Chapter Eighteen: Forever and Always
After countless days of training and honing his skills in not only controlling his powers but also in martial arts and meditation, Damien felt like he was ready to defeat anyone that stood in his way. The vermillion dog's mind was only on the trio of Mario, Carnage and Darius. Surely, he could defeat one or two of them however all three would present a challenge. Thankfully, he had Lia and his godfather Donatello at his side.
"Good morning Donny! How's your day been so far?" the Angel greeted.
Donatello backhanded his godson, the arrogant idiot falling to the floor in a dazed heap.
"Surely you don't greet your family member and sensei like that foolish boy." the raven sneered.
"Oh, look at the flying stars mommy." the younger brother stated.
Suddenly, the elder heard a noise with his keen sense of hearing, the hero doing the same though they were unable to identify the noise. The hound instinctively growled at a murmur until arbitrary gunshots flew from the trees and bushes, the duo dodging with skill and ease. G.U.N soldiers emerged from their hiding spots, firearms prepared to strike down at any moment.
"Looks like we've got company." the ebony jackal said, entering the fray.
"Nice of you to join us dear Redclaw Leader." a familiar voice said.
As if a king were present, the agents divided in two and bowed down at the presence of their top agent, Mario Toki the Hedgehog. The amber anti-hero shook his head before allowing his men to rise, his hands in his pockets to maintain his stoic persona.
"Long time no see buddy old pal!" the dog exclaimed in joy as he dashed towards Mario.
Unfortunately, the top agent wasn't as joyous to see his old friend, using his chronological powers to pause Damien in the flow of time. A jade glow enveloped the dog who had no idea what was going on as time reversed back to when the hero had first saw Mario.
"Hey, what's going on here?" the half demon asked.
Just as he had expected, his former friend had no idea what was going on at this time. Out of the blue, the Blackheart Leader, Carnage, walked over with his Desert Sun claymore shining valiantly in the sunlight. Lia growled at the bloodthirsty beast, the coyote licking his lips evilly.
"Is it not obvious dear friend? I'm here to capture you and bring you back to G.U.N headquarters. As for your allies, they are none of my concern so Carnage will decide their fate." the Italian speaking male explained. "Your brother would be delighted to see you again after your previous affair."
"Sorry but I'm not going nowhere and you're not going to do anything with my friends so leave now or you're all going down." the hero commanded.
"Well I'd beg to differ kid. We came here for the prize and we intend to get it. I don't care much what happens to you but I want the girl's head as promised." the beige beast roared, activating his weapon's chain feature.
"Listen here Cinna-Bun, I don't give a hoot who you are or what you want but if it's bad, then step aside because I'm not letting you get it." Damien said with determination.
The words of the Angel didn't matter to the Blackheart Leader as he hurled his chain around Lia. She struggled to free herself though she didn't have after her rival hurled her away. The prize was getting away so Carnage and his minions chased after it at lightning speeds.
"LIA!" the dog screamed as he attempted to chase after them though Donatello stopped.
"Focus my son. Your true battle lies here with him," the bird referring to Mario. "I'll go get your friend. Just deal with the problem at hand and then meet up with me at the hill outside the forest."
Hesitantly, the dog closed his eyes and slowly nodded, showing his confidence for his godfather. The indigo elder dashed off leaving Damien to face Mario and his minions.
"Go assist the coyote, the raven is extremely powerful and I don't want anything to go astray. I'll deal with the half demon."
The agents nodded to their superior as they ran past Damien, their feet in rhythm and their breath in almost perfect unison. It was evident that his former friend had been able to make his squadron have almost complete chemistry. Two pairs of coal black eyes gazed at one another, the dog smiling at the hedgehog.
"Hey, you still have the old contacts I gave you and you still wear them too. You really do care." the dog said with a smile.
"Are you done with your silly antics or shall we get this started?" Mario sighed.
The dog scratched his head and leaned back, thinking about an adequate answer.
"No because we're still best friends like we once used to be. Best friends Mario, forever and always dude." the hero said.
"And as my friend, you'll allow me to do my job and get you to G.U.N headquarters." the top soldier said.
"And as my friend, you'll allow me to go free and help my friends fend off your ally." the half demon replied.
"Then we're at a stalemate my dear friend. Let's just end this quickly so I can complete my mission." the G.U.N agent stated.
"In your dreams. I'm not going with you Mario."
Damien's claws glowed with violet energy as he charged forward, his opponent withdrawing his signature Uzi Submachine guns. Attempting to fend his foe back, Mario fired precise shots near the feet of the canine to cause him to stagger. The hero was too confident and swift however, zipping through the minuscule projectiles with grace. He leaped into the air and fired off gales of lilac wind at the hedgehog who looked calm.
Mario back stepped out of each one's range before hurling an array of explosive kunai which Damien deflected with a barrier of static. The detonations pushed the hound away, allowing the anti-hero to gain some distance and some time. Balls of fire surrounded the dog like a flaming halo as each one descended upon his adversary like a meteor storm, each one missing their mark.
Guess the training did pay off but Mario's skilled so I better not count my chickens until they've hatched.
"Excellent moves but you aren't disciplined enough to use them to their full extent." Mario stated, throwing a line of kunai at his friend.
"That's what you think but it's not nice to assume. My training's not going to let me down against you so bring out your big guns man." Damien responded, firing swallowing waves of combustion to defend himself.
The gun wielder flipped over the other combatant, trying to shoot from his blind side however the dog was able to use his embers to form a protective sphere around himself. A smirk crawled upon the dog's face as he got his friend right where he wanted him. Using his affinity over electricity, he magnetized Mario's feet to the floor and shot off pressurized waves or air to force him back.
Quick to counter, the amber and onyx male used his own magnetic kunai to create a neutral charge, allowing him to escape his prison and dodge the incoming attack. It was astounding how no matter what he threw at him, Mario would always find a way to counter his move. This time around, Damien began to rotate in place, blanketing himself in ebony and lavender flames to becoming a blazing spinning top.
The golden dog spun towards his ally and attempted to burn him to a crisp though Mario had a way to counter and attack in a single chain. He withdrew his guns once more and shot at the feet of his friend, causing him to lose balance. On the offensive, the yellow hedgehog threw a flurry of explosive and magnetic kunai to create an explosive arrow of blades.
"And you give me a counter luckily so try this on for size." the hound smiled.
Going into Mario's playbook, the dog used the highly charged particles in the air and his affinity over electricity to separate the arrow into smaller ones that curved right around him. Mario smiled at that smart maneuver, he was impressed on how well Damien had grown although he also had grown so it was an even battle for the moment.
I don't think I'll be able to hit him if I give out the first move so my best move will be to allow him to strike first and then counter attack. He's not going to be a pushover like he used to be so it's time I take charge of the battle.
Threads of static shot out from the hound's fingers with smaller versions of the Dark Repulsion attached to the ends of each one. Apparently, Damien had taken some time to create variants for his signature technique which surprised the hedgehog for the most part. His persona wouldn't allow him to be intimidated by any new form of attack, all he had to do was find its weakness and exploit it.
"Like my new Dark Repulsion Streams? I made up so many variants for my original Dark Repulsion, this one being slightly weaker but more effective than the original. I'm going to pull out some other variants when I face my brother after I defeat you." Damien said cockily.
"Still as arrogant as ever but no matter. I'll make this quick and get rid of those streamers of yours. You won't be able to show your brother what you've learned because I'm going to take you to G.U.N as promised." Mario replied with a smirk.
The chatting was useless against the determined hound who dashed over with his newly released Dark Repulsion Streams, the threads acting out through the mind of their master as Mario back flipped out of their radius and landed safely on a tree. Damien fired off his attack towards the tree as Mario flew away safely and landed upon a rock, one of the Dark Repulsions finally exploding.
It seems since his hands are preoccupied, he isn't able to launch another attack until the threads have been done away with. It also seems that the Dark Repulsions attached to them won't go away either until he detonates them which could take forever. He wants to keep me out of range so that I don't get a clear shot at him.
The threads began to spiral around like snakes, curving through the trees as Mario fired away at each with his firearms. Sadly, his bullets did nothing to the spheres of energy, the golden hound's attack truly a marvel to behold. He leaped away though it was impossible to dodge in mid-air thus Damien went in for the kill. He shot off a trio of streamers and attempted to bind Mario together, ready to detonate them right after except the hedgehog used his kunai to repel the snakes of energy. Regardless, they slithered towards him until they had him captured, exploding in passionate fireworks and thick clouds of smoke.
"If my streams got him, maybe he's finished but it's doubtful that they did. He does have powers over time manipulation and he only uses them when in real danger. My Dark Repulsion Streams are a real danger so I have to be prepared for anything." the hero stated to himself.
"Good deduction my dear friend and opponent, I was able to escape your threads which leaves you to six. Four remain on your right hand and two remain on your left." Mario analyzed.
He's hesitant to use the threads on his right hand because it's obvious his right side is more in need of protection than his left. But why?
Mario shook his head and asked for the battle to continue, the dog eager to oblige by allowing four of his remaining streamers to attack. This left one streamer left in each hand for his protection which was even enough for him. With elegance like a model, the hedgehog twirled through the incoming bombs of energy before throwing explosive kunai to counter. Damien jumped away before lashing out his last two streamers at his foe.
"Aren't you getting tired of dodging because it's not fun you know?" the dog asked.
"You're not the one who facing someone with deadly streamers attached with bombs." the anti-hero simply answered.
"If you say so. Just tell me when you give up." the hero replied.
The amber agent rolled his eyes and flipped away from the ribbons of destruction, landing on his feet though he was aware of where each one was. Two of them tried to catch him off guard from below as they shot up from beneath, the hedgehog leaning back to barely dodge. The tiniest of staggers allowed Damien to end it.
"Got you man! Bye-Bye bad guy!" the dog cheered.
Two streamers came from the left and right each, detonating at close range while the remaining two flew downwards to end off a beautiful attack. The command of his Dark Repulsion Streams was amazing for the first real time using them, he had to try that against Darius when they battled later on.
"Nice try but you'll have to do better than that when you're facing a time manipulator. I was easily able to pause them just before they hit and now I'm going to counter." the voice of Mario rang out from in front of the dog.
Like a ghost, Mario appeared from out of thin air and attempted to punch the dog straightforward but Damien did a split to dodge which sent the chronological master landing a few feet away. It wasn't any surprise that Mario would do that, his attacks were just too slow for the soldier. It was obvious why he was one of G.U.N's top agents along with Phoenix.
"Well I expected that much from you but it was just so fun thinking that you were down for the count. But after all, you are the one who told me that a fight isn't over until the other guy's down on the ground." Damien said with a smirk.
"I did, didn't I? I'm impressed by how much you've grown and I'm glad we got to fight but I think today, we'll call it a draw." the agent said, turning his back.
"Why? I thought you were going to knock me out and take me to G.U.N yourself." the dog asked.
"I was but you're a challenge, more than everyone in G.U.N made you to be. Maybe it was just your training that got you prepared to face me or you've actually been hiding out on me. Nevertheless, there's someone you want to face right? Darius by any chance?" the hedgehog said with a soft chuckle.
"Yup, you're right. Thanks for giving me the chance to actually end this thing with him." the hero thanked his comrade.
"You're welcome. Although I'm doing you a favor, there's one last thing I have to say. If you beat Darius, then congratulations. If you don't, then I'm sorry to hear that. Whatever the result is, it doesn't matter to me because in the end, I'm still going to complete my mission." the anti-hero explained, glancing over his shoulder.
Damien tapped his finger on his chin and smirked, nodding his head and giving a thumbs up.
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
With that, Damien dashed off into the forest, leaving Mario to think about what would come in the future.
To be continued…
A/N: The battle between Damien and Mario wasn't all that it was hyped up to be but I'll fix that with the Carnage/Lia battle next chapter. After that, three part finale battle that will be even more amazing than both these fights combined. I hope you liked the chapter nonetheless. You know what you gotta do. Review! Thanks! Bye.
P.S: I'll be editing my old chapters to make them look longer so check it out if you want. It doesn't matter.
