V.I.R.A.L - Chapter 259

The two titans of power clashed, holding nothing back. The bystanders were forced back, hiding in the huts for any potent cover. Riley stood by, waiting in the wings to fight, leaving everything to Zinnia. This was her fight and hers alone.

Flipping in the air, Zinnia distanced herself from Percy as he bombarded her with more swords. Cutting each down, she was trapped in a stalemate as a dozen more clones appeared. Still hesitant to fight back, Zinnia spun around, igniting past leaving a thunderous clap behind. High in the sky, she looked down at Percy with too much sympathy in her heart. “Are you still in there, Percy? Are you fighting as hard as always…? What do I do?”

Percy shot his hand up as a giant sword ripped from the ground. Parrying the attack, Zinnia scrapped off the edge blasting electricity around to distract Percy. The moment she landed on the ground, two more clones were ready to strike. Blocking the attack, Zinnia was sent through serval huts, crashing into the barrier falling to the ground dazed. Percy threw his hand forward as more swords collided with her. “I despise your weakness! Even in the face of death, you heroes refuse to fight like your life depends on it!”

Swinging her katana mindlessly, she deflected as many swords as possible, taking a few cuts and scrapes along the way. Zinnia was beyond exhausted, standing hunched over bleeding. Her heroic nature had stalled this fight. Each time she even debated taking action, the actions she took against Marco, the guilt she had for taking a life clutching onto her like a parasite. Losing faith in the fight, she dropped her head, tearing up whimpering. “What the hell do I do? Alton… What the hell would you do?”

“The only thing being a hero is good for is getting yourself killed.” Alton’s words rung through her ears, being a solid reminder of his own principles. “The idea of a hero is so flawed. The villains can happily kill day by day, but we heroes are held back forced to fight for our life, but we can never take it the extra mile. This world is cruel and selfish. No one cares for heroes; if you want to survive, you think for yourself and no one else. Take what you want and don’t look back.”

One more long blade struck Zinnia as she held her katana at each end, blocking the attack from being pushed back. Her katana snapped as she was backed against the corner with no way out. “Is that how this world truly is? Is the idea of a hero so flawed it will just cost innocent people their lives? Can I really do nothing like a hero? That can’t be the truth. No, I just deny the truth like always; this is what brought me here in the first place. I can’t keep running anymore. I’ll be my own hero saving myself!” Smacking her hands together, Zinnia conducted a bolt of electricity from her hands as two pistols made from the same element were created. Spinning them around, she pointed them at Percy taking one last deep breath throwing away all her worries. “If I want to save others, I need to save myself first!”

Darted forward, Percy was thrown off by her sudden willpower to fight. Two clones formed, blocking her path as Zinnia hopped over them. Firing off serval bolts of lightning from her guns chaining it across the clones, destroying them instantly. It broke her to see what she had become, to begin with, but she had no time for guilt or regrets. This was the path she chose, and she needed to accept it. Percy jumped back, grinding his teeth, frustrated. “The nerve of you! You think you can just throw away all your troubles and start again?! Do you actually have any idea what you did?! You tricked me into dreaming of heroes when that just got me killed! I was forced to die for your stupid cause; I lost everything and forced to fight again because of this all. What gives you the right to keep fighting?!”

Swinging both hands around more blades attacked Zinnia. Cutting each one down, she held her hand out as her katana came back to her. Closing the gap, Zinnia began slashing at Percy time and time again, not giving Percy a moment to fight back as she screamed out. “If I give up now, I can never make up for my mistakes. I want to live to protect the people I care about sharing your fate. The real Percy would believe in me to the very end. You’re just a puppet using his face” Pulling her arm back, smoke began to ripple through, charging up, digging it into Percy. His eyes widened as smoke poured from his own body before exploding, sending him into the sky. Looking up, Zinnia clutched her gun tightly, whispering. “I’ll leave the rest up to you, Bargaining, free Percy from this hell!”

Percy was shot, losing all sensation in his body as Zinnia pinned him to the ground knocking him out. “No!”

****

Percy snapped to finding himself in the middle of an old rusted park. Each of the swings and slides rusted, falling apart with vegetation consuming all insight. “I warned you to know your place. Yet you dare stand before me again.”

Percy turned, finding himself face to face with Bargaining once again sitting on one of the swings. His arm rested on his knee and his head on his hand. He gave Percy a tense look of might and anger. Percy stepped back, readying his hand-throwing a single sword; it penetrated Bargaining through the chest. But in the blink of an eye, the blade vanished, and Bargaining was left unharmed. “Impossible… I could have sworn my blade cut you down.”

“Could you now? Raising that filthy pathetic excuse for a weapon against Zinnia was one thing, but you dare use it against me.” Bargaining mocked stepped off the swing walking towards Percy, his hands in his pockets. “No second chances.” Bargaining threw a punch, uppercutting Percy in the chest. His ribs broke on the spot as he was propelled upwards, hovering on the spot frozen. Moving his arm around, Bargaining smashed Percy back down, breaking the entire ground sending off a shockwave for miles. Percy found himself unable to move as Bargaining picked him up, dragging his body through the mud. “I won’t have the likes of you standing in my way. My goal is almost in reach, and mere vermin like you cannot be allowed to live.”

“Wait! I said, wait!” Percy exploded with energy as Bargaining let go stepping back. Floating in the air, Percy let out dozens of feathers as each one turned into a bloody blade of pain and guilt. “What gives you any more of a right than me to be standing here. I am one of the stages of grief! The stage of pain and I refuse to be looked down on by any more people!”

Bargaining was cut down by each of the blades a hundred times over, leaving almost nothing behind. But to his horror, yet again, as he blinked, Bargaining was back to normal like nothing ever happened. Holding his hand out, the symbol of a book and star appeared, the symbol of fairy-tale. “You call yourself a stage of grief? Don’t make me laugh; you are nothing but a cheap imitation. Let me show you what a true stage can do. Behold heaven’s armoury.” Giant golden doors rippled up all around Percy, opening each one at a time. A heavenly glow ignited the area as hundreds of weapons snapped behind Bargaining floating above him. “This is but just one of my legendary attacks. Fairy-Tale’s vaults have filled the brim with weapons from across the land, and you just happen Percy to bare-witness to them all. This is the gap in our power. Now perish.” Percy went to scream in anguish but was instantly bombarded and destroyed on the spot without any hope. Calling his weapons back, the gates closed as Bargaining tutted walking away. “Don’t expect any more from me, Zinnia. Our contract is almost up; all is going to plan.”

****

Zinnia moved away from Percy as he never woke up. His pulse faded, and the worst was confirmed. Bargaining had kept to his role like promised. Zinnia stared at smoke pouring from her hand, holding back the pain she felt. She couldn’t let this get to her; she was stronger now and did the right thing. Percy could rest easy again for good this time. Riley stepped forward, looking down. “I’ll give you credit, Zin Zin. I really didn’t think you had the guts to do that. I misjudged you, and for that, I apologise.”

Zinnia turned to Riley, sighing. “So, you really are the girl who came to aid us all those years ago… Only you ever called me that.”

“I’m glad you came to your senses. I’ll apologise again for not stepping in, but I felt it was important you fought that fight yourself.”

“Thank you. It was the right thing to do.” Zinnia whispered. “We. We should bury him. It’s only fair we give Percy the proper burial he deserves.”

“I didn’t know that kid long, but I could tell he was a good one at that.”

“The best, although he didn’t show it. Percy was fighting that thing to the very end. He was the best of us.” Zinnia muttered. “He helped me realise that again. Riley, I’m going back to Rhinefield. If my team are gone or not doesn’t matter, I need to make things right. If there is a chance they are alive, I can’t stand around. I’m going to fight.”

A decisive blow of icy wind pushed the two back as the barrier was ripped apart, destroyed in the matter of a second. The village elder stared on in shock shaking her head. “That’s impossible… Only one person knows how to destroy the barrier… It’s him.”

Kurt walked onto the village ground trudging through the snow. Zinnia stepped back, holding her blade up as Riley was by her side, ready to fight. Kurt leaned back, smirking as smoke poured from his body. “Hi sweetheart, I’m home. Did you miss me?”