Outcasts and Outlaws
Volume 3, Chapter 33
Final Stand
Think I used the wrong opening and ending music for the last chapter, sorry about that, as it probably didn't make a whole lot of sense. But, anyway, here's Daryl's final stand!
Opening Music: https/youtu.be/KSLG_oeD1yw [Attention Question- Tohka]
! Means a beat in the music
Music Starts
(Shows Daryl standing in Dust Valley, holding a gun. He raises his arm and points the gun whilst flashbacks of his team and his past appear behind him)
Music stops for about a split second then starts again
(Shows Connor standing in Dust Valley, looking at the ground with hair covering his eyes. He looks up as flashbacks of Team Kalos and the rest of his friends appear behind him)
(Connor runs at Daryl and aims a punch)
(Daryl fires his gun)
OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS!
Are kore kakaekonde omoeba iranai mono made
(Shows Connor sitting with his head between his legs)
Umaku naru iiwake to myou
(Shows Ruby sitting inside of Connor's head with her legs drawn up to her chest)
na PURIADO!
(Shows Kalos sitting on top of the stone wall)
Jibun wo tana ni agete (Shows Jim, Yang, Kane, Irileth, Mars, and Stephane standing in Dust Valley, their hair and clothesflapping in the wind)
hito no koto aadakouda!
(Shows Murlough standing on the naval platform amongst the dead bodies of the generals)
Iu tsumori mo nai kedo!
(Zooms in on Murlough's face as he punches his hand and grins evilly)
Mukishitsuni
(Shows Daryl towards someone) Mawaru Tic and Tac!
(Shows Damien walking towards Daryl)
Ganbaru tte
(Connor and Kane approach Daryl from either side)
nandarou!
(Connor and Kane charge at Daryl) Attention! Question! Nantonaku nagasateru socchi no mizu wa (Shows Connor and Kane fighting Daryl with their semblances)
amai desuka!
(They hit Daryl's air current barrier with their golden light and black clouds)
YES/NO!
(Shows Isabella in tattered clothes with purple energy around her) YES/NO!
(Shows Mars with green energy around him)
Atari mimawashita totan ni!
(They shoot their energy blasts at each other)
Koko dake
(Connor goes into Dragon State and launches himself off a rock face)
toki ga tomaru
(He flies out and hits Daryl) COLOUR!
(Shows a massive light in Dust Valley)
(Shows Connor on the naval platform)
(Shows Murlough on the naval platform)
(Shows Murlough and Connor looking at each other from afar, Murlough with black clouds trailing from him, Connor with golden light trailing from one hand and black clouds trailing from the other) (They charge at each other)
END
Music: https/youtu.be/BiT8Ct0cQzM [Fairy Tail OST- Metal Theme]
Golden light circled his body in a brilliant display, his arms completely cloaked with the same golden light and the light on his back forming two majestic dragon wings. Everyone could feel the power radiating from him as he placed a foot up on the cliff face behind him. "I'm gonna take you down!" He yelled at Daryl threateningly, pushing with his foot and launching himself off the cliff face towards his enemy, his golden dragon wings helping him to fly through the air.
Daryl regarded the speeding, Dragon State boy in front of him with complete contempt. He knew that his air barrier would be able to stop even this attack, and so didn't bother to even move. As Connor neared however, his low flying body covered in golden light that trailed along behind him, Daryl realised his barrier had a small hole in it. A hole just large enough for a well aimed punch to fit through. He thought quickly to uncover the source of the hole, knowing his aura was not yet faltering, then found it. "Damien..." He muttered to himself as he looked at his brother, he stood on his far left, clutching his wounds with one hand and controlling his semblance with the other. Daryl quickly figured out that Damien was using his own air currents to push open a hole in Daryl's air barrier. "You bast-"
Daryl wasn't able to finish that curse however, as Connor's fist then barrelled into his cheek, having gotten through the air barrier's hole. The mere force of the punch knocked away Daryl's balance, shattering his air barrier and leaving him defenceless. Connor then tackled into Daryl, maintaining the speed he had picked up from his low but fast flight, and pushing him along with him as he kept going. The two of them smashed into the cliff face, shattering the rock apart, but even that didn't stop Connor. The cloak of golden light around him gave him protection, but Daryl was not so lucky. Without his barrier, the rocks tore at his clothes and battered his body. From there, Connor pushed harder in his tackle, burrowing through the rock with his light cloak and taking Daryl with him, scraping him along the edges of the tunnel he was creating.
Soon he planted his feet on the ground of the makeshift tunnel and stopped, launching upwards and burrowing through more rock in that direction. He dug up higher and higher through the cliff face, dragging Daryl along with him and smashing him through the rocks. Eventually the two of them came crashing out of the top of the cliff, shooting into the air. Daryl tried to regain his composure, but Connor was already flipping himself right side up mid air with the assistance of his dragon wings, charging up golden energy in the palm of his metal hand.
"Secret Art! Flash Cannon!" Connor yelled, thrusting his palm towards Daryl in mid-air. A wide beam of intense golden light erupted from his hand, completely enveloping Daryl as it shot down towards the other cliff face on the opposite side of the valley. Daryl was pushed down there with it, not even able to let out a cry as it blasted him, ending by smashing him back first into the cliff face and causing the entire side to avalanche on top of him. Connor fell down from his position in the air, landing on his feet with a great boom and bang, creating a small crater where he landed as the golden light faded and he returned to his ordinary state.
All of the team watched as the dust settled, hoping that the attack had been enough to finish Daryl off, but their hopes were swiftly shattered. When the dust cleared, Daryl was still very much alive, standing in front of the ruined cliff face and panting from exhaustion. He was obviously injured, his brown coat having been almost completely torn apart and bruises covering all of his body, but he was still standing. The team was simultaneously shocked at the fact that he was still standing and glad that they had finally been able to inflict some damage on him. Connor was tired out by his attack, having used a great deal of aura. His cloak was also ruined, the sleeves were completely torn off and the main section of it had been so much it was more like an open, sleeveless jacket than a coat.
Before his brother could make a move, Damien appeared to his left and began walking towards him. He still clutched his wounds, the use of his semblance only having worsening the bleeding, but wobbled towards Daryl with unwavering conviction. "Brother...do you see the foolishness of your actions yet?" He asked. "No matter how strong you are, always assume that there is someone stronger than you and if you give them reason, they will come after you."
"These idiots are not stronger than me..." Daryl replied stubbornly, turning to face his younger sibling.
"Maybe not individually, but together they are mighty." Daryl responded, nearing his elder brother. "Your aura is almost completely depleted and your body is battered, they have defeated you."
Growing angry at that remark, Daryl snapped and snarled, "I'm not dead yet!"
He was stopped just before he lunged out and resumed attacking by Damien's hand on his shoulder. He came to a standstill and stared into his siblings eyes, stunned into silence. "Brother..." Damien began.
Then came the sound of metal piercing flesh.
"Damien!" Came Connor's cry, surprising even himself. The rest of the team also gasped and cried out at the despicable act they had just witnessed.
Daryl had stabbed his little brother in the stomach.
Blood drooled from Damien's face, shock filling his eyes at first, then turning into understanding. Daryl stared back at him with remorse before roughly pulling out the sword and pushing Damien away, blood and flesh splattering all over as he dropped his weapon onto the rocky ground. Damien fell backwards, hitting the rocks with his back and lying still, slowly breathing but on the verge of death. His eyelids faltered, only just able to stay open, his multiple wounds sapping his strength.
Music: https/youtu.be/KUAltcR84k8 [Fairy Tail OST- Flaming Lightning Dragon Roaring]
Stunned into complete stillness at first by the event that he had just seen in front of him, Connor was as unmoving as the others for the next few seconds. Then, for reasons even he didn't fully understand, rage filled his heart. His golden light exploded outwards, covering his body in an instant as he charged forward valiantly, the others following his lead. "He's almost done, let's hit him with one final barrage of attacks!" Connor commanded his team, none of them questioning his plan.
"I'll blast you all away with one final push!" Daryl threatened, then followed up by sticking his hand out in front of him and sending out an enormously powerful blast of air, intending to blow them into the cliff face and kill them once and for all. When the dust cleared however, it was revealed that Jim and Yang had punched the ground, bringing up a wall of rock to block the gust. Nora then smashed the wall with her hammer, sending massive chunks towards Daryl, which he moved quickly to dodge, knowing he was now out of aura and wouldn't be able to use his semblance.
Once he had dodged all the chunks, he received a hard smack to the back of his head from Stephane's shield. Stephane then hit him again, taking full advantage of his aura being depleted, and breaking his rocky shield into tiny pieces simply because of how hard he hit. He then moved around to Daryl's other side, getting in a blue glowing uppercut punch. Daryl didn't have time to recover before he felt Irileth's boot impact his chest and knock him back, then her renewed purple energy whips wrapping around his neck and holding in place. Irileth then held her hands out in front of her and called upon her semblance, sending small purple crows flying towards Daryl, cutting up his clothes and skin.
Running up to Daryl while was being distracted by the crows, Kane collected up dark clouds in his hand, yelling, "Dark Sword!" He then formed the dark cloud weapon and slashed it across Daryl, knocking him back. Mars followed up by yelling, "Energy Spiral!" And sending a spiralling vortex of energy towards Daryl, blasting him with its thunderous properties.
Finally, Daryl looked behind him and saw Connor preparing for an attack. Golden light amassed in between his two hands, the force of it growing more and more intense as he ran. Sliding past Daryl and spreading his hands, Connor then let the light go and yelled, "Golden Wave!" The energy burst out in a wave of golden brilliance, covering the right side of the valley in a shining golden cloak. The blast carried Daryl almost to the edge of the drop off, wearing off just before he fell.
[Stop Music]
At this point, Daryl's body was a wreck. He was covered in black and purple bruises, bleeding cuts and other abrasions. His clothes were ruined, torn and bloodied. He looked to be on his last legs, a man with no way to survive.
To everyone's surprise, someone then stepped in front of Daryl. Damien looked his wounded brother in the eyes, not even bothering to cover his bleeding injuries, the blood leaking from his body and his face turning pale. It was a wonder the two of them were still standing, still alive. "Connor..." Damien said, still looking straight at Daryl but addressing Connor. "Promise me one thing...use your shining light...to drag people out of the darkness..."
Connor was both confused and mesmerised by Damien's words, but also wondered why he was saying them. His question was soon answered. "Promise me that..." Damien added. "I want to know that you'll do your best to do good...where I couldn't have."
After those words, Damien ran at Daryl. He was with him in seconds, sprinting despite his wounds, then grabbed onto him and kept running. Daryl was dragged along, unable to struggle, as the two of them dropped off the edge of the cliff and down to their deaths.
"DAMIEN!" Connor screamed out, running to the edge of the drop off to look down, hoping he had clung onto a rock on the way down. Alas, that was not the case. The way down the the ground from the cliff was so far, it was impossible to see where the two had landed, but it was certain they would not have survived. Connor didn't know for sure why he was so traumatised, he had hated Damien. He had been the man who kidnapped Ruby, who caused so much misery in his and Kane's life. That man had once upon a time caused countless deaths in the pursuit of power, and yet Connor was sad, traumatised, to see him go?
"He wanted to change." Mars said, walking up behind Connor and looking down over the cliff edge with him, also looking quite depressed. "That's why you feel how you do, you knew he wanted to be a different man, he wanted to make up for all he'd done. He proved it too, so many times. He gave us the crystal with no hassle, he saved Jim's life, he took a lethal blow for me...he really was changing for the better."
"Then why did he do that?" Connor replied, clenching his fist in an attempt to hold back the tears he didn't want to flow. "Why would he devote himself to changing and then plunge to his death like that?"
Mars took a moment to think about how best to answer, then responded, "I think that he had that planned from the start, to die alongside his brother. A while back I heard him muttering something about dying for sins and that he might have too as well. After all, he's killed as many people as Daryl in his time, even if he decided to turn over a new leaf. I guess he came to the decision that he should pay for his sins the same way Daryl was going to, with his life."
Sighing at the depressiveness of it all, Mars changed the subject. "Anyway, we won. What now?"
Trying hard to erase the memory of what he had just seen, or at least put it behind him, Connor turned his head towards his old mentor, his eyes filled with a serious and sombre feeling, and answered, "Now we tie up loose ends."
One hour later, Murlough sat on the rubble back on the naval platform, almost having restored his aura to its full level. He had spent all the time he had been there alone for charging up, preparing to escape to the mainland, or at least attempt to. When he heard a buzzing of rotors, he looked up into the sky, and saw the airship. In the passenger area stood Connor, only Connor, looking down on him with remorse.
He had come to finish the job.
Ending Music: http/youtu.be/YRLW-llroVw [Fuyugyaku Replace]
! Means a beat in the music
Wake in loneliness! Loneliness!
(Shows Connor standing on the naval platform)
Falling inside your story!
(Shows Murlough standing opposite him)
Walking after you! After you! (Zooms in Connor's face)
I will share my time!
(Shows naval platform)
(Shows Connor in Dragon State) OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Maykoinda sekai de!
(Shows young Connor in front of his parents bodies)
Boku no kage to kasanatte
(Shows Murlough in Connor's hometown)
Ima! I can't go back!
(Shows Connor losing control of the dark clouds in his hometown) Ketteiteki no boku shoumei wa! (Shows Connor in his original outfit) Jidai wo ima koete monogataru! (Shows Ruby reach out in front of her)
I will be the brand new age!
(Shows Team Kalos and Allies) Yeah! From this day!
(Shows young Connor and Murlough walking)
I will save myself!
(Shows Connor with Kane's shadow behind him)
And the time is now!
(Connor opens his eyes, one is black, one is gold)
Kill my weakness!
(Shows Connor in his original outfit running towards volume 2 Murlough)
Weakness!
(They change to their volume 3 versions)
Kanarazu koete naite satte!
(Shows a flashback of the Murlough VS Connor fight from volume 2)
And I stay alive!
(Their semblances hit each other) Alive!
(Shows the naval base in a fiery explosion)
Saigo wo shinjitaku wa nakute! (Shows Connor's village being destroyed by black clouds)
Kill my weakness! Weakness! (Shows Murlough summoning dark clouds all around him)
Itsuka kidsuita to shita mo!
(Shows Connor going into Dragon State)
I will prove myself that I have lived today!
(Shows Connor and Murlough fighting in their most powerful states)
Starting now!
(They both hit each other's fists and let off their semblances)
END
