Sunday, December 11, 2005

And now.... The (very long) Conclusion!

The Rage Cage part 9 Ravage: (lying on a cot in the athlete’s room) *sigh* (mulls over the words of last night’s conversation) “Do you believe in destiny, Mr. Ravage?” “To an extent.” “You believe you are in charge of your own destiny. Then I guess you also believe in the second chance.” Ravage: She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I’m not meant to be a hero. Not if this is all my powers are good for. (stares into space some more) “That part of me went away along with my childish dream..... This is the life my actions have brought me to.” Ravage: ..... I didn’t kiss her. I should’ve kissed Aisha one last time. “knock knock knock!” Ravage: WHAT!?! Derrick: (on the other side) Twenty minutes, big guy. Ravage: Yeah yeah! I know! (gets up) I’m gonna be so glad when this is over. This shit-hole tournament’s just the beginning. After I win this thing, the name of Ravage will spread through the underground like wild fire. Then I’ll get out of here and start building a reputation; start having some real fun. I’m gonna take the entire globe and I won’t be under the heel of nobody. It’s gonna be awesome!........ Then why do I feel like puking? later... Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final match of the Underground Championship!! The arena is packed to the brim with spectators. Ravage: (waiting in the fighters’ corridor with Derrick) Alright, who we got? Derrick: Tonight’s unlucky SOB is a man named Paul Deedrik. But everyone calls him “The Bear.” Ravage: And why’s that? Derrick: Cuz he killed one with his bare hands. Ravage: Oh. (grins) This should be fun. Announcer: In the red corner, representing The Cage, the Wild Dog of Dueling! The undefeated King of the Cage! The Menace of Metrolex! rrrrrrrrrrRAVAAAAAAGE!!! Derrick: Go get’em man! It’s in the bag! Ravage: (steps into the arena and the audience goes ballistic, steps into the cage) Announcer: And in the blue corner, representing The Pit... Ravage: (the announcer’s voice trails off as Ravage looks at the thunderous crowd) ........ “I believe that we have multiple destinies..... We just need to pick the right path in order to get to the destiny we want.” Is this what you want? Ravage: ..... I don’t know. “Daddy?” Ravage: Kida-chan? “Ding!” Ravage: Huh? (looks across the ring and sees his opponent rushing towards him, Ravage jumps up, somersaulting over him, and comes down behind him) Bear: (turns around) YAAA!! Ravage: HAAAA!! In a blind rage, the two start punching and kicking each other like mad. Ravage: (gives him a right square across the jaw) Bear: Uh! Ravage: *pant, pant* (prepares for a left) “You’ve always been there for me, daddy.” Ravage: What? AAH!! *gag, choke* Bear: (now is choking Ravage with his bare hands and pushes him down onto the canvas) “Get’em Ravage!” “C’mon!” “Kill him!!” Ravage: *gag, wheeze* (struggles to get free, he can’t breathe and his vision is starting to get blurry) *cough* GRRRRR!! (unsheathes his talons, in a raspy voice) Get the hell off of me!! (cuts into The Bear’s chest spraying blood everywhere) Bear: Uhhh!! (grunts in pain but doesn’t let up) Ravage: (sinks his talons into his arms and grows them until they pierce his flesh all the way through) Bear: AAAAAAAHH!!! (lets go of Ravage) Ravage: (retracts his talons, holds his throat) *cough, cough, cough, pant, pant* Bear: (on his knees, doubled over in pain) Ravage: (stands up) HRRRRRR!! (grabs The Bear and sends him flying into a corner of the cage) “CLANG!” The crowd screams even louder. Ravage: RAAAR!! (barrages his face with punches, then spin kicks him in the head, sending him down) Bear: Uhhh.... Ravage: *pant, pant* (waits for the bell to ring, but instead hears a chant rising from the crowd) “Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!” Derrick: (ringside) What’re you waitin’ for?! Ravage: What’s going on?! Derrick: The final match is a little different from all the others! Ravage: How’s that?! Derrick: It’s a fight to the death! Ravage: Huh? (looks back at his beaten adversary who’s bleeding all over) ...... (grins, cracks his knuckles) Easy. (walks over to his kill and gets down on one knee, looks around at the audience) ...... (raises his paw in the air, unleashes his talons) The crowd explodes with noise. “KILL HIM!! KILL HIM!! KILL HIM!!” Ravage: (looks back at his prey, draws his arm back preparing to plunge his claws right into his heart) Bear: uhh... Ravage: *deep breath* .... RRAAAAAAR!!! (thrusts him arm forward) “You’re my hero, daddy.” Ravage: 0.0 (stops just a hair away from his chest) ........ “You’ve always been my hero.” Ravage: (stares wide eyed at the half-dead man) ........ The audience gets restless. “Cut him to pieces!” “Shred the bastard!” “Tear him apart!” Ravage: (an image of Kida smiling flashes in his mind) “I love you, daddy. I love you so much.” Ravage: ...... (slowly puts away his talons, shakes The Bear) Get up. C’mon, get up. Bear: (lies there motionless) Ravage: Damn. (gets up and marches towards the cage door) The crowd reacts unanimously. “BOOOOOOOO!!!” Ravage: (rips the cage door off and marches up to Derrick) Derrick: What the hell are you doin’, man!?! Ravage: Get that man to Metrolex General immediately. He’s lost a lot of blood. Derrick: WHAT?!?! Ravage: (picks him up) GET HIM TO A HOS-PI-TAL! (sets him back down) Derrick: ........ Ravage: F*ck it. (runs back into the cage and picks The Bear up) Derrick: Now what’re you doin’!? Ravage: Calling it a draw. The crowd starts to get really ugly. “What the hell is this?!” “Pussy!” “I say we kill’em both!!” The audience turns into a lynch mob and starts spilling out of the stands and into the arena. Ravage: Well, that’s not good. (sets him down) *deep breath* RAGE WAVE!! (a wave of energy emits from around Ravage and spreads out into the crowd like the wake of an explosion, knocking the entire populace of the arena onto their asses, then Ravage picks his injured friend back up and puts him over his shoulder) Let’s get outta here. (races out of the cage, into the fighters’ corridor, and towards the surface) later... --Metrolex General Hospital-- A shadowy figure descends from the sky un-noticed and lands in the alley. Ravage: (sets his friend down, peeks outside at the doors to the emergency ward) C’mon, c’mon. A few people come out of the ward. Ravage: Yes. HELP!!! OH GOD!!! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!! The people start running towards the scream. Ravage: HELP!!! PLEASE HELP!!! The people run into the alley and see a man bruised and bloodied. Luckily, one of them is a nurse. Nurse: Oh my god! (kneels down) Sir? Sir, can you hear me? Bear: Uhhh.... Nurse: He’s still breathing. Get a stretcher, quick! Ravage: (watching from the roof as they get him into the hospital) *sigh of relief* ...... (looks at his blood stained claws) What the hell am I? Who am I supposed to be?

The Rage Cage part 9b a few days later... --Artukei’s House-- Kida: (sitting on her bed) Try again. Ozz: (closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them and shakes his head) Kida: Try harder. Ozz: (his antennae wilt) Kida: I guess you already are, huh? Ozz: This isn’t good. If I can’t contact Justin, that means one of only two things. Either he’s in another dimension or he’s..... oh, I hope not. Why would he do this? Why would he just up and leave his family like this? Kida: I knew something was wrong. I did all I could. What else was I supposed to do? --downstairs-- Aisha: (sitting in the kitchen, sipping tea) Thanks for your company, Felix. I appreciate it. Felix: (finishing off his drink) No problem. Hey, if you ever need me, you know where to find me. Aisha: How’s Gumdrop doing? Felix: Who can tell? But ever since Artukei left, he just hasn’t been himself. Gumdrop: (lying on the couch in the living room, deadpan) William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in the town of Stratford upon Avon. Considered to be one of the greatest literary geniuses in history, he wrote over 30 plays and over 150 sonnets. Some of his most famous works include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar.... Felix: (gets up) Well I’m gonna go now. You sure you’ll be OK? Aisha: (nods) Thanks. Felix: Any time. (leaves) Aisha: (sips her tea) *sigh* Purram. What’s happening to you? Where are you? Are you ever coming back? *sip* Ahh. You told me to be strong. I will be. I just need to have faith that... (sound of the front door opening) Aisha: Nya? (gets up and walks to the foyer) 0.0 *gasp* Aisha beholds what looks like a homeless man. He has bushy brown hair, wearing a dirty brown trench coat, and no shoes. Aisha: ... p... purram? The man looks up with tired hazel-brown eyes. Aisha: Justin. JUSTIN! Justin: (nods) Aisha: (furiously marching up to him) Where the hell have you... !?! Justin: (gets on one knee with his head down) Aisha: Huh? Justin: (quiet and somber) Go ahead. Beat me. I deserve it. Aisha: (shocked) ........ Justin: Slap me. Pummel me. Kick me in the teeth. All I ask... is that afterwards.... you’ll forgive me. Aisha: ... w... wha... Justin: I’m sorry I left you all. I was wrong to do that. I just... I was just so confused about who I was. I didn’t know where I belonged...... I was so stupid. This. This home.... filled with people that I love.... and would do anything for. This is where I belong. Aisha: (tears welling up) Justin: (looks up) Isn’t it? Aisha: (nods) “DADDY!!” Aisha and Justin: (look to see Kida running down the stairs) Kida: Daddy!! (races to Justin) Justin: (stands up and hugs his daughter) Kida-chan. Kida: (crying and hugging him tight) Are you alright? Justin: I’m fine, Kida. (glances at Aisha) In fact I never felt better. Aisha: (comes in and hugs Justin from behind, crying) *sniff* (kisses his cheek) Justin: You forgive me? Aisha: *sniff* I’m mad as hell at you,... but yes. *kiss* “WHEEEEEEEE!!” Justin: (looks up) Hey buddy. Ozz: (zips down and wraps himself around Justin’s leg, it’s the only part of him left to hug) Justin: (smiles, starts to cry as well) Kida: Where were you, daddy? Justin: I just needed to figure out who I was, Kida. Kida: And did you? Justin: .... (nods) Yes. I did. My heart wouldn’t allow myself to become a villain, yet I’m still convinced that I’m no hero. So what am I? I am a protector. I am a nurturer. I am a teacher. I am a father. And my duty is to my family. And to them.... I will always be a hero. See you in the black...

Phew! After months of conceiving, plotting, writing, and listening to Linkin Park and Doom remixes, another chapter in “The Legacy of Artukei” is finished. And not too soon. I wanted to get this finished before Kida’s birthday, which is this Thursday! Also I couldn’t think evil and dark for much longer, especially now with Christmas coming. I’m now relieved that I can go back to writing happy and funny!

So, now that Artukei finally understands his role in the Anime Universe, what’s next for our beloved rifter? Is there a possibility he can tame Ravage? Will Aisha find out the truth of his identity? And what will happen if she does? Who or what has been giving Kida these visions? And what of the mysterious Miss Xiang? Tut tut tut. All will be answered in time, my friends. And remember Artukei. You still have a wedding to attend.

‘Til our next adventure: Reunion.
Ja ne! L8R!


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