37
(Season
3, Episode 11)
The
Killer's End
10 years after The Instant...
Zersch fell.
The mighty and ancient wyvern had
put up a hell of a fight but The Killer had brought with him three of the most
powerful beings on the planet for the sole purpose of conquering the beast. They had done their jobs, but not without
casualties.
The first to fall was Leesa,
caught in the creature’s great maw and crushed to death early. Very little of her remained. This early loss had shaken The Killer's confidence
as they engaged, throwing everything they had at it. Big Green was killed by an errant tail swipe
that had sent him into a stone wall at terminal velocity. No amount of money could have stopped it from
happening.
Finally, Dire Wolf had opened the
creature’s throat, its blood pumped onto the floor before it fell to the ground,
lifelessly.
The Killer looked past the
creature at the door up ahead. It was a
simple, old-style wooden door that did not show its age at the top of a wide
set of steps. It was such a simple thing
to have been the center of so much power. He began to walk toward it, a deep exhaustion
in his bones beginning to take root after the years of violence. It was almost over. He was so close to finishing it.
"Not so fast." Dire Wolf had switched back into his human
form. He grabbed The Killer’s shoulder
to stop him. "It's your turn to
deliver."
"This is over." Before he could respond to Dire Wolf, Kahn's
voice echoed throughout the large amphitheater.
The Killer turned to face her and,
what seemed like an endless army of ninjas, awaited her command to attack. Dire Wolf growled and prepared to go to war
again, but The Killer raised his hand. "You
are right. It is my turn to
deliver."
All eyes went to him as he looked
to Kahn. "You see, Dire Wolf,
Avalon has a great many magical defenses. In fact, one would say it's magically
impenetrable, which in many ways, is true."
He pulled a small radio detonator
from his pocket with a flashing button on it. "They are paranoid about the magic
because they believe it is impossible for normal humans to find it. In this hubris lies Avalon’s one true weakness;
technology.”
The room stared at the button. The Killer was the most important person in
the room, possibly the world, at that very moment. "Kahn, you knew I killed Mel and you came
after me but you never stopped to ask yourself how long I had been on Avalon
before I attacked the druid and stole the key."
"Don't do this..."
Kahn's voice was low and had a ping of defeat in it. It was not something he enjoyed hearing in her
voice, especially since he had put it there. He wished he could take it back but it was
impossible.
"It's already done." He clicked the red button and the color went
out. The device sent the one signal was
made to send before becoming no more than a paper weight. He tossed the piece of scrap away.
Somewhere in sky, miles away from
them, three pounds of C4 detonated at the Chamber of Life, cutting the magical
city off from the source of its flight. Mel was dead, and without him, no one would
think to enact the spell to keep it afloat. It would tumble out of the air and crash below
and the world would never be the same again.
A tension seemed to leave the
ruins. Dire Wolf's face of shock slowly
turned into a smile before he began to laugh loudly. The fight was over before it had begun. The ninjas deflated one at a time as they
realized their mission was failed, and had been, since the beginning.
"Challenge." The one
word spoken from Kahn in a low and dark tone returned the weight to the situation.
The Killer frowned at her. "It is over, it is not worth it."
"Challenge." -She
repeated in an even tone and her masked soldiers parted as she approached him,
drawing her sword.
The Killer's hand went to the hilt
of his sword. "Please, don't make
me do this."
"If you ever had any respect
for the clan, for nin-jitsu, or for me, you will draw your sword." Kahn
finished and charged her sword high above her head.
For a second, the Scott that was buried
deep inside The Killer began to panic. He had told himself he had no feelings for
Kahn or the ninja, that it was just a means to an end, but there was something
there. He had expected her to be angry, but to see that her connection was
served. He had bet on her logical side
seeing that there was no longer any profit or positive reason to continue and walk
away. He had always known her to be cold
and calculating, but for the first time in their history, she had surprised him.
She was being emotional.
The Killer moved inside his head
and silenced Scott. The white noise of
the terrible things he had done to get here, again were blocking out all
feelings. Once again, the light left his
eyes and he felt the cold of what he had become, what he had to be; one more
time to make this all worth it.
"It doesn't matter." His hand whipped to his blade and he drew.
With skilled swordsmen, the
battles can be long and amazing. They
are shows of whirling violent beauty, full of artful stokes and masterful
parries. They are visions amazing to
watch. Neither The Killer nor Kahn were
skilled swordsmen.
They were great swordsmen.
Their level of skill had gone far
past that of the long and aesthetic fight. Each would only need one strike.
In a half second, with one loud
sounding of steel on steel, the two warriors passed each other like something
straight out of an old samurai film. They
both hovered for a second, as if the laws of physics were behind them trying to
figure out who had made the cut that would cost one of the warriors the duel,
and their life.
A second later, Kahn's legs became
weak and she toppled forward to her knees. Her black Shozoko became soaked with her own
blood and in that second, she knew her life was over. The clock was ticking down to zero.
The Killer flicked the blood from
his blade and sheathed it. No one moved.
Everyone was too stunned with the
outcome. The ninja and Dire Wolf just
watched.
The Killer moved quickly to Kahn and,
as she fell forward he caught her. His
cold heart had receded and his eyes showed a deep pain for the woman who now
was dying in his arms. His complicated
relationship with the ninja master had come to this violent end.
She opened her eyes and looked
upon him one last time. She smiled, a
thing that had been reserved only for Scott in the privacy of their personal
time together. "Can you really fix
everything?"
Scott, The Killer, swallowed hard,
trying to find a response. "I have
to. This can't be the way things are.
This cannot be the way things are meant to be."
"What if... this is the way
it is supposed to be?" Her question was honest, as if searching for a
reason to let go.
The Killer shook his head and
looked away for a moment, his confidence, held together by metaphorical duct
tape as it was, showed cracks. Finally,
he turned back to her. "Then you
will see me soon."
Kahn exhaled. "That would not be... so bad..."
In that second the life drained
out of her eyes.
Scott closed her eyes and gently
laid her down on the stone ground. The
Killer rose. Dire Wolf's eyes met his. "No redemption for us my friend."
The Killer turned away from the
old werewolf. He turned to the doorway,
the Chamber of Time. No one had the
strength or energy to stop him.
He opened the door and passed
through. There would be no redemption,
but he would make this right. He would
fix the universe... or he would destroy it.
HEAVY STUFF!!!! As we get closer to the end, The Killer has entered
the Chamber of Time will he kill the Mages of Time and stop the Dahaka?! Can he put things right, or is all of it too late to save Zachariah?
Find out next time!
STRANGER THINGS; ZACHARIAH'S
DEATH
TO BE CONTINUED...
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