Chapter 11: The Final Battle
Onaga had returned to Outworld to celebrate his victory but Ermac had to return to Las Noches to deliver Halibel's body back to her people.
He held her body in his arms and wondered the dessert eventually coming back to the fortress. He carried her carefully making sure to support her head. When he came to the door he pushed it open and entered inside. He took several steps inside the palace and it wasn't long before he was joined by the others.
"Ermac!" yelled Apacci in surprise. She along with Mila Rose and Sung-Sun appeared." I knew you'd come back!" Ermac slowly turned his head to them, they seemed overjoyed at his return but he knew their mood would change once the news was given to them.
"We knew you'd come back." Rephrased Sung-sun." The second Master Halibel set out I knew she'd bring you back."
"And there she is now." Pointed Mila Rose seeing Halibel in his arms." How noble he carried her all the way back here." Then she turned and looked up at Ermac." So, are you going to stay this time?" But Ermac looked upon her with sad green eyes and that struck the Tres Bestias as odd.
"What is it?" asked Apacci.
"Is something wrong?" asked Mila Rose. Ermac took a step forward and held Halibel out in his arms, offering her body to her most loyal follwers. He said nothing and as they observed her body the sad truth dawned on them.
"Master Halibel!" they shrieked, taking her from his arms.
"She's alright." Said Mila Rose taking her." She's just asleep, come on master get up!" She screamed trying to persuade herself and those around her.
"Quick!" said Sung-Sun." To the infirmary, there still might be time to help her." And the tree quickly hurried off, leaving Ermac behind. He did not follow them, he took a few steps back and rested against the wall.
He let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes.
"Are you alright?" asked Gontanbine appearing and walking up next to him. "What's happened?" Ermac slowly turned and faced him, the look on his face saying more than enough." Where is Master Halibel?"
"Gone." Was all Ermac had the stomach to say." She's gone."
"What happened? Did you meant the Dragon King?"
Ermac only nodded."I was supposed to fight him alone, but then she interfered. I could only watch what he did to her."
"It wasn't your fault." Said Gontainbine trying to console him." You-"
"There was nothing I could do." Ermac reinstated sternly." Halibel's sacrifice was in vain. She died because of my need for vengeance."
"You are mistaken." Said Gontainbine." She take you in and help you for your vengeance, she did it for you." Ermac was silent but it looked as if Gontianbine's words had sunk in deep. Ermac slowly turned his heads and looked past the Privaron to see Halibel laid out on a bed in the next room.
Ermac stepped past Gontainbine and walked into the hospital room where Halibel was laid surrounded by all of her people.
"What are you doing here?!" spat Grimmjow." Haven't you caused enough trouble already?!" But Ermac ignored him and continued on until he stood next to Halibel. Even in death she was still beautiful, her green eyes were shut but her golden hair flowed over her body. Ermac leaned down next to her and planted a kiss on her forehead.
"I'm sorry." He said softly to her. Then he turned and walked away, the arrancars watching him go and disappear out the doorway.
"Where are you going?" asked Gontainbine. Ermac turned and looked at him with a serious look on his face.
"My vengeance isn't over yet." He said. Gontainbine gave Ermac a respectful nod knowing what he was going to do.
Ermac headed off to the throne room, going to the Garganta controls. He didn't really know how to work it but his mind was made up and he knew his path. He pressed the buttons and one opened before him. Without any hesitation he walked through it, leaving in Hueco Muendo and entering Outworld.
But just as he left a miracle happened. Back in the infirmary Halibel began to show signs of life. The fingers on her right hand began to twitch.
Meanwhile Onaga had returned to his palace on Outworld. And the Dragon King was very pleased with himself.
He hummed a tune to himself as he marched across the palace with a merry and lively spring in his steps. He pushed open the doors to the throne room and continued his march. He walked over to his table where there was a bottle of wine and his chalice waiting. So then the Dragon King began pouring himself a cup with a sick smile on his face.
But at that same time Ermac had returned to Outworld via the Garganta. It appeared over the palace and he landed on the roof with little noise. Onaga was too pleased with himself to have noticed it. Then carefully Ermac began crawling his way down the wall and down onto the balcony of Onaga's Throne Room.
The Dragon King turned and faced himself in the mirror.
"A toast." He said to the mirror as he and his reflection raised their glasses." To myself." He let out a dark hearty chuckle." And to all my future glory." Then he tipped his hat back and began drinking. He didn't notice because his head was tilted back that Ermac and slid down from the rooftop and was now in the doorway of the balcony.
Onaga titled his head back after he was done drinking making an 'aah' sound at his being refreshed. But the second he looked in the mirror he noticed something that wasn't there before. In the back corner of the mirror, standing on the balcony behind him was none other than Ermac.
"YOU!" yelled Onaga as he quickly shot around. Ermac ducked down as Onaga quickly shot a fireball at him which he managed to jump down and doged." How many times do I have to kill you boy?!" Ermac quickly jumped up and lunged forward, ramming into Onaga and knocking him into the mirror cracking the glass.
Ermac kept his hands on Onaga's shoulders keeping him in place. A dark glare began to glow in the Dragon King's eyes and with a roar and a swing of his body, he forced Ermac to let him go.
The warriors filled with souls stumbled back but regained himself while Onaga stood before him. The Emperor stretched out his wings, shaking some of the glass shards off his back but blood ran down it as well.
"You should be dead!" he roared.
"Like you, sir. I'm hard to kill."
Onaga chuckled darkly." Well then, let's try it again shall we?" he prepared to fight.
"This isn't about you and me anymore Onaga." Ermac said. The Dragon King cocked his head confused" This is about a woman named Halibel."
"Who?" asked Onaga confused.
"The woman you murdered!"
"That woman?" Onaga repeated and he broke into a dark chuckle." Fancy her did you?" Ermac grimaced at him." Was it her to taught you how to finally speak correctly?"
And with that a fire lit inside Ermac and he lunged forward and attacked the Dragon King. The two grabbed onto each other and began struggling. Ermac reached up and punched Onaga in the face but he only responded with a punch of his own to Ermac's face and then the stomach. But then Ermac grabbed onto his arm, turned and tossed him.
The Dragon King flew and landed on his stomach. When he rolled over he saw Ermac flying down at him. But Onaga just used his wings and swatted Ermac like a fly, sending him into the wall.
Ermac knew this wasn't going to be easy. Despite being better than any other Outworld warrior he knew that Onaga was better than all of them. If he wanted to come out of this alive he would have to start off strong.
Sure enough Onaga rose up from the ground hardly scratched and stomped his way towards Ermac. The Soulless warrior in turn activated his own powers increasing the size of his muscles to what he called 85%.
Onaga now broke into a run and Ermac did the same, then together they broke into a sprint and collided.
Onaga swung his arm and wing for a double strike but Ermac ducked and then jumped with an uppercut to the chin, then a follow-up to the face. But Onaga came back and punched Ermac in the face, but then Ermac swung back with another to Onaga's.
Onaga then reached forward and covered Ermac's face with his hand then he spun him around and tossed him like a rag doll. Ermac flew and landed against the wall. When he looked up there was Onaga before him. The Dragon King swung his arm forward and punched Ermac in the face, then a second time, and a third. With each brutal punch be buried Ermac into the wall until he almost broke through it.
Then Onaga lowered himself, prepared to hit Ermac with his shoulder. But when he did that Ermac reached down and grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him around and slammed him through the wall. Since Onaga had kept beating Ermac through it the structure was weak.
So the two went flying out of the palace and into the air. Onaga quickly began flying but had trouble as Ermac grabbed onto his leg and held on. Onaga kicked out his legs and swatted his tail at him but Ermac stood firm and held on.
He then reached up and grabbed Onaga's tail and began pulling. This action made the Emperor lose his pattern of flight and he began heading towards the ground. Ermac crawled onto Onaga's back and began punching him. After several blows Onaga grabbed onto Eramac and began striking back.
Just before the two hit the ground Ermac kicked off Onaga who flew back into the air while he landed on the ground.
When he looked back up he saw the silhouette of a dragon against the sun flying down at him. Ermac rolled out of the way just in time before Onaga crushed him.
He rolled over and onto one knee. But Onaga swung around and lashed at Ermac with his tall, managing to hit him in the head. Ermac fell and slid into the dirt.
He barely had any time to recover before the Dragon King was on him again. Onaga reached down and grabbed Ermac and held him up. But Ermac managed to shake one arm free and punched Onaga in the face causing him to let go and he to land back on his feet. Ermac tried to keep up the attack and swung again but this time Onaga caught his fist. When he swung his other fist it only yielded the same result, now it was the dragon's turn.
Onaga opened his mouth and blew fire down onto Ermac. Now great heat didn't affect him like other people but it did hurt him. Ermac fell onto one knee while Onaga still held onto his hands. The Dragon smiled as it seemed his victory was at hand but then something happened.
Ermac's muscles suddenly bulged again and he began to fight back. With new strength he began to rise back up to his feet despite Onaga's fire and strength trying to keep him down. Ermac got up to his feet and cocked his head up at him.
Now at 95% he was ready to get back into the fight. His green eyes began to glow, after Onaga's fire he was ready with something of his own.
Two rays shout out of his eyes and hit Onaga in the head. The ruler of Outworld stumbled back screaming in pain as he held onto his burning forehead. That is when Ermac struck.
He jumped forward and punched Onaga in the face, then a second time, then a third. He continued his assault of punched driving his foe back with each. He swung another furious punch forward but this time Onaga caught it. They struggled there a moment, even with his new strength Ermac was only able to gain ground for a second the Dragon King had still overpowered him.
"I should have known you'd meddled things up for me." Onaga grunted with blood coming out of his face." I should have killed you long ago."
"And now I'm going to do what I should have done from the beginning!" Then he pushed Ermac back causing him to stumble and then he made his approach.
Ermac prepared himself going to 98% power and charged. But when he approached Onaga just punched him across the face, spilling more of his blood onto the ground. Then he swung with another connecting in the same spot. With a slash of his claws he opened up Ermac's chest. And with one swing from his wing he stabbed him through the shoulder, quickly following up with the other and hitting him across the face.
Ermac was sent back onto the ground, laying in his own blood.
"But like Shao Khan you grew weak, and Gods must be strong." said Onaga as he walked around next to Ermac's body. But Ermac could hear little of what he said, all he could see was Onaga hovering over him. He reached up his foot and stomped it down on Ermac, causing even more pain to his already destroyed body." It was that women that made you soft."
That woman. Ermac thought now at the end of life about her, about Halibel back in Hueco Muendo. She died for him and now here he was about to die himself. He thought if there was truly one person out there for everyone, she would have been the one for him.
Ermac felt something a large hand grasp around his body. Onaga picked him up and held him in the air.
"Time to die!" he proclaimed. Then with one great swing of his arm he flung Ermac into the air. Onaga followed in pursuit his large wings carrying him up and past Ermac. He flew above him, put both hands together and slammed them down on Ermac when he came.
Ermac now flew back and hit the ground hard causing it to shake and rumble. Onaga flew back down and noticed the destruction. Most was in ruin the fortress in shambles, the ground upturned, and among it all was Ermac's body. Onaga flew over down next to it and saw as the green light from Ermac's eyes dimmed into darkness.
"And so ends the great Ermac." he said. And then with a dark chuckle he turned his back on his beaten foe and began walking off. With everything in ruins he would have much to rebuild.
Ermac's body lay motionless but his soul, being that he was comprised of so many refused to die. At first they were all in mass hysteria, one or two of them escaping from the shell of a body and freeing themselves only to immediately be dissolved in the air.
But as all the souls cried out for freedom one spoke above them all.
"No!" bellowed a voice that rang out above all other's. It was a woman's voice. "Get up Ermac!" called Halibel's voice. And with that Ermac's eyes opened up. He didn't know where her voice came from or if it was even real. But he knew one thing his quest was not yet over, there was still much he had to do.
He rose to his feet and as he did he began to change. Not unlike what he had before but now was different. His muscles still grew but his shoulders grew out into large spikes, his forearm muscle popping out and connecting to his wrist. This was not 100% power, this was beyond. This was 120%. Brought on by new feelings of purpose Ermac had reached a new level.
Onaga stopped in his tracks as he suddenly felt something strange behind him. He turned around and saw Ermac standing there, not dead but very much alive.
"Why won't you just die!" he roared as he turned back to Ermac.
"Let's finish this." said Ermac. Onaga then picked himself off the ground and flew at Ermac, grabbing him and flying into the air.
But Ermac broke free and punched Onaga in the face, this time his punches feeling much more devastating than the others. With another punch Onaga released Ermac from his grip.
Ermac quickly grabbed onto Onaga's wing swung around and landed on his back. Then he made punch after punch connect with the back of Onaga's head. The Dragon King began to become dizzy as his flight pattern altered. Then Ermac drove him into a ground jumping off before Onaga connected with the ground and made a trench in it.
Ermac then stood up and walked over to him. Onaga jolted up his body bloody and bruised. He turned over and saw Ermac coming for him. So when he got close Onaga lunged out and swung his wing at him. But Ermac easily dodged, turned and ripped the wing in half causing blood to spill out over the ground. Onaga roared in pain and fell back onto the ground. Ermac tossed the wing aside and walked towards him.
Onaga turned and tried to fly away on his one wing but Ermac jumped over and grabbed him, his strength now greater than the dragon's.
"Now." said Ermac in a commanding tone." You will tell me everything you know of my past." And to his surprise Onaga laughed a sick malicious laugh as blood poured from his mouth.
"You are all pain! You will never know happiness, you will never know who you are!" Onaga yelled. Ermac was enraged by his statement and as he held Onaga there he swung one arm back and then forward, punching a hole straight through Onaga holding his heart out on the other end.
The Dragon King was no more. Ermac pulled his arm out and the body fell back lifeless. In his hand was the Dragon King's heart. He stared at it but then turned and tossed it far into the unknown.
The Battle in Outworld was over. The Palace had fallen into ruin with only Ermac standing in it's wake. He stood straight and tall surrounded by the chaos and destruction. As his green eyes scanned all around he saw the aftermath of his quest. His journey for vengeance had ended.
Chaos, there was nothing but chaos and he caused it. He slowly brought his hands up & looked at them. With his own two hands he defeated the Greatest warriors in Outworld even the Dragon King himself. His reign had ended & now left Outworld & it's colonies in a state of restlessness. Just as Onaga had said his quest had brought nothing but blood, all Ermac knew was destruction. Nothing was left and only Ermac stood alone in what he had wrought.
But Ermac was still there. He stood in the chaos and as he rose to his full height & the light shined on him he realized what he had to do. He created this chaos but now he would create order.
His quest was not over. His past was still a mystery & there was a world he needed to rebuild. But there was also one more thing he needed...