of nature in chaos. In the instant of his arrival, however, that chaos and eruption had all been quickly put to silence, all noise and terror stopped in an instant.
Removed from the warm and soft heaven of his mother's womb, he is given put into his the arms of his mother, a kind woman named Stella Shortman, giving to him the same caring with the outside of her body the same she showed him with the inside of her body. She holds him tightly and softly, delighted to have him in her life.
"A miracle baby if I've ever seen one. A baby named Curly." Stella said.
Taken to his father's arms, he is snuggled by his father, a gentle man named Miles Shortman, welcoming him to his newly-started family.
"Hey Curly. I'm your dad, and this is your mom." Miles said.
Now in Hillwood where he is safe with his parents, he spends a day with his parents in a park, playing on a slide with his newly-gifted blue hat. He receives news that they have to leave for San Lorenzo, but he is assured that they will be back very soon, which he sincerely hopes for.
On the streets of Hillwood, he gets out of his grandfather's packard and brings an umbrella under a muddy, wet girl in the rain named Helga.
"Hi. Nice bow." Curly said.
"Huh?" Helga asked.
"I like your bow because it's pink like your pants."
He is in many places all at once, with many faces that he knows and loves.
He is with Gerald, a streetwise straight-talker who he calls his best friend. They are downtown the city as fruits on the way to a play, they take older, 6th grade girls to a dance, they escape a man named the Sewer King, they see Mickey Kaline play his last game, they play hooky at school, they work together at a flower shop, they sell chocolate turtles, and they spend a Veteran's Day with their father and grandfather.
He is with Eugene, a humble and overtly kind boy. They spend time together to make up for a broken bike, they prove his innocence from a false fire alarm, they make up from his attempt to go bad, they come down off a broken roller coaster, they try to throw him a birthday party when invitations to the first are lost, and helps him keep a song in his lead in a play.
He is with Harold, a rude and insecure boy, but one that learns well. He evades a beating by pretending to be crazy, he convinces him to give back a kitty to its rightful owner, he helps him to fulfill his Bar Mitzvah, he leads him to keep a job he likes at Mr. Green's Meats, he holds his ground when pressured to snitch on him, they work together to help him lose weight, and they work to get him off suspension at school.
He is with Rhonda, a pompous but nice girl. He helps her reconcile with her best friend and he allows her into his own party after her failed 'cool party' alienates others.
He carries out many other good deeds throughout Hillwood, including freeing the turtle named Lockjaw, helping the Stoop Kid leave his stoop, stops an old theater from being torn down, they turn an empty lot into their favorite baseball field, he helps reunite Mr. Hyuhn with his daughter, he tutors Torvald in math, he befriends the lonely Pigeon Man, he saves the oldest tree from being chopped down, just to name a few.
He remembers the love and support he is given by both his grandparents during their time on the Earth, as well as his parents upon their return. He remembers the time when he first reunited with them after having them out of his life for the most of his life, getting to hold them in his arms again.
But where he is most out of all these memories is with a woman named Helga Pataki, who he finds loves him and he comes to love back. He remembers first kissing her atop a skyscraper belonging to FTi, giving the first reciprocating kiss in San Lorenzo, narrowly missing many clues that lead up to discovering her love, and then consummating it at last.
Feeling these memories overwrite and replace what little of his own he had, the pain and the sickness that once was in his head melted away, giving way to something new and beautiful. The paradigm he once held had shifted to one of a brighter outlook, with a new perspective on others.
Through this life he lives, he feels something that Arnold has always had, and now belongs to him:
A love of life.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Following the one moment of life shared with him, the man once known as the Freak is no longer in the body before Arnold, but instead a young man named Curly. Cleansed and cured of the anger and rage that lived in his heart, the desire to harm finally gone, what constituted the killer in him was gone, giving way to a new creature, with a new heart and new desires.
Stumbling in the first moments of his rebirth, Curly let out a breath of fresh air, taking in the change. His reaction to the paradigm shift was a slow and steady one, still composing himself from the metamorphosis of his mind, but the one thing he could not hold back were the tears coming from his eyes; changed from a glowing red to a glowing green.
"Oh... Now I get it... Now I finally get you... I finally get-" Curly began to say.
With the removal of his drive and purpose in life, Curly felt his own powers of regeneration start to dwindle, taking away the last thing that was keeping him alive. Falling to his knees, Curly was caught by Arnold before he fell, stopping him from hitting the ground.
"Curly! It's okay, you're okay." Arnold said.
Coughing up a pint of blood, Curly stood himself up again, using the last of his strength to stand up again.
"No... No, it's not okay. All the things I did... All the people I killed... in all those ways... I liked doing it... I enjoyed doing it... I can't believe I did it. If I'd have known what I knew now... Would I have turned out different? Would I be like you?" Curly asked.
"Don't worry about that, Curly. It's okay. Just stay with me. You still have a chance. It's not too late. It's never too late. I don't know what bent you in the first place, but you can make a change. You can do the right thing. So many people have already died. You don't have to die, too." Arnold said.
Arnold reached out a hand to Curly, offering with it salvation.
"Let me help you. Please." Arnold said.
Looking down at Arnold's hand, a temptation existed in Curly to reach out and take it; to make his way to be a better person, but he knew that such an action would not be any real outlet for him. Despite all the peaceful memories that existed in his mind now, there still laid his own that brought forth his crimes, and there was no memories anyone else possessed that would erase them.
Turning away from the hand, Curly shook his head.
"No. I'm sorry. It's no good. Even if you forgive me, no one else will. I've made sure of that already. I have to pay for what I've done. It's the least I deserve. But you still win. You were right. You proved that people can be better. You proved that people... can... change-" Curly groaned.
Coughing up blood again, Curly felt the last iotas of life start to leave him again, leaving him with little more than seconds left to his name. Watching him die and helpless to do anything to prevent the outcome, Arnold watched in sorrow, carefully watching the last actions of Curly before his departure.
Just before his final breath, Curly let out one final word.
"Hey Arnold..." Curly said.
Somewhere in time, if such an event occurred at all, Curly found himself lying in his hospital bed, still paralyzed from the neck down and unable to move. He is not alone in his lying place; next to him is the faithful and kind Dr. Scott, keeping him company as he laid in bed.
Curious over his patient, Dr. Scott asked him one simple question.
"Why did you do it, Curly?" Dr. Scott asked.
To his own surprise, Curly found he had no answer to the question, leading him to ponder and think to find it.
"You know... Once, I thought I knew. But now... I'm not so sure." Curly said.
Letting out his final breath, Curly's green eyes gave out, leaving his body to collapse onto the snowy ground below. Landing into the white patch below his feet, his draining blood stained the ground red; his body leaving behind this mutilated vessel in hopes that penance for his sins would be found.
Watching his body fall to the ground, Arnold witnessed the event in silence. While Curly was now free from all his own guilt in this world, Arnold had his own share of it from his actions. In an attempt to give Curly a way out of his violence and hateful view of the world, he had only granted the Freak what he wanted, giving him victory over him at last and taking the last thing he had away.
Curly is dead.
The scarring on his chest changed one final time, reading a simple but profound request for any who would read it:
'FORGIVE ME'.
[Soundtrack Cue: Nine Inch Nails - Hurt]
Picking up Curly's body, Arnold carried it with him, having Helga follow behind him silently. Her utmost desires included asking Arnold what was on his mind or how she could help him, but, seeing his current state an what he went through, she did not dare make a sound to him.
Carrying Curly's body with him, Arnold brought them all to a small wharf, with one abandoned motorboat lying in wait for use. Stepping inside the boat, Arnold gently set his body down, helping Helga enter the boat with him. Releasing the boat from its tie to the dock, he pushed it off.
Starting up the motor to the boat's propeller, he set it on low speed, sending them across the Skookumchuck River to the mainland steadily. Still riding along in silence, Arnold did not speak up anything that was on his mind, nor did Helga ask him to do so; both making no noise at all.
After making some progress across the river, Arnold picked up Curly's body and gently lowered it into the river, letting him sink into the water below. Knowing thathis remains would be welcomed back to the world with scorn and hate, he decided that a resting place in the water would be a better place for eternal peace than whatever he could be offered elsewhere.
Letting his body slip into the water, Arnold watched as his face and body slowly disappeared into the black and blue waters below; the image dissipating as it sank into the grave it was given. Motionless and still as it descended, Curly, like many others that Arnold once knew, was laid to rest and gone, never to live on in anything except in his own memories.
Turning back to the setting sun in the distance, Arnold still did not speak nor acknowledge Helga, wanting instead to be in his own world of thought. All that remained in his own thoughts is how that all was slowly stripped from him, leaving him with nothing to his name; no friends, no family, no future, no principles, and, now, nor even any purpose.
The loss he feels is not one that causes him any more pain, but instead simply a hollow silence. There is no hurt that makes him acknowledge the loss, but instead an emptiness that makes him feel nothing at all. In this revelation, he is given the truth about the empty victory he received:
The Freak has won, and, in the end, it was the beauty of life that killed the beast.
[Soundtrack Cue End]