Year 902 – The Ruins of Haunted Willows, the Outlands
Ringing. Darkness. Flickering. Heat. Pain.
So much pain.
Caractacus' vision flickered weakly, shifting in and out of consciousness. He couldn't feel his body. He felt tired. So tired. He wanted to go back to sleep. The comforts of slumber would draw him back to peace.
Wait…what happened a moment ago?
Why…was he moving?
His memories came flooding back. The bounty hunter. The village. The explosion.
Was he captured?
Caractacus strained himself to cry out for help, but his voice made a guttural, gargled noise. Something felt off. Why couldn't he speak? Why did his mouth feel so…not right? Stiff, yet not all there?
As he tried to struggle out of his captor's gasp, he felt them slowing down greatly. Slower and slower down the dirt path before falling over. Caractacus rolled out of their arms, landing on his side.
He groaned inwardly, feeling sharp rocks pressing against his wounds. Based on the pain he was feeling, he had third degree burns and open cuts over his body. Blood drenched his face, clouding his vision. He tried to take in big gulps of air, but struggled to open his jaw. He sucked it all the air he could through his nose. The air itself was scorched and dry.
He pressed his paw down, groaning as he tried to pick himself up. However, when he pressed his right leg down, a sharp pain shot through his body. He screamed inside his sealed jaw and fell back over his side. As he huffed to ease himself from the pain, he lifted his leg to see what brought about such sensation.
His eyes widened in horror, staring at the rent flesh and jagged bone that made up the remainder of his foreleg. The hot air had dried the blood around his leg, and a tourniquet had been wrapped just below the joint to stave off further bleeding.
Caractacus worriedly checked his hindlegs, his core rattling to find they, too, were blown off in the explosion. Two more tourniquets were made to preserve his legs. He patted down the rest of his body with his one good paw, stopping on his face and realizing why he was struggling to open it.
It had been wrapped tight in cloth…because it was the only thing holding his torn jaw together.
He felt up the corners of his maw, feeling the lack of flesh holding his jaw in place. He estimated it was being held together by a few loose strands. If it had been left to dangle, it would've inevitably fallen off.
He turned his head back, wondering who had brought him so far out from the village. His eyes widened at the deceased Gothitelle laying face down in the dirt, her body burnt almost completely beyond recognition save for one arm. She must've survived her brief encounter with The Ghost and used the last of her strength to save Caractacus' life, bringing him as far out from the burning village as possible.
M…Ma…
Tears welled up in Caractacus' eyes. He turned his gaze up to the elevated valley, watching the inferno burn the hidden village. Was he the only one who made it out alive? What happened to The Ghost? Did he perish as well? Or was he driven off?
Caractacus growled miserably, reaching his paw out for Ma, but stopped himself. If The Ghost had survived, he will inevitably find him here. Ma sacrificed the last of he strength just to get him away from the village. If he wasted this opportunity, her efforts would be for naught.
He clenched his eyes shut, suppressing the flood of emotions trembling deep beneath his chest, and set his eyes forward on the land ahead. He had nothing. Just his mind and wits. It will be the only thing to get him through the desert. He'll most certainly die.
…But he refused.
With tears and blood covering his eyes, he stretched his own paw forward, clawed into the rough terrain, and moved himself forward by an inch. Just that one bit of movement took a chunk of his energy, but he swallowed the pain and pushed his body further. He would drag himself through the entirety of the Outlands if he needed to.
He had to get away, like he always did.
He had to find somewhere safe.
It was the only logical thing to do.
It was the only thing he could do.
How long had Caractacus been wrapped in the Milotic's sadistic game of torture? Over and over again, he felt his lungs being filled and drained of water, pumped full of air before having it squeezed out like a morbid bagpipe recital. Transparent waters serpents coiled tighter around his body while several more plunged through his mouth, forcing feeding him air and water.
Each violent cough he made spilled another cloud of blood into the water. Arethusa dipped her face through the bloodied water, running her tongue through it. She licked her lips and purred. "Oooh, that tastes wonderful." She leaned closer to the hound's face and grinned. "Not so high and mighty now, are we?"
Caractacus couldn't even manage a sarcastic grunt as he continued to choke on his own air. He couldn't struggle. He couldn't fight back. He couldn't even reject the air being funneled into him. Arethusa had complete control over him, and he would suffer, live, and die at her whim. What kind of sadism was this?
Arethusa wrapped herself around the dying hound, petting his face with her tail. "All who come to the Outlands seek freedom from society. The Wick Kingdom failed to keep control of their own land, and now it has become a place of liberation. This is the ultimate form of freedom. We live to do as we please. No one can stop us. No one can rule over us. This is how everything falls into place. My design, my rules. This is truly the place where crime deserves to flourish."
She wrapped her tail around his neck, squeezing it gently.
"You sought that same freedom, didn't you? Free to do as you please. You weren't strong enough. You're just a prop for someone else's success. How sad that you've lived in the Outlands for so long, yet you had no autonomy over your path. You were always just passed around like an old hammer. Why did you ever think you could get away from us?"
She squeezed his neck tightly for a moment before uncoiling and swimming away.
"I could just release you from this torment and have you brought to Dr. Underhill. He has big plans, and he would need someone of your intellect to assist him. But I've decided you're not worth the hassle." She smirked. "Considering your unique situation out here, it stands to reason you have another family member who would be useful to us. A sibling, maybe."
The light flickered in and out of Caractacus' eyes, his consciousness fading.
"The MacGyver family had to have had at least one other child, and since your grandfather is no longer with us, your half-sibling would be our best bet. Aww, does that hurt you? After all, you were just a mistake your mother threw out, right?"
If Caractacus wasn't so weak from the torture, he would've had a string of colorful words to share with the Milotic.
She laughed. "Listen to me, talking to a corpse." She grinned. "I think I've had my fill. I'm going to let you drown in peace now. Once you're nice and dead, I think I'll kill the rest of your friends…and maybe try my luck at Babylas' life. We'll see if I'm feeling lucky."
With a wave of her tail, the water serpents vanished from around Caractacus, freeing him from their hold. No longer suspended in place, he drifted down the watery domain as the remaining pockets of air in his lungs dripped out.
Arethusa snickered, waving to the sinking Boltund. "Bye-bye, little puppy~. It's been fun~."
Her words fell on deaf ears as Caractacus watched the Milotic rise further and further away. His legs dangled above him as he sank down the bubble, the only light visible being the sun shimmering from the top of the domain. He tried to hold in the limited air granted to him, but it was pointless. The moment he lost consciousness, water would fill his lungs again, and he was as good as dead.
But maybe it was for the best.
Arethusa was right. All his life, he was just a tool being tossed around haphazardly to give some bigshot their next big score. Unrivaled genius forced to perform the labors of powerful leaders all for the sake of prolonging his survival. He had no purpose or future. His life revolved around the wickedness of the Outlands. He was an instrument for its success.
Why did he think he had a chance at a normal life? He didn't much care for it, but it would've been nice to have a family. Maybe meet a nice girl. Get married. He wouldn't have minded having a kid or two. He could've set up his own business. He could revolutionize the region with his mechanical genius. The possibilities he could've brought to the greater scope of Virdis were virtually limitless.
The one chance he allowed himself, and he screwed it up for everyone.
Would Haunted Willows still be active had he not stumbled upon it? Could the community have survived if he didn't opt to execute The Ghost with the village as a giant, complex trap?
He had closed his heart off to the world for so long that he forgot what it was like to feel vulnerable. He operated on the certainty of absolute success. A barrier that could stop any attack, and a laser that could destroy any foe in one shot. There were the only tools he needed. Nothing else. Why else would he need a flexible moveset when he had everything to get by?
He didn't need anything else.
He didn't need anyone.
He lived alone. He will die alone.
That was the cycle.
That was his ending.
Caractacus closed his eyes, letting himself relax to the embrace of the water. It's better this way. At least these chains can finally come undone. It wasn't what I hoped, but I'll finally be free from this dull world.
The darkness encroached further and further around his vision, ready to pull the hound out from his nightmare and into a peaceful oblivion. The pain he felt every day could finally go away.
He was free—
TAP!
Caractacus' eyes widened, feeling his body jolt and go still in the water for a moment. His eyes flickered to a ghostly blue trail floating along the water, rising from under him.
TAP! TAP! TAP!
A dull sensation pressed against his back, though he wasn't sure if it was real or an odd itch. He tilted his head to see what the cause of his momentary suspension was.
Below him, a tower of ghostly forms reached their hands and paws out to the sinking Caractacus, pressing gently against his back and keeping him aloft. They looked up at him with smiles and tearful eyes upon their faces as the fog composing them became clearer.
Caractacus blinked twice. W…What?
An elderly Mandibuzz. Jo-Anne?
A chipper-looking Magby. Thomas?
A tired, yet friendly Ludicolo. Mr. Weaver?
A bright and optimistic Sunflora. Cyan?
An old, wise Venusaur. Uncle Bors?
Two strong, hardworking Abomasnow. Jaxson? Jaxton?
A teenaged Skarmory. Luther?
A shy, but well-meaning Geodude. Vinnie?
A smiley Illumise. Fleur?
A motherly Gothitella. Ma?
And…the Marill who brought him into the Haunted Willows community. Silvester?
Caractacus stared at the apparitions in awe before scoffing and looking up at the flickering sun. Ugh, of course. I'm on the cusps of dying, and now I'm having a near-death hallucination from being artificially drowned so many times. My body is probably subconsciously reacting to keep myself afloat. Ugh, this is the last thing I need. My final moments manifesting the guilt I've been harboring. Can I please just die in peace?
Despite himself, he glanced at the apparitions again, all which smiled up at the Boltund, gesturing him to rise. Again, he scoffed inwardly.
They wouldn't be cheering me on to live. Why would they? I'm the reason their village got torched. I'm the reason they're dead. They should be chanting for my death. I don't deserve to live after what I've done. This is how it should end for me.
He kept glancing at the apparitions and saw the ghostly Silvester's innocent, bright grin. Caractacus always hated how obnoxiously optimistic the Marill was, though a part of him couldn't deny it was infectious. As much as the Marill bugged him day in and day out, it was a nice change of place to the monotony he grew accustomed to.
They were friends. Right?
…Would they be thinking that? Caractacus narrowed his eyes. Would they have known I'm the reason the village exploded? How could they ever forgive me for something like that? Why am I harping on this so much? They're dead. There's no afterlife. They're not looking down on me, judging me. I'm just lost in my own head.
Their smiles frustrated him. They wouldn't be happy to see him.
But would they?
I ruined their lives.
But they still took him in.
Ma still saved me.
They risked their lives to protect him against an invading threat.
This is the Outlands. We make our own rules. They knew the risks living out here.
Would they have been upset if they knew of Caractacus' intentions? Or do they understand better than he did because they all went through the same trials living in such an inhospitable territory?
They accepted me despite knowing nothing of my experiences. They gave me love. They gave me kindness. They gave me a home.
Was all that worth living for?
They'd still be here telling me to keep fighting. They lived together, they die together. That's why they fought back against The Ghost. Attacking one of them…means taking on the whole community.
Caractacus clenched his teeth. Tears dripped from his eyes, mixing with the water. The apparitions below smiled fondly once more before fading away.
We all selfishly want something that seems impossible. That's what we're all fighting for. That's why they wanted to live in the Outlands peacefully. We all just want to live our lives as we please, but that doesn't mean we have to become monsters! So maybe, just this once…
The light returned to Caractacus' eyes. He growled furiously, digging inside his coat.
Don't I deserve a happy ending, too?!
Arethusa's eyes widened. "What the—"
Caractacus whipped out his canteen and chomped down on it as hard as he could, cracking it open. A brief burst of bubbles erupted from the canteen before it crumbled to pieces.
Arethusa stared at the Boltund in shock. That canteen he had earlier. He's sucking up all the air trapped inside?
Caractacus spat the tattered canteen away and turned himself upside-down. It's not much, but it's all I'll need! He kicked his legs and swam to the bottom of the bubble, nearing the surface.
Arethusa relaxed and smirked at the fleeing Boltund. Oh, what am I even worried about? She coiled her body, sending forth another round of her transparent water serpents. "Some genius you turned out to be! Have you forgotten I'm faster underwater than you?"
One of the serpents caught up with Caractacus and grabbed his hindleg. As it slithered up to his waist, he bent his body and channeled a spark of electricity inside his maw.
Arethusa grinned. "I've already seen that trick! I'll just dodge it again!"
Caractacus narrowed his eyes. I can't be inflexible with my techniques anymore. These flawless techniques I created must be able to adapt, thus I shall as well. I don't have much energy left, but by pressurizing the electricity I have…! Positive Cannon: 5mm Shot!
He fired a thin, electrical laser that pierced through the water, instantly crossing the distance between him and Arethusa. The laser passed through her neck, leaving the Milotic stunned in confusion. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she doubled over, vomiting a geyser of air bubbles and smoke.
I-I didn't even see…what?!
The serpent fizzled, breaking away from Caractacus' leg. He kicked his legs furiously and dove for the edge of the bubble. He slammed his head against the liquid membrane, breaching the fresh air of Knife's Edge.
He let out a huge gasp and sucked in all the air he could, feeling his lungs filling anew. With only a moment of relief, he cleared his throat and shouted in a raspy call, "ALPHA!"
A spark of blue light shined from a nearby rooftop, and the ancient cube darted toward the half-submerged canine. Caractacus reached out and pressed his paw to Alpha, siphoning off a small chunk of energy from the ancient power source.
"Alpha, before I'm dragged back underwater…!" Caractacus shouted, looking back as the faint shimmer of water serpents closed in on him. "Return to the carriage! My inventions! They're stashed inside the floor! Get them now—" He felt a tug on his leg. He took one last gulp of air before being pulled under again.
Alpha's eye patterns flashed, and the ancient cube zoomed back to the company carriage.
Caractacus kept hold of his breath as he was flung through the water toward an irate Arethusa. "Cute trick, little puppy, but now you can't use your techniques anymore! I'm going to—"
Who decided that, you gravel-brained seaweed fish? Caractacus opened his mouth and charged up his renewed energy. Positive Cannon: Auto Scatter! A myriad of dense Electro Balls erupted from his maw, firing throughout his visual field.
Arethusa recoiled, taking the brunt of the initial blast before coating herself in ice armor. However, the shots were far more powerful than she factored, slowly chipping away her armor before one exploded into her unprotected face. She lost her hold on Caractacus, who used his upward momentum to tackle into her.
Arethusa scowled through her half-burnt face. "Insolent whelp! You should've just drowned like you were supposed—HUH?!" Caractacus suddenly wrapped his legs around her body. "W-What the?!"
Let's see how you like suffocating! He chomped down over her neck. Specifically, he bit down over her gills and blew air into them.
Arethusa gasped, coughing up air bubbles and flailing frantically. W-What the…!
Caractacus bit down harder on her neck. Several Water-Types have different methods of breathing underwater. Those who reside primarily in the water develop gills while aquatic mammal-like Water-Types can siphon it through normal breathing. In your case, you still have gills from when you were a Feebas, and you suffer from the same weaknesses as us land creatures. So, are you so dedicated to suffering that you'd let us both drown?
Arethusa started to panic and quickly swam for the surface of her bubble. I-I can't breathe! FUCK!
Caractacus scowled. Predictable hypocrisy!
Arethusa threw herself into the surface of her bubble, emerging into the fresh air. Caractacus took a deep breath as well, then headbutted Arethusa in the face before dismounting.
"Neutral Influence: Magnetic Platform!" He landed on the water, applying electricity to the soles of his paws that allowed him to stay atop the surface. He turned and started running along the surface, clinging to the water even as he ran sideways across the bubble. Eerie Impulse combined with a low-level Protect overlapping my paws, Electrify, and Charge to create an artificial magnetic field to walk and stick across any surface.
Arethusa shook herself from her daze and dove back under the water. "You're going to pay for that! You're still in my territory, you bitch!" She coiled her body, manipulating the water to jettison from the surface and take the shake of giant water serpents. "I'll tear you in two!"
Caractacus picked up the speed as the serpents dove after him, crashing through the water as they missed him by a hair. He ran along the middle of the outside, jumping side-to-side as the water snakes burst out from under his paws. He leapt higher up the bubble, dodging an attack that nearly swallowed him whole, and skidded up the surface.
My mind's racing even faster than normal! I've never gotten this anxious during a fight! It's like my brain is exploding with electricity!
Dozens of water serpents breached the water with Caractacus hopping and skipping around their ambushes. His eyes flickered wildly, keeping track of Arethusa below the water as she swam.
Those motions she makes must be a way to manipulate the water with Wrap. If I can get her to hold still, she won't be able to control the currents. He stopped at the top of the bubble and inhaled. "Positive Cannon: Auto Scatter!" He plunged his head through the water and rained down a volley of electrified blasts.
Arethusa spotted the incoming attack and summoned a freezing whirlwind around her tail. "Frost Whip Tail!" She swung and channeled the cold energy through the water, freezing all of the shots heading in her general direction.
Caractacus slammed his paws down and crackled with electricity. "Neutral Influence: Amplification!" He channeled a current of electricity through the water, striking the frozen electrical shots. They glowed brightly in their icy shells before exploding into massive bursts of lightning.
"GAAAAH!" Arethusa recoiled and screamed as electricity flooded her domain, lighting her up.
The water bubble rumbled, its sides coming undone. Caractacus leapt off the top right as the bubble lost its stability and crashed down over the town. Electrified water flooded the streets and demolished withered buildings in its wake. Caractacus crashed down on the water, staying afloat with his magnetized paws.
The water spread rapidly over the city before draining out into the open desert. Caractacus skidded on the sinking water level before landing on the muddied road. He shook the water out of his fur right as he heard a furious scream coming from behind the buildings.
"Water Serpent's Den!" Buildings were torn asunder as Arethusa charged out from hiding in a giant water construct. Half her face was burnt, and her left eye's eyelids had been burned and melted, giving her a frantic, wide-eyed stare. "Think you've one, you pest?!"
"Crap!" Caractacus ducked behind a building.
Arethusa roared and whipped her water serpent's tail across the building, demolishing it in a single swipe. She blew the water aside with Blizzard and scanned the rubble, but found no sign of the Boltund.
"RAAAAAAH! Pure Water Blast!" Through the mouth of her construction, she rained down misty water spheres across the town, blowing apart building after building.
Caractacus raced halfway down the street and slid behind the drenched ruins of a building. He peeked his head out from behind cover, then ducked back down as an attack annihilated the street nearby.
"Do you have any idea who I am?!" Arethusa screamed, swiping her giant water tail across the town and demolishing entire sweeps of buildings. "I work for the biggest criminal organization in Virdis! You should be begging for my mercy! You should've ditched those worthless rats you've been hanging out with ages ago! But no, you still came back for them! Why? Did you need another meat shield to save your sorry ass?!"
Caractacus covered his head as soaked brick rained over his head in her rampage. His eyes flickered to the sky at the sight of a blue star streaking in the distance. He smirked. Perfect.
Arethusa smashed her tail down and screamed. "I get paid to kill people! Do you have any idea how fucking good my life is?! I get to do what I love and get paid to do it! I'm on top of the world! As long as there's Freaks like you opposing Last Autumn, I get to have my run of fun! You think you're the first batch of weirdos I've hunted?! Just ask that worthless Gligar what I was about to do to his old team before they escaped prison! You think you can stop me? You're just a worthless, insignificant puppy—"
"Do you ever shut up?!"
Arethusa craned her neck and spotted Caractacus stepping out from behind cover. He glared up at her, his stance wide and brimming with confidence. That level stare of his made her grin with wild excitement, delighting in seeing herself tear apart his pride and bravado.
"You really do have a death wish. I've already dismantled your perfect defense, little puppy!" She laughed through her smirk, which stretched so wide that the scorched side of her face started splitting open. "What makes you think you're going to win?!"
Caractacus smirked back. "Quite simple, actually." He grabbed his coat and threw it off.
Activating Neutral Influence, a mechanical pack opened up on his back, unfolding into two giant, extendable cannons. Alpha floated above him with two rectangular attachments in a psionic tether and inserted them into slots in the back.
"I'm Caractacus Leophron MacGyver, you bitch!"
The barrels of his cannon pack lit up and fired two bullet-like projectiles through the air, piercing through Arethusa's water construct. For a moment, Arethusa laughed as the projectiles instantly slowed down in the construct's currents, but then gasped as their insides started glowing.
Caractacus stamped his paws down and laughed. "You should know by now since you've been taunting me over it! I can make one hell of an explosive!"
BOOOOOOOM!
Two giant holes opened inside the water serpent. Shrapnel fired all over, piercing through the water and slashing up Arethusa in the blast. She screamed out in pain while her serpent fell apart from the missing water. She twisted her body through the pain, collecting the water to reform into a stable, but smaller shape.
"MacGyver Arsenals! Twin Viper!" He used Neutral Influence again, firing a second round of bullets into the water construct.
Arethusa twisted her construct around, letting the bullets pass through safely and detonate high up in the sky. "RAAAAHHH! Water Serpent's Den: Pit of Despair!" Smaller water serpents emerged from the construct and rained down on the Boltund.
Caractacus jumped back, dodging their snapping fangs. One got ahead and snapped down on one of the cannons. It tried to pull Caractacus into the air, but he unstrapped the pack, tapping its side as he fell onto the ground.
The serpents ate up the pack and carried it down over to Arethusa. She coiled herself around it and began crushing it. "Not so tough without your inventions!"
Caractacus smirked. "Machines are expendable. My mind…is inevitable!" He clapped his paws. "MacGyver Arsenals! Remote Activated Beacon!"
Arethusa's eyes widened as something glowed on the side of the cannon pack. It was a small, hexagonal disc of sorts that channeled electricity into the attached ammunition packs. Realizing what was happening, she removed herself from the back and forced the water currents to throw her out of her own construct.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The ammo packs went off at once, erupting into a fiery explosion of steam. Arethusa screamed out loud as she was thrown back in the blast, crashing down into the town streets.
Caractacus waved Alpha over, who brought him another mechanical pack. He strapped it on and stood up. "MacGyver Arsenals! Great Raikou!" Two ports opened on the back of the pack and expelled jets of blue flame. "Let's MOVE!" He kicked off running, rocketing ahead at ludicrous speeds.
Arethusa pulled herself out of the mud, seething with pain as it dripped over her permanently opened eye. "You think you're some tough guy, little puppy? I've been at this game longer than—"
CRACK!
Arethusa recoiled from a hard smack to the face followed by a streak of blue light. She felt her stinging cheek, which was left with a red imprint of a paw. Her eyes flickered wildly, trying to track the blue streak encircling her around the ruins. "What is this?!"
Caractacus was amazed by just how powerful his invention was. With his own natural running speed combined with the thrust of the device, he could outpace most anything in the Outlands. The only downside was that turning was impossible, but he already thought ahead of that.
"Left!" A vent opened up from the side and expelled flame in an arc, forcing his body to turn as he pivoted on his metal paw. Once he was facing where he wanted to go, the vent closed, and he was off flying down the street again.
He swept past Arethusa, striking her again with his metal paw. Bloodied claw marks opened across her burnt face. She screamed with fury, causing the mud to rapidly dry around her and fire newly formed water snakes.
Caractacus caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of his eye and maneuvered around them the best he could. They were inches away from catching him, but would always be just slow enough to miss. However, Caractacus was reaching the end of the road with a building in his way.
"Right!" The right vent opened, and he turned himself around. Just as he did, the snakes caught up and bit down on his legs. "AGH!"
Arethusa smirked. "You're mine!"
Caractacus snarled. "Want a bet?!" He snapped his teeth on the straps and bent his head down. The pack tore loose and sailed toward the Milotic.
Arethusa twisted her body and commanded water snakes to intercept the jetpack. They ensnared and funneled their way through the ports to extinguish the flames, but now it was just a hunk of metal hurtling just under the speed of sound. She ducked in the nick of time, feeling a few hairs being shaved off her scalp. The jetpack hit the ground, tumbling uncontrollably, before exploding into the side of a building.
"You lost your concentration again!" Right as Arethusa rose up, Caractacus had already raced down the street and smashed into her with a headbutt to the skull. He opened his metal claws and swiped across her face, tearing more into her burnt skin.
"AAAAAAAAGH!" Arethusa swung wildly with Aqua Tail, but Caractacus jumped out of her way with minimal damage. Shaking angrily, she roared and curled herself up, commanding the water soaking the town to rise and funnel back into her. "I'm going to fill you with so much water that you'll look like a morbid firework!"
Caractacus smirked maniacally. "I've already seen this trick, you soggy-brained noodle!" He took off running down the street.
"You haven't seen anything like this! Water Serpent's Den—" She twisted the water, towering it high above the town before splitting it into several giant serpents. "Abyssal Hydra!" She slithered after the hound, mowing down buildings in her path.
Caractacus ducked in and out of alleyways to throw off Arethusa, who fired down a barrage of Pure Water Blasts through the street. She worked her vision on overtime trying to keep track of Caractacus in the rising dust, straining her face so hard that blood started pouring from under her eyes.
"You have no right to act so arrogant with me!" Arethusa yelled. "I'm an enforcer of the Last Autumn! I'm a part of something far greater than you! Where do you get off acting all high and mighty?! You're just a mistake that was thrown away in the garbage! The Outlands gave you purpose! Garbage being used by garbage! Don't you get it?! You're nothing!" All eight of her construct's heads fired down volleys of Pure Water Blast.
She relentlessly bombarded the entirety of the street, leaving no room for chance. Everything she saw was obliterated in an explosion of mist and water. The ground itself was torn to shreds. Buildings were rent to pieces and scattered across the air. Tremors rumbled across the town, shaking down the dilapidated structures withered by age and the Milotic's rampage.
"Where's your so-called pride, you worthless hound?!" The heads combined all their energy together, forming one massive Pure Water Blast, and fired it down the street, shaving away everything in its path. "You can die…with those worthless, scumbag pests of yours!"
The Pure Water Blast tore through everything before it, aiming to flatten all until its energy dissipated. It was condensed to the brim with pure Water-Type energy pushed to its logical limit. It was the truest essence of Arethusa's power—
CRACKLE!
The giant water ball suddenly stopped in its tracks, a field of electricity racing across it, before dispersing into a heavy fog that fell over the town.
"…W-What?"
In the center of the fog, an aura of yellow crackled wildly. Stepping out to get a clearer view for the Milotic, Caractacus flicked the fog from his face as his Negative Space blazed anew.
"Those scumbags…are my friends. The Broken Glass Alchemical Company." Caractacus smirked. "And not even death can slow us down!"
Arethusa clenched her teeth. "No…no, no, NO!" She fired down an endless volley of Pure Water Blasts directly on top of the Boltund.
Caractacus calmly walked through the exploding street as the attacks vaporized against his Negative Space. Water serpents launched out of the ground and coiled around the barrier, biting into it, but were vaporized into steam with a quick burst of energy.
"Hehehehehe…MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Caractacus cackled, his eyes shimmering like exploding thunderbolts. "I feel amazing! My mind is exploding with lightning! I've never felt so alive!"
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Arethusa created more water, spawning a cluster of giant serpent heads atop her construct's body, and struck down on the street, tearing it open with her watery fangs.
Caractacus was thrown into the air upon the street's destruction, but the world seemed to disappear around him as he hovered into the sky, cackling like a madman. "Now you've done! Alpha, bring in my final invention! Let's teach this pestilence-filled spaghetti eel why I'm the greatest in the Outlands!"
Alpha zoomed across the air, carrying with it the last of Caractacus' inventions. It was another disc, rounded in shape. He grabbed it and stuffed it in his pocket before diving toward Arethusa's construct.
"Suffer an endless death!" Arethusa screamed, calling upon her cluster of serpents to bombard the hound from all sides.
The serpents crashed against the Negative Space, feeding more power into the barrier and Caractacus himself. He landed atop one of the serpents and slid along its neck. The rest lunged after him, chomping down at the neck. Caractacus hopped between serpents, letting them decapitate themselves until only one remained.
"RAAAAAHHHHHH!" Arethusa twisted herself faster, summoning more water and even more serpents. "Stop hopping around! I've already WON! I'M THE STRONGEST—"
Caractacus blitzed through the new cluster of serpents and leapt atop the construct. "You were never strong. You're just a serial killer." He smirked. "All this time, while you've been crying, I've been getting stronger."
"RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" The serpents converged above Caractacus and dove down on top of him. "DROWN TO DEATH, YOU WORTHLESS—"
"Negative Space—" Caractacus tanked the attack effortlessly as he concentrated his energy. "Repulse!" He released his barrier into a powerful, all-encompassing flash that blew away all that came in contact with it.
Arethusa's construct came undone, and the Milotic screamed as the barrier slammed down on top of her, crushing her into the ground. The water vaporized into steam, and the ground ruptured under the weight of Caractacus' expanding barrier. Buildings were torn to pieces in its wake as a mighty flash of yellow erupted over the city.
The light faded, and debris rained down from the sky. Caractacus soared out of the sky, his Negative Space cushioning the fall. He shook his head, laughing to himself as he let his body ride out the adrenaline high.
"Not bad for a nobody, right?"
"RrrrrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Arethusa burst out of the ground and lunged at him. "I'M! NOT! DONE! YEEEEEETTTTTTTTT—"
Caractacus sidestepped her and tapped her across the back. "No. I'd say we're about done here."
Arethusa spun herself around and growled. "And who decided THAT?!" She lunged again. "Frost Whip Tail!" She coiled her tail in freezing water and swung—
THUMP!
Her eyes widened as her attack slammed against Caractacus' Negative Space…except she wasn't anywhere near him. She gasped, looking around with a start as she found herself contained within the Negative Space.
"W-W-W-WHAAAAAT?!"
Caractacus flicked his hair and smirked. "MacGyver Arsenals. Inverted Negative Space."
Arethusa looked at her back and saw the disc he obtained earlier had been placed on the back of her neck. She tried to whack it off with her tail, but it was stuck tight to her skin. "W-What is this?!"
"It's a little something my weaker self failed to see the potential of. I channeled my Negative Space through that disc to be released upon contact with another target via that disc. I reversed the effects, however. It doesn't keep things out. It keeps things in."
Arethusa clenched her teeth. "Y-You—" She slammed on the barrier. "Let me OUT!"
"You really are a slow learner. I've explained to you multiple times that hitting the barrier just recharges it. Same rule applies to its inverted form."
She scowled. "You think this will hold me? If it works anything like your normal barrier, I'll just fill this thing with water until the pressure breaks it open!"
Caractacus smirked. "You could do that, but I've had about enough of your whining." He stamped his paw down, and Alpha returned to his side with his damp coat. He threw the coat back on and pulled out one last invention from his pocket. "So, I'll leave you with this."
In his paw was a mechanical cube bearing a striking resemblance to Alpha, though with only one eye on its face. Caractacus tossed the cube into his other paw, then pressed his mechanical one to Alpha. The sentient cube lit up and started channeling a silver energy through Caractacus, who then channeled that same energy and his own into the cube.
Arethusa's eyes widened. "W-What is that?!"
"What else? This is a funeral. That's your coffin, and this is the eulogy."
"W-Wait…hold on a minute!"
Caractacus tossed the cube through the Inverted Negative Space. Arethusa caught the device and threw it back, but it bounced off the inner wall. The cube started to shake and crack with light spilling out. She flailed and panicked, throwing herself against the bubble, fruitlessly trying to escape.
"Y-You can't do this to me! This is torture!" she screamed.
Caractacus walked past her bubble, shooting her a side glance. "Imagine that. Taking pleasure in torturing someone." He chuckled and continued on his way, his back facing the bubble. "I'd say this was a most challenging fight, but it stopped being a challenge the moment I decided to use actual effort."
"You're just as bad as every scumbag in this wretched land!" Arethusa screamed, slamming her head against the bubble.
He smirked. "Is that supposed to be some point? I've always been bad. Hmm, no, that's not quite right. I've always been mad." He cackled. "I'm a nobody? You've already exposited about your ambitions in life. You have no past worth remembering. You're just another Freak doomed to die by someone greater."
Arethusa snarled. "Y-You—"
"Bonne mort, anguille patate. MacGyver Arsenal. Origin Zero Bomb."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH—"
The cube erupted into a silver light, and Arethusa screamed out in agony as her whole body was incinerated in the blast, which was contained with the Negative Space. She twisted and wreathed, slamming her face into the barrier as her skin withered and disintegrated little by little.
Caractacus stopped walking and looked back at the shining ball of light. Arethusa's screaming lasted a good ten seconds until all went quiet. The bubble burst open upon the destruction of the disc, and the energy dispersed across the air harmlessly, carrying the scent of burnt flesh along the way.
A charred, serpentine skeleton collapsed onto the road.
Caractacus walked over to the Milotic's skeleton and pressed his paw over her skull. "Son of a bitch? Typical. Even in your final moments, your last words were just stating the obvious." He pressed down and crushed her skull to dust. "Have some class."
He brushed the ash off his paw just as Alpha floated down to his side. It nudged the scientist gently, making odd hums and whirls to him.
Caractacus smiled sadly. "Yeah, she got to me for a moment, but I'm alright now." He frowned. "…Alpha? You're not from this world, right?"
Alpha tilted itself, signaling confusion.
"So, you must know a lot. I…saw some people when I was dying back there for a moment. Some good people." He sighed through his nose. "Scientifically speaking, energy can't be destroyed. Would…thoughts also count as energy? Would willpower count as energy? Is there some scientific way to say that someone's…spirit, for lack of a better word, can live on after death? That it can have a tangible effect on the world?"
Alpha stared vacantly at the Boltund.
Caractacus chuckled softly. "Sorry. Now I'm sounding crazy." He shook his head. "I really did imagine all of that. Figures."
"…Thoughts…count as energy…"
Caractacus raised his brow. "Huh?"
"Not from…this world. Scientific way…willpower…tangible effect on the world. Imagine all of that…scientifically speaking."
Caractacus stared at the sentient cube for a moment before smiling. "There's a certain comfort thinking they were there to help me, I guess. I don't believe in higher powers, but I guess something like you could technically count. Magic is just unexplained science, right? So, maybe I can believe there's some science to an afterlife."
"Certain…comfort. Magic."
"Heh. Yeah." He sighed and glared in the direction of the Faucher hideout. "Well, that's one near death experience out of the way. One more shouldn't kill me. Let's go save Evelot and get the hell out of here."