"Valerie!" Gunther awoke screaming for his sister. The events of the previous few hours ran through his mind during his comatose state. He had hoped these memories had been nothing more than cruel nightmares due to an overactive imagination; his hope was abandoned as he found himself lying in the very graveyard he had passed out in.
When his phone sent vibrations through his pocket, Gunther grabbed for the device eagerly in hopes of a message from either his sister or Virgil. Opening the clam shell style phone, the young man's face soured at the message contained within.
'I have your sister. If you want to see her again, come alone to the place I kidnapped her from.'
Gunther ground his teeth together, fearing the words unable to escape his mind that would accurately describe his current mood. His first thought was to chuck his phone into the nearest headstone, but rationale subsided the current thought into submission. Currently, his phone was the only link between him and his sister, destroy the device could condemn the future meet up. Instead, he dialed a number and put the phone to his ear.
"Hey Gun!" Virgil's cheery voice echoed through the phone's speaker. "Dude, going out to town was a great idea! I total-"
"Valerie's been kidnapped." Gunther's rhetoric shut down his friend's cheery attitude. As the phone speaker crackled only with static, Gunther hoped his friend felt remorse for not coming to his aid when the three demons attacked him. When Virgil still didn't respond after what seemed like an awkward eternity, Gunther broke the silence.
"Meet me back at the house, we need to talk."
"Yea, I'll be there."
Gunther promptly shut the phone and started on his way back home; a solemn walk taking over his need to hastily run. Virgil would've had to have a grand reason why he never came to aid in the battle that claimed Valerie as a hostage, and Gunther intended to find the reason why.
Valerie, head pounding and body aching, woke up to a room predominately colored pink. Various dolls and stuffed animals littered the floor, while in the middle of the room lay a small plastic table, a few accompanying plastic chairs, and various items indicating a child's tea party.
Standing up from the small bed that she found herself on, Valerie moved to the door and tried the knob. IT was locked. She then moved onto the windows covered in pink drapes. They too were also locked. Defeated, she sat back on the bed and huffed at her current situation; she was trapped and she didn't like it.
When the doorknob began to turn, Valerie formulated a plan; she would grab the heaviest thing she could find and bum rush whoever was the unfortunate soul that opened the door. She would then escape, find her brother, and Virgil, and then send them to the house to eradicate Paul and his friends. After that, she would go to a spa to relax and forget that this entire incident ever happened.
She sprang to her feet, picking up the heaviest thing she could find, a plastic chair, and kept it ready. When the door pushed open, a little brown haired girl with pigtails stepped into the room and looked at Valerie with big, blue eyes.
"Hi!" The little girl squeaked out.
"Uh...Hi." Valerie quickly put down the chair and resumed her spot on the small bed. Confused, she stared at the little girl.
"Hehe, you make funny faces!" The girl giggled and pulled up a chair in front of the shocked Valerie.
"Thank you. Can I ask you something, sweetie?"
"Uh huh!"
"Where are we?"
"This is my room! Isn't it pretty?"
"Of course sweetie! I love the color pink." Valerie hated the color pink. But disagreeing with a young girl over her décor would get her nowhere, especially in such a curious situation.
"Aww, thank you! My daddy said I'd like you!"
"Your dad?"
"That's enough Isabella."
Valerie looked up to the male voice and saw her mother's killer standing in the doorway. She grit her teeth and bit her tongue, unwilling to spit obscenities in front of a young, impressionable girl.
"Yes, daddy." The young girl sprung up and attached herself to his legs, hugging tightly.
"Why don't you go downstairs and watch tv dear, I need to spend time with our new friend." He patted her head and softly scooted her softly to the door.
"Okies daddy!" She detached herself from her father's legs and stood in the doorway, waving to Valerie. "It was nice meeting you!" Valerie smiled and the girl left the room; Paul promptly shut the door behind her.
"How can someone so evil have a daughter!" Valerie screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring if his daughter could hear.
"I'd ask you to lower your voice, need I remind you of your current predicament."
"Fuck my predicament!" Valerie rose to her feet and reared her arm back for a powerful slap. When she brought her hand forward, Paul caught her hand in a bout of quick reflexes.
"A lady will not speak that way in my house!" Paul pushed Valerie back down on the bed and stood towering above her. When she proceeded to rise again, Paul shifted into his coyote form.
"Sit back down!"
Valerie immediately obliged. Shifting back into his human form, Paul took Isabella's old seat in front of the quivering Valerie.
"I assume you have many questions, and I will answer them diligently as you ask them. For now, I will assure you this Ms. Wheeler; I will take care of you, and I will never harm you as long as you are here, I will treat you like a queen."
"And why is that?" Valerie stammered out.
"Because you are to be my bride and Isabella's new mother."
When Virgil made it back to his temporary home, he had no clue what to expect. He knew he shouldn't have missed out on fighting the Dobatsu, but with Gunther's current state of mind, he found it best to stay out of the conflict. It was definitely the wrong idea. He also cursed himself multiple times throughout the walk home, had he known that Valerie would be in trouble...No, it was in the past.
As he walked into the living room, Virgil found Gunther on the sofa, his arms crossed with an angry look on his face.
"Gunther, what happened?"
"You didn't show up, that's what happened." Gunther rose to his feet and walked angrily over to his friend. Getting up in Virgil's face, he spat sour dialogue towards his best friend. "What the fuck is wrong with you? What kept you? Valerie's in danger because of you, you arrogant ass!"
"Arrogant ass? Excuse me?"
"You heard me, Virgil! Had you come along with us to my mom's grave, this wouldn't have happened! Hell, if you had even come when the Dobatsu shifted, we would still have my sister!" Gunther placed a bony finger into Virgil's chest and pushed him back. It was a bold move, especially on Gunther's part, but he felt it necessary. It was truly Virgil's fault.
"It's not my fault that you can't protect your own sister, or even your own mother!"
Venom in its most basic state can cripple a beast, even a man if used correctly. Like a snake, Virgil had struck out and bit Gunther in the most vital organ of all, his heart. Quite harsh in his statement, deep down the Rider knew that it was only because of anger, and he had hoped Gunther knew the same. When Gunther's fist collided with Virgil's face, that notion flew out the window quickly.
"How dare you say that!"
"About time you grew some balls!" Virgil wiped the blood collecting at the corner of his mouth and stood back up.
"Fuck you, Virgil!" Gunther sent another fist flying, this time straight into Virgil's gut. The Rider toppled over from the hit, but still came back up. Gunther grabbed his friend's shirt collar and pushed him into the wall next to the tv. "I'll never ask for your help again! You've let me down once and for all."
"Not even to save Valerie?" Virgil chuckled. He wanted to play the arrogance angle that Gunther had so casually mentioned before. It wasn't his style, but if the moment called for being an arrogant dick, especially if push came to shove, then he'd ride it out in style.
"I'm going alone! Because I'm the only one that I need!" Gunther hastily let go of Virgil's collar and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
Virgil in response, slid down to the floor and stared off into thought. What had he just done? What had he just said? That was dumb! Playing on Gunther's words? What was he thinking? As the blood rushed back into his thinking mind, he grabbed at his phone and proceeded to call Gunther in hopes to catch his best friend and change his mind.
It was futile.
Ringing from across the room, nestled between the couch cushions was Gunther's phone. Virgil raced over and grabbed the device, flipping it open to cancel the call. Curiously, the white Rider looked through the phone and found the only message that Gunther had for the day:
'I have your sister. If you want to see her again, come alone to the place I kidnapped her from.'
Virgil shut the phone and pocketed the device. He took a seat on the couch and pondered his next action. He had to make up for what he had said to Gunther, and even more to Valerie. The more pressing matter however, was the looming threat that Paul posed to Gunther, and now Valerie. If Gunther didn't win his latest bout of combat with the Dobatsu, there must've been some sort of catalyst to lose the battle. No matter the circumstances, Virgil knew that his friend would not fight this battle alone. He wouldn't let him. He only hoped that his efforts would not be too late.
When Gunther arrived for the aforementioned reunion with his sister, he was angry, his blood was boiling, and he couldn't think straight. The fight with Virgil had taken a mental toll on him, all the while the looming threat of the upcoming final battle between him and Paul had kept his anger levels at a burning constant. If it weren't for the thought of rescuing Valerie from that wretched demon, Gunther would have surely drove himself mad. But he could do this, do this alone more importantly.
He began a short walk around the graveyard to calm himself down. He knew that if he wasn't thinking straight during the fight, it would not only cost him his life, but Valerie's as well. He would not let that happen. Through his stroll, Gunther spotted a young woman walking the path ahead of him. Yelling out, he hoped to gain her attention.
"Excuse me miss, why are you here?" A dumb question in essence, for a graveyard was a place to mourn. But with the current saga of his life about to come to an end, he didn't wish to pull innocents into his final battle.
"I'm meeting someone here. But you, you should leave." She hastened her pace without turning around, almost sprinting down the dirt path had it not been for her flip-flops clacking up dust behind her.
"No! You have to get out of here! It's not safe!" Gunther yelled back as he started a soft jog after her. He didn't want anyone else to get involved in his conflict, especially when that person was heading right for the meeting place.
Unfazed by his words, the young woman continued running until she was finally stopped by a burly man in a white tank top. His muscles bulged as he picked her up effortlessly and gave her an ironic hug.
"Lily, nice to see you!"
With a high pitched whimper, the young woman wiggled free from the burlier man and surprisingly ran behind Gunther. The young Rider threw his arms up, but felt weak as he recognized the much stronger opponent he had fought earlier.
"So you're here too, perfect. Come with me."
The Bear Dobatsu ushered the pair to follow him up the hill and once there, they found Paul standing with Valerie in a wedding dress, tears and make up streaming down her somber face.
"Valerie!" Gunther lurched forward but was stopped by a meaty hand.
"You know you don't want to do that." Bear smirked and moved out of Paul's line of sight to his left side.
"Thank you, Bear." Paul moved forward and spread out his arms. He looked as if he would continue speaking, but instead turned to Valerie. Smirking, he moved his head slightly and laughed. Gunther cringed.
"I want to thank you two for showing up. It shows great character, that even in the face of absolute danger you-"
"Where's Bella, Paul?" The young woman next to Gunther, Lily, spoke up and stepped forward. Tears began to stream down her face as she advanced towards the demon. Gunther attempted to stop her, but he fell short of a grab. "I haven't seen her in so long...Please Paul, let me see my daughter!"
Paul merely smirked and moved forward with blinding speed, evidently smacking her across the cheek. Lily fell down to the ground in a heap and began crying harder. Gunther abandoned his standing position and knelt beside the crying woman in an effort to calm her down.
"Paul! What are you doing, you idiot!" The burly man moved forward with a look of disgust on his face. Paul however, chose not to acknowledge the man questioning him. Instead, he hovered over Gunther and Lily.
"You will never see Isabella again, Lily. And Gunther, you shall never see your sister outside of this final moment. She will be my bride, and the mother of my child!"
"Like hell I will!" Valerie began struggling against an invisible force, one that wouldn't let her budge. When the light around her began to shift, it was obvious the Chameleon Dobatsu held her firm in his grasp.
"Quiet down now love, 'tis all be over soon. Then I can get back to me house and have a nice spot of tea."
"Let go of her!" Gunther yelled at the top of his lungs. He had had enough. It was time to start the final battle, to save his sister, and to save Lily's daughter from Paul's clutches. He stood up swiftly, but met Paul's foot in resistance.
"Don't hasten your death, you haven't met my daughter yet, who becomes your new niece, Gunther. Come out dear."
From behind Valerie came Paul's daughter Isabella, adorned in a beautiful dress made for special occasions. She walked shyly towards her father and attached herself to his leg. Looking down at her crying mother, Bella tugged on her father's pant leg.
"Is that...Is that mommy?"
"No dear," Paul said looking at Lily's crying frame, "your mommy is right behind you."
Lily, summoning all of her strength, pushed past Gunther, stood fast, and slapped Paul straight across the face. When it became clear the hit did not faze the Dobatsu, Lily stepped back haphazardly and almost tripped over Gunther. Touching his face, Paul smirked and erupted into wild laughter.
"I wished for you two to see this glorious wedding, but unfortunately, you shall not gain this privilege." With a deafening roar, Paul shifted into his coyote form and stared down the two he intended to murder. Sending his daughter behind him, Paul advanced towards Lily and grabbed her hand tightly; a grip nearing the strength to break her forearm. Gunther tried to stop Paul's attack, but was quickly manhandled by the burlier Dobatsu and held back.
"I've been waiting to do this for so long."
"AHHHHH!" A crack and a thud emitted from Valerie's direction, but not from the girl herself. Lying on the ground was Chameleon, his green liberty spiked mohawk in complete disarray. "This bloke just kicked me in the face! What kind of greeting is it to kick someone in the face!"
"Think of it more as a goodbye." Virgil placed his foot on the punk rocker's chest and held him in place as he pointed at Paul. "You're a sick fuck."
"So you came to die too?"
"Don't bet on it. I came here to save my friends, and help Gunther kick your ass."
"Really?" Paul moved his victim in front of him, both Lily and Virgil responding with shock on their faces. "What? You didn't think I never knew about you two meeting? I have eyes all over the city."
"They're on the ground now mate, a little help?" Virgil put more pressure on the man's chest, effectively silencing him.
"The odds are uneven. You don't stand a chance against the three of us." Paul uttered as he tightened the grip on Lily's forearm. Wincing, she looked to Virgil. The Rider, in retaliation sent his foot crashing into Chameleon's chest.
"I'll take him out, here and now!"
"And you actively think I care?"
Virgil hesitated and looked down at the man under his foot. Paul didn't seem like the type to bluff, even more so thanks to Lily being strung along in his hands. If he so willed it, he could snap her neck in a split-second and Virgil could do nothing. Begrudgingly, Virgil removed his foot so the punk rocker could move. Once he was gone, the Rider looked at Valerie and smirked, sending a hopeful wink her way.
"Gunther," Virgil said as his belt materialized around his waist, "you know what to do."
"You would dare be so cunning when the woman you care about lies prone in my hand?"
"Tell him Gunther...Tell him I dare."
Gunther obliged not, but felt his brace materialize upon his wrist. Still angered from before, the Rider could care less for his friend's musing. The objective was to free Valerie, not entertain the idea of Virgil being an arrogant ass again.
With seeing this, Paul smirked and twisted harder on Lily's forearm, a huge purple, blue bruise forming over her fair skin.
"I see there is trouble in paradise. Put the belt away or I'll snap her neck."
"No."
Virgil's response hit home with every party involved. Lily was shocked at the bravery he showed for her. She wanted to keep her life and shout at him, telling him not to be so foolish! Valerie wanted to say the same thing, as well as Bear and Chameleon. Gunther however wanted to berate Virgil for being the idiot that he was. Paul on the other hand, had the perfect opportunity.
"Fine." Paul quickly moved his hands on Lily's head, his arms ready to pull and snap her neck in twain. The next few seconds felt like an eternity for Lily as she felt his cold, steel like skin begin to pull and twist at her neck. She felt the ending come and closed her eyes in preparation, when suddenly, a buzzing noise snapped her back into the correct time flow. As she opened her eyes, she found a white beetle assaulting Paul, and Virgil rushing towards her. She opened her arms and he picked her up into a warm hug, she was safe.
"Get out of here, okay?"
"Not without my daughter!" Virgil nodded and looked off to the left as he watched Gunther become free thanks to his own mechanical bug. The white Rider wanted to run over to his friend and assist him, but when their eyes met, Gunther gave him a look of malice; Virgil was on his own.
Commanding the beetle to his hand, Virgil hovered the mechanical insect over his belt as he stood proudly in front of Lily.
"When I make an opening, grab your daughter." Sliding the beetle into place until he heard the reassuring click, Virgil activated the transformation. "Henshin!"
HENSHIN!
Emitting from the belt, the black, techno-organic body suit covered his frame, paving the way for his heavier armor, until he was fully covered in his bulkier masked form. Shrugging off the change, Virgil advanced forward to give Lily the opening to grab her daughter, when Gunther stepped in front of him.
"Coyote's mine. Henshin!" Gunther brought his firefly onto his wrist changer and locked it into place.
HENSHIN!
Just like Virgil, Gunther's body suit took shape, then came his heavier armor until he was finally settled into his Masked form. Standing confidently, the orange-reddish Rider moved his head back towards his ally.
"Gunther," Virgil began, "I-"
"Don't say a word, just fight!" With that, Gunther charged after Coyote, the Dobatsu opting to run away rather than fight.
Virgil turned to Lily and nodded, signaling the time to get her daughter was now. As Lily took off to get Isabella, something strong slammed into Virgil's frame, sending him sprawling to the ground. Looking up, he spotted the Bear Dobatsu seething, his muscles bulging with anger and rage.
Virgil stood and extended his hand in a 'come on' motion. The Dobatsu happily obliged and charged the white Rider, while Virgil did the same. Each extending a fist, they both struck each other as they met in the middle of their strides, sending one another back.
"Not bad." Virgil uttered underneath his heavy helmet.
"You have no idea." The Bear Dobatsu held up his forearms in front of his face. With great concentration, the steel colored skin began to shift and morph into a pair of powerful looking gauntlets that held knuckle dusters in place of his hands. Banging them together, the sound echoed and gave Virgil a powerful reverb through his helmet. When he recovered, the white Rider caught the end of one of the powerful dusters and immediately collapsed to the ground; a piece of his heavier helmet armor laying next to him.
Gunther released the valves of his flamethrower and ignited a circle around himself and his adversary, Coyote. As the fire cackled and gasped for air, the reddish-orange Rider slid the wings of his firefly up, starting the process to lose his heavier build.
"Cast off!"
CAST OFF!
The armor shot from his body at an alarming speed, some of the bits hitting Coyote, but not fazing the demon. As the last part of his armor was thrown away, his navy-blue eyes flashed while his firefly announced the tail end of the transformation.
CHANGE FIREFLY!
"This is it, Coyote. I will avenge my mother's death. A coward like you will die easily. I bet you can't even fight."
Coyote howled in laughter and instantly disappeared from view. Looking around frantically, Gunther jumped as he saw the demon cackling next to him.
"We Dobatsu have power beyond your wildest dream, Rider. I'll show you this." The Dobatsu disappeared and reappeared behind Gunther, swiping his claws at the Rider's back. The unexpected attack sent Gunther forward, which he was then picked up from the air by his neck. Slammed hard into the ground next, the reddish-orange Rider scrambled to his feet, but was met with a swift kick to his legs, destabilizing his already shaky limbs. "Do you see what I mean?"
Not one to give up, Gunther moved his injured legs quickly, catching the demon off guard. Knocking Coyote to the ground, the Rider climbed on top of his foe and pinned him down. Pulling the wings of his zector down, and then back up, Gunther reared both fists back and yelled.
"Rider Barrage!"
RIDER BARRAGE!
Energy moved from the zector to his helmet, and then to his hands as Gunther laid an impressive assault into Coyote. Ravenous punches hungry to make contact began to beat and batter the steel skin that encompassed the demon's hard exterior until Gunther finally ran out of energy to hit with. Breathing hard, the Rider almost wept once he heard the laughter emitting from his rival's snapping jaws...But how? Every hit connected perfectly on their mark, he felt them!
"I'm too fast for you Rider. I caught each and every punch!" Coyote moved blindingly fast once more, and had Gunther pinned on the ground. This time, Coyote reared his fists back and started his assault on the now prone Rider.
Another wild punch sent Virgil rolling against the ground and dirt. His body screamed at him to stop, but he had to defeat the enemy he was presented with. A true mistake was made earlier when Virgil discarded his heavier armor for a speedier approach. While the idea was good in theory, it left him even more open. He surmised that no matter what, he wouldn't be able to get near his opponent unless he hit him from behind, and even that was a terrible risk. He had to think of something, and fast.
As Bear neared him, the white Rider tried his best to dodge the powerful punches that had shattered his confidence, but it was to no avail. One more hit sent him to a comfortable spot against a tree and he thought about giving up, but something told him to keep going.
Using the tree as support, he stood up and tried to find an opening in Bear's attack pattern. If he could just jump on an arm, he could gain the leverage he needed to execute his Rider Kick against the demon. He remembered a particularly dangerous attack, one that had nearly caught and crippled Virgil's leg. If the Rider attacked the Bear's right, the demon would bring down his left arm, and from there, Virgil could hop up and commit the attack. It was worth a shot.
ONE! TWO! THREE!
"Rider Kick!"
RIDER KICK!
Virgil ran forward as the energy shot from his belt to his horn, then down to his right leg. Bear also followed the Rider's lead and ran forward as well, however the two stopped once a blinding slice of light collided into the ground between them. Wiggling from the white, hot spot stood a white katana like object, one that Virgil grabbed instantaneously.
LESPID!
The device announced profoundly as Virgil tightened his grip around the hilt. The device had uttered the same tone as his belt, not that he was questioning it from its first announcement. When he looked up and saw that his opponent shared a dumbfounded expression, Virgil lurched forward and pulled the sword from its resting place, guiding the white weapon up and across the Bear's chest.
Howling in agony, the bear found a white hot scar emblazoned across his chest. He rushed forward to retaliate with a right hook, however the white Rider parried the attack, ducked and swung, placing a horizontal slash across his chest. The Bear still pressed on as he rushed Virgil, but with another powerful up slash, the bear demon was on his last legs.
Charging up energy into his right fist, the Bear Dobatsu moved forward to end the battle with a final powerful uppercut. Shifting his body, and moving completely on his right side to maximize impact, the bear hoped for a lucky strike!
"Don't fail me now!" Virgil brought the end of the katana into his left hand, energy crackling from the base of the weapon flowed to his horn, and then back to the blade. Bringing the katana high over his head, the moment the bear extended his arm, Virgil slammed the katana down as the blade announced a powerful attack!
RIDER SLASH!
The Bear's blow caught the blade of the katana and sent Virgil flying through the air. He landed lightly however as he watched the Bear Dobatsu awaiting the confirming kill. The white Rider inspected his blade and found no scratches or breaks. Holding it in front of his opponent's eyes, he tapped the blade and shrugged; the weapon was unscathed.
Bewildered, the Bear Dobatsu examined his forearm and began to wince as a white line started to split his forearm in twain. As he watched the line thicken and grow, his vision doubled and with a quick yell, the bear demon exploded!
As Virgil huffed and puffed, he found the Chameleon Dobatsu sitting by a tree. When the white Rider raised his sword, the punk rocker squealed and ran away, spitting out nonsense during his retreat.
"Your turn, Gun..."
Gunther's body felt like it was turning into mush. His armor was sure to give way any second, and once it was gone, he would truly be privy to the death Coyote kept spouting as each and every punch connected with their mark. He hoped his death would be quick and painless, not like the event leading up to it.
He looked up into the sky and just stared for a while, hoping that somewhere up there, his mother lay preoccupied with something else. He couldn't stand to see if she was watching him getting defeated because of her, she would just collapse at the scene of her precious son being beat into submission. Tears escaped his eyes, they rolled down his cheek, and splashed across the back of his helmet, this was it, this was truly it.
Or so he thought.
An white hole opened in the sky, directly where the Rider was looking. As he studied the anomaly, he noticed that something began to eject itself from the hole, and by its apparent trajectory, it was going to land by his hand. Extending his arm, he held out his hand until the device fell softly into his palm.
LUCCIOLA!
"Huh?" Coyote stopped his assault and turned to the source of the noise, but was shocked when he met the barrel of a gun.
Gripping the handle hard, he pulled the trigger and fired off two rounds, both shots making their mark in the unfortunate Dobatsu's eyes. Howling in pain, Coyote tried to move away from Gunther, but a powerful arm lock over his neck kept the demon in place. Shoving the gun to his stomach, Gunther pulled the trigger over and over again as the Coyote howled in protest. When the demon finally managed to muster enough strength to get away from his attacker, the reddish-orange Rider helped him to his feet and kicked him away.
"I'll-I'll live for another day! Ahahahahaha!"
Gunther said nothing as he pulled on the top of the gun and pointed it in the direction of the fleeing Coyote.
RIDER SHOOTING!
A reddish-orange well of energy formed in the tip of the gun as the Rider kept it steady on his target. His finger heavy on the trigger, Gunther never took his eyes off of the man...No, the demon, that took his mother away from him. As the energy began to form bigger and bigger, Gunther let slip another tear.
"Goodbye, mom."
Pulling the trigger, the energy formed into a ball and leapt from the gun, seeking it's target until it finally collided with the steel hide of the Coyote Dobatsu. With one final howl, the demon exploded as the energy took its course, finally destroying the Dobatsu that started it all.
After his fight with the bear demon, Virgil found his way back to the original confrontation spot and saw that Lily, and her daughter, were nowhere in sight. A text message later affirmed that they were alright, and that she would see him tomorrow and thank him for everything that he had done.
But as he nestled himself on a neat patch of grass, Gunther and Valerie walked out of the woods and stopped at the sight of their friend. Valerie ran up, instantly hugging and thanking him, while Gunther stood his ground. Understanding what was going on, Valerie moved away to give the two of them some peace.
"Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It was-"
"Out of anger, I know. Don't apologize Virgil, just don't."
"I..uh, ok."
"I realize that we've been friends forever, and that you've had my back since the beginning, but I can't forget this one instance. Valerie was in danger, someone we both really care about, and you were off gallivanting with that girl."
"How did you-"
"Her and Valerie talked, don't worry about it. The point is, while we've been a team in nearly everything else, we can never be a team like this, like Riders."
Virgil nodded his head and stood up. He screwed up big time, and he knew it. What hurt the most was that Gunther didn't want an apology, or to reconcile, he sounded like he wanted to move on.
"I made a choice Virgil, and I can't stay here anymore, not with you. And neither can Valerie. We talked it over, and we're leaving Locksbury for a while, maybe for good. We don't know. But we can't have you over at the house. Go ahead and collect your stuff and then leave."
Virgil looked at his friend and nodded. It was effectively the end of their friendship, and it was his fault. While Gunther had always been one to think irrationally, this was going to an extreme. But he had no other choice but to follow Gunther's command; it was his house, his rules. Not saying another word, Virgil took off down the dirt path and never looked back.
Once he was sure Virgil was gone, Gunther summoned the firefly to his hand. Looking at the mechanical device that had helped him exact his revenge, the Rider released the bug to the wind. The firefly almost nodded as it took off into the white hole in the sky, knowing it would never see its former master again. Looking down at his wrist, the brace dematerialized and he played with the cold, clammy skin. It was good to be normal again.
Author's Note: I want to thank all the current readers that were eagerly awaiting another chapter. I sincerely apologize for not getting this out faster like I promised, but shit happens. What can you do?
This chapter marks a milestone, not only in this being the longest running series I've ever done...ever, this also marks the departure of two key characters that never really left in the first place. Through time, I always envisioned Valerie and Gunther sticking to it from beginning to end, but as time went by, I found that they hampered my creativity to the point where it was making me slow down whenever I wrote them. Therefore, they are now gone. But don't worry, I'm sure we'll see them again sometime in the near future.
With that said, I believe I can really kick off Lespid now, and from here on out, I'll try and make it one of the best series', besides Great Revival of course, that you ever read. Thanks!