The End Chapter 2 2nd Rough Draft
Days Remaining Until the Apocalypse: 353
The two warriors were isolated in their world. The train had distorted into a red, canyon-sized cave with cliffs lining the walls. These cliffs were made from the seats and windows. There was very little noise in this realm; the only thing that could be heard was the sound of a weapon conflicting with its twin.
They began at a stalemate. Whenever one attempted to strike, their counterpart flawlessly blocked it. However, doing so was not an easy task, because the sheer speed at which they attacked required immense concentration. At first, Finn thought that the fighter was simply copying his every move. He doesn't remember facing too many mimic-style opponents, so Finn never formed a common strategy against them. Finn's method of breaking the pattern involved a short jump backwards, but the skeleton punished him by lunging forward and stabbing his stomach. However, while the attack did penetrate the skin, the resulting wound was only an inch deep. Finn took advantage of this by kicking the monster's leg, but the movement allowed the monster's sword to tear through more skin. Finn, succeeding in knocking the skeleton off balance, was finally able to distance himself.
"Who are you?" Finn shouted. He griped his sword in preparation against another attack.
The monster was shocked at what Finn had to say. He growled and clenched his fist. It wasn't the normal growl of a monster. It had a distinct tone that matched that of an organism that understood language. In a fit of blind rage, the skeleton threw his weapon at Finn, which the human mostly dodged. The attack left a cut on Finn's right arm; it was not as damaging as the stab wound.
Finn went to retrieve the red-jeweled sword, and the skeleton let the human do so. Within a few available seconds, he aimed at the human with his boney hand. The appendage looked like it was trying to grasp something out of the air. Upon seeing a green gas seep out his wounds, Finn's concentration was lost.
They watched as the gas started to move towards the skeleton's hand. Finn watched in horror as the gas enveloped the hand; muscle quickly started to appear on the previously skeletal arm. Getting a new feel for this attachment, the monster bended his figures in various ways and punched a Cliffside. It became clear to Finn that the muscle added to the arm made it exponentially stronger. With that one punch, he made a miniature fissure appear, making that cliff at risk of collapse. The skeleton looked back at Finn, who couldn't help but see a slight grin amid the static jaw. The skeleton then leap at Finn, unleashing a barrage of punches.
The attacks persisted, leaving the poor human with further injuries. It wasn't until a punch missed when the skeleton faced his sharp comeuppance. With two blades lodged in the flesh of the upper arm, the skeleton roared in agony. Finn sprinted toward the plateaus in the distance, taking only his sword with him. The skeleton tried to catch up with him after removing the remaining sword from his body. While running, the severity of the wound became apparent. Drops of blood started to form a trail as he progressed in his pursuit. But when the skeleton reached the groups of plateaus, Finn had gotten out of his sight.
The battlefield went quiet. Finn peaked out from where he was hiding. Sure enough, he saw the skeleton searching the area while treading in a cautious manner. Finn also made sure that he snuck around as quietly as he could, because almost any noise could be heard in that silent realm. Finn further distanced himself from his opponent. When he gained enough distance to prepare a proper sneak attack, Finn had also lost sight of who he was fighting. He climbed up the plateau and scouted the area, but the skeleton was still out of sight. Soon after, Finn's attention turned to a drop of blood he left. The human noticed that he himself also left a trail. Finn's eyes followed the drops of red liquid until he found out another trail that intersected it. He jumped from one plateau to the next when following it. If he could pull of his maneuvers correctly, Finn knew that he had a chance of landing a sneak attack on the being. Before every jump, Finn scanned the area around him to make sure that he wasn't falling into another trap. He eventually made it to the trail's end without making a sound.
The trail simply cut off without any other trace of the skeleton. Finn assumed that, obviously, the skeleton was hiding amongst the plateaus, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Both were, once again, at a stalemate. Neither one could immediately see nor hear the other. They started to grow nervous; they had a difficult time remaining still as they desperately searched for any ques that could reveal their location. They both began to shake; the risk associated with fighting a battle of attrition would be too high. Both needed to quickly tip the scales to come out in one peace.
Perhaps the skeleton suspected Finn would take the high route? He did. The skeleton believed there was no reason for not doing so. If there was anywhere Finn would strike, it would be from above. He stood firmly at his location, waiting for Finn to avoid what seems like an obvious trap and fall right into another. Finn went back to the area where the blood trails seem to wind around the plateaus. The skeleton positioned his sword to perform a powerful, skyward strike. He saw a glimmer of blue light come from Finn's blade.
It was Finn's sword, but nothing else. The skeleton saw grace within the blade. Despite the situation, it seemed achieve divine grace in the dim light of that realm. He could see every detail in that blade; everything from the near-perfect balance of the steel to tinniest crack or indent. By holding a sword with a red gem embedded in the handle, the skeleton felt as though he was facing the judgement of another world's god. However, there was one word engraved in both blades that he could never forget: "Human." The word shined on the opposing blade. The skeleton believed he truly found his equal. But alas, as grand as a divine execution is, he couldn't accept defeat. With a sword that was equal to it in power, he was rejuvenated in his duty to fight until his end.
He knocked Finn's sword skyward, but he was faced with the revelation that Finn, realizing that it was another trap, had snuck up on him from a different route. The human boy threw a punch at the skeleton. Going by his reflexes, the skeleton also tried to punch Finn. However, against all odds, their attempted punches landed directly on each other's fist. Their struggle sent shockwaves throughout the realm. They were at once again at a stalemate.
"I can't win here," said the Skeleton. Although he wanted to beat Finn, he silently accepted that his chances of doing so now would be slim.
He only had a second to do so, but the skeleton could absorb just a little bit more of the green gas. If he stayed any longer, he would've been left open. He used it to gain a little muscle in his legs and ran. Finn chased after him, but the skeleton was more agile than him. The realm started to revert to its normal state. The skeleton climbed to the top of the highest plateau he could find. Finn couldn't bare letting him get out of his sight, so he climbed one too.
The sky cracked like glass; each crack revealed parts of the normal world used to make this one. By luck, Finn found the sword he was using and took it with him. Once the skeleton reached one of the highest plateaus, he stopped moving. Finn was suspicious of this lack or movement. Therefore, he jumped to the plateau next to his opponent and waited for another attack. However, he didn't attack. The skeleton just stood there, glaring at Finn. The boy glared back his opponent. Pieces of the realm continued to break apart until the normal world covered a fourth of the realm. Soon a piece of this new world broke behind them, allowing two rays of sunlight to invade from the old one. The morning light was shining on them from behind, causing a shadow to cast over their front side. This illumination seemed to alter the feel of the world. Unlike before, everything was crystal clear; even mere specs of dust could be seen floating around them. The two continued to eyeball each other, waiting for something to happen. Eventually, Finn got tired of this and began to speak.
"Who are you?" He asked.
The skeleton continued to glare at him as he refused to answer. Soon, the realm completely began to crumble before them, and Finn's opponent disappeared into the blinding light. The ground shattered below Finn, and images of where he was in his world surrounded him. He woke up in the train car connected that was nearby the conductor's. Thankfully, he had easy time getting up, despite his wounds. As he stretched out his arm to help himself get up, he realized that his sapphire adorned sword stayed with him.