CHAPTER 30: RHONDA LIVES AGAIN, PART 5
The city of Hillwood is in chaos.
Though the city has never found a true sense of peace like other towns in the country, a curse from being a more urban and densely populated, its only symptoms of crime came only from muggings, robbery, rape, and other offenses. Atrocious and damaging as they may be, they do not compare in what is happening to the city now:
One man has declared war upon it; a man known as 'Little' Nicky Russotti.
Retaking his hold on all organized crime, he has sent the dregs and thugs of the city to strike as one army against it, putting the city in a full-scale seige. He makes no demands or makes any plans to keep his hold, he makes this attack on the city for one simple reason:
To distract the Hillwood Heroes and abduct Thaddeus 'Curly' Gammelthrorpe, better known to many as 'The Freak', to kill him, and take revenge over his dead son.
Already deducing this plan, the Green Eye knew that he could not allow 'Little' Nicky to take the Freak's life, but knew that he could not also ignore the chaos taking place in his city. Therefore, a plan was in order to prioritize manpower where it was needed and neutralize this threat, while also finding a way to save the Freak.
"Whoa, wait a minute, man, what are we even discussing this for? You know how Curly went bad and threw the city out of whack. Why don't we just let the man have what he wants and back out? If he's willing to go this far, then we need to do something to stop him." G-Funk said.
"We don't give in to bad guys, Gerald, and we especially don't let anybody die if we can help it. It doesn't matter how bad Curly's become; the moral thing is to give him every chance to return to society and better himself. We're supposed to be the better people than him. If we would kill him as he would kill us, then what is there that separates us from him? Nothing. Curlymustlive, and wehaveto handle these attacks." Green Eye said.
"And how exactly are we supposed to do that? We'll need every man available to deal with the people of Hillwood;they'rethe priority." Valiance said.
"That's why you and everyone else are going to take to the city and handle the attacks. I'll handle Curly myself."
"Just you? I can't help but comment, but, you're easily the one most qualified to handle the majority of attacks in the city. That scream you did that made everyone stop a year ago, back at P.S. 118, you do that enough times, and you could make it stop. It's more likely that 'Little' Nicky would send a smaller group to take Curly, and maybe one or two of us could handle that alone." Lady Tetsu said.
"It doesn't work that way. It takes a lot of concentration for me to pull that off, and I only did it the first time because Luz was helping me."
"So call him again, why don't you?" G-Funk asked.
"Even his powers go so far. I don't think he has it in him to do it again, let alone a whole bunch of times to make this stop. We'll have to do it the old-fashioned way. Besides, something tells me Rhonda'll go for Curly as well, and this whole situation might be just the right moment for her to strike. I'm the only one who can stand a chance against her."
"You didn't manage to get her last night? And how do you know for sure she'll be there?" Valiance asked.
The Green Eye paused in his speech for a moment, remembering the series of events that made him make extremely conscientious decisions, ones that he has still just barely able to even comprehend doing. Following a deep breath, he replied to Valiance's statement, holding back his own emotions on the matter.
"I... didn't get her. She attacked 'Little' Nicky as a trap for me, fought us both, and got away before the cops got there. Look, I'm sure she'll be there, I already could sense that she-" Green Eye began to say.
Freezing in place, his eyesight and other senses were all brought to a different place entirely; sitting on a perch outside the Hillwood Home for the Emotionally Troubled. Below his view was a small puddle, and in its reflection was the one who both took his body for herself by a similar lure into this situation: The undead Rhonda.
Being sent back to his own body, the Green Eye stopped in the middle of his sentence and began to breathe hard, just overcoming the shift in consciousness.
"Hey Arnold, you alright, man?" G-Funk asked.
"Correction: I'm not 'sure' she'll be there, sheisthere. She sent me a message, like when she lured me before. She wants to kill Curly for herself, and she'll probably have killed Nicky's men by the time I get there. I have to go, now. Valiance, you're in charge." Green Eye said.
"What?! Him?! After all he's done?"
"We don't have a choice, Gerald. He's the one who understands tactics the best, and how to coordinate us to be the most effective. I have to handle Rhonda now, or I'll never get another chance at this."
Approaching his best friend, the Green Eye extended a familiar handshake, holding his thumb up.
"C'mon, Gerald. Please trust me on this. I need you." Green Eye said.
The friendship of the Green Eye and G-Funk, going back to the days of their earliest childhoods, have been strong since, but it has acquired a newfound test under the recent turn of events that have unfolded. Nonetheless, there was a trust that has never faltered under his best friend's judgement, and G-Funk could not afford any doubts now.
Placing his trust in his friend once again, G-Funk shared the handshake.
"Okay, Arnold. A night on the town for us it is." G-Funk said.
"Thank you. And thank you, everyone, for how much you're putting into this so far. I guarantee you, when all this is over, we'll start setting things right, for good. Good luck." Green Eye said.
The Green Eye began making his way out of the base on to his own destination, but his final words left a taste of confusion within the remaining Hillwood Heroes' minds. The tone of his voice gave the impression that he was addressing his own affairs rather than their own, making them ponder his statement further.
"What was that all about? Y'know, that whole 'setting things right' thing?" Bad Boy asked.
"He just means that we're gonna stop the bad guys, man. What do you think he meant?" Star of David asked.
"I dunno. Sure sounded like he was talkin' 'bout somethin' a little more personal, if you catch my drift." Dirt Man said.
"It doesn't matter. His problems are his own, and none of our business. Right now, our business is dealing with this ground invasion on our hands. Now, gather around. We'll need to split our efforts, and coordinate ourselves to cover the important parts of town. Here's where the most concentrations of enemies are located." Valiance said.
-
As the Hillwood Heroes began making their strategy to defend the city, the Hillwood Home for the Emotionally Troubled began having its own problems occur, fully enacting the plan set in stone by 'Little' Nicky Russotti. A group of 6 armed men, all tasked with the goal of retrieving the Freak, exited their vehicle.
Heading up to the nearest telephone and power lines, two men each planted semtex explosives onto the lines, preparing to cut off all communications with the hospital. Regrouping as one unit, the 6 men stepped their way into the building, walking straight in with guns brandished.
With one man pressing the detonator, blasting the power and phone lines, the hospital switched to emergency power, killing the regular lights and activating the emergency lighting. Ensuring that these men had the staff's full attention, the head of the group fired his machine gun in the air, instantly making all those in the lobby of the entrance drop to their knees.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please remain calm and in your seats. We are here for one man and one man only: Thaddeus Gammelthorpe, better known to most people 'round the country as the world-class sh*thead who calls himself 'The Freak'. If you'll all kindly hand over your cell phones, and please resist the urge to call 911 as you do so, we'll take what we came for and all be out of here you can say 'Cat in the Hat'." The head gunman said.
With another gunman holding open a pillowcase, yet another gunman accompanied him by retrieving cell phones from the staff in the lobby, dumping all into the bag as they progressed. Upon reaching the nurse behind the desk, the head gunman approached her and retrieved her phone personally, while asking for the location for the Freak.
"And you, miss, would you be so kind as to point me to where I can find the Freak?" The gunman asked.
"Uh... Room 42A. Down that hall, keep going straight, second right, and last door on your left." The nurse answered.
"Thank you so very much, ma'am."
Getting the directions that they came for, the 6 gunmen quickly made their way down the hall, walking as quickly as possible to retrieve their target. Following the directions as they were given, the group made their way on the second right, heading down a hallway to the Freak's room.
"Excellent work so far, gentlemen, right on track. At this rate, we should nab the Freak before the ground troops even have to break out the heavy artillery. Save the boss some money." The leader said.
"So we need to be careful with this guy? I mean, he's all paralyzed, you know?" A gunman asked.
"Nicky wants to kill him all by himself, that's all we need to know. Paralyzed just means he won't fight back. As long as we get him there in one piece, we're home fr-"
Before the leader of the gunmen could finish his sentence, a 'woosh' in the air was heard, stopping him in his tracks and causing the others to stop as well.
"Uh, boss? You okay?" One gunman asked.
The others began to notice a line of blood start to seep from his neck, followed by the leader's head falling off of his shoulders and onto the floor, with his body falling with it. None knowing what to make of the sudden death of their leader, the gunmen all looked around in confusion, trying to understand what had come over them.
Making its appearance in front of them, the threat had revealed itself to the group; none other than the undead Rhonda, her glowing blue eyes looking right at them.
"Cut off the head of the snake... and the body dies." Rhonda said.
Dashing into the air and disappearing in a flash, the gunmen all panicked at the new threat, beginning to fire their machine guns in every direction in the hallway. The specter of Rhonda's body seemed to be just in their sights for a brief moment in time, but it was not quick enough for a bullet to hit.
Making her next strike towards the gunman in the back, Rhonda threw a slash at his chest, knocking him against the wall and bleeding out on it. With the leader dead and this one out, there left only 4 more standing in the way of Rhonda and her revenge; 4 too many for her to accept.
The remaining gunmen continued to fire towards the lethal lady, hoping that their man-made firearms would hold against the ancient supernatural powers of a Spirit Master; a foolish notion they held onto for better or worse, having nothing left. Making short use of these gunmen, Rhonda continued her attack on the remainder of the group.
Making quick cuts into the body of the next enemy in front of her, Rhonda drew blood from his body, kicking the rest of what remained in it against the wall, removing this obstacle. Driving her blade straight through the next one's body like a skewer, stabbing him between the legs and through his head, Rhonda kicked his lifeless body aside, having removed him as well. This leaves 2 obstacles.
The 2 remaining gunmen continued to fire at the quick-moving body of the reanimated Rhonda Lloyd, but only wound up hitting the bodies of their former teammates, leaving their ammunition wasted against this foe. Preparing to remove the last two obstacles, Rhonda jumped towards them, driving her knee into the one in front and in turn driving him against his teammate, sending both to the floor.
The last two gunmen struggled to get up from the ground; the one closest to Rhonda successfully doing so, but the other stumbling to a room in hopes of hiding from the battle. Taking his last stand, the first gunman aimed his weapon towards Rhonda, firing off a barrage of rounds, but aimed only to find her ducking underneath his aim, preparing her own attack.
Sweeping her legs against his, Rhonda knocked the enemy off his feet, sending him falling to the floor. Before the gunman had fallen to the floor, Rhonda sent her blade straight through his body, cleaving him in half from the abdomen. Leaving his halved body lying on the floor, Rhonda continued her way to the room, ready to take her revenge.
But, no, not yet. There is one more obstacle in the way. The last gunman, cowering into the room adjacent from the Freak's, looked back on the approaching Rhonda with fear, gaining the image of a bloodied, sword-wielding woman with glowing blue eyes to be ingrained in his mind for the rest of his life. The remaining 23 seconds of it.
Firing his machine gun straight at Rhonda, the gunman cried out as he emptied the last of his ammunition towards his target, this time having a point-blank range to shoot with. However, his last efforts seemed to be just as futile as his teammates'. Though Rhonda continued slowly walking towards him, specters of her blades swished through the air in front of her, deflecting each bullet that came her way.
With nothing left but an empty machine gun, the last gunman was overtaken by fear, driving him to keep fighting until his last breath. Drawing a knife from his boot, the gunman rushed straight for Rhonda, hoping to bury the knife somewhere in her chest, and hopefully walk out of the building alive. But, of course, all he has is mere hope.
Grabbing the dropping hand holding the knife, Rhonda grabbed hold of his wrist, twisting his arm in a way it was not meant to be bent, breaking the bones inside with loud cracks echoing through the hallway. Still holding onto his hand, Rhonda drove it towards his stomach, still holding the knife in it.
Pushing against him, Rhonda drove the last gunman against the wall, dragging the knife along his stomach all the while, cutting through his flesh and spilling out his intestines and organs on the floor. Finally, pinned up against the wall, the gunman spent his last seconds of life looking down at his disemboweled body, realizing that the end of his life had come.
Drawing the knife from his body, Rhonda let the gunman's body fall to the ground. No more obstacles now.
Turning around to face the room holding the one who sent her life so wrong so long ago, her mind running off mere instincts without a soul to guide them, Rhonda dropped the weapon to make her way to the room. Stepping just outside the room, she pushed the door open, making her first steps inside.
"Ooh, is it time for my diaper change? I'm looking forward to having Nurse Wylie touch my pee-pee again." The Freak asked.
Hearing the voice of her attacker from her past life, Rhonda stood before her rapist, sneering at him with her blue eyes piercing into him. Despite knowing for a fact that she was dead, the Freak seemed to not be surprised by her appearance in the slightest; welcoming this event in jest.
"Well, well, well. Rhonda, back from the dead. I guess this is the part where I'm supposed to be surprised, but, you spend enough time talking to doctors and sh*tting yourself, you're pretty much open to anything. What brings you back? If you're looking for another taste of the Curly bone, then I'm sad to tell you that I can't feel anything at all from the waist down anymore. Of course, I won't stop you from trying." The Freak said.
"Enough jokes. I am sick of your pathetic existence. The fact you still live is a mockery to me. Tonight... you will suffer." Rhonda said.
-
The streets of Hillwood are filled with chaos and mayhem unlike anyone has ever seen before; armed thugs rampage in the streets with assault rifles and explosives, like a ground invasion on the streets of Hillwood. Except unlike a Hollywood movie where the threat might be the Soviets or some other caricature of an evil empire... these attackers are the same people who live in Hillwood, and they do not attack for an ideology, but because they were simply hired to do so.
The one condition: They may not kill anyone. Their mission is strictly to invoke terror towards the citizens of Hillwood and distract all law enforcement and emergency services. Though only able to inflict property damage, destroying small shops and cop cars, and shooting to maim policemen only, they do their job very well, and keep the city of Hillwood in a stranglehold.
There are, however, some doubts among the attackers on the city, and they voice a few of their concerns to each other.
"Listen, man, I'm all for a little fun, but this seems like a lot, don't you?" One attacker asked.
"Hey, pal, don't know if you noticed, but 'Little' Nicky's the monopoly in town right now. We knew what we were getting into in this life beforehand, all just a different boss now. You wanna leave? Well, you've seen what 'Little' Nicky does to anyone he doesn't like. Be my guest." Another attacker said.
Unable to ponder on his thoughts of dissent any further, the attacker joined the various others in this coordinated attack, continuing to fire at fleeing civilians, ensuring that they continue their flightpath far away from here. Fires continue to burn, bombs continue to blow, and bullets continue to fly. It seems that there is no end in sight for his terror...
...but the arrival of a figure clad in a cape, carrying a massive Sonic Fork in hand, signals that this mayhem has found its time to end.
"You know, guys, you really shouldn't play with those things. You could really hurt somebody." G-Funk said.
"Oh, don't worry. We're not hurting anybody with these things; 'Little' Nicky's ordered us not to hurt anyone. He knows that you guys are more accustomed to dealing with people like us." An attacker said.
"How considerate. Well, remind me to give him my regards later. Me, personally? I can't stand the sounds of gunshots. I'm a more of a music lover. V, turn it up to 11, would ya?"
[Soundtrack Cue: Beastie Boys - Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun]
The sounds of thrash metal mixed with hip-hop lyrics began to blare through the air, with the arrival of an armored vehicle rushing into the scene with guns blazing truly set the stage for the counterattack of the Hillwood Heroes to begin. As the group of attackers began firing their weapons straight at the mobile tank, the vehicle began firing right back at them, sending them to the ground in seconds.
As the vehicle began departing the area to move on to another battlefront, G-Funk stayed behind to handle any stragglers, starting with a few armed gunmen missed by the blitzkrieg of Valiance's mobile tank. Utilizing his Sonic Fork, G-Funk blasted away two attackers with soundwave blasts, and knocked out another with a simple bash to the head.
With the rage of being knocked down so easily clouding his own thoughts, one attacker prepared his gun to the back of G-Funk's head, taking advantage of him while he hadn't noticed him. Unable to let any harm come to G-Funk, a metal fist made its way to the attacker's face, knocking him out cold for good this time.
Turning to see who could have laid a fist upon the attacker, G-Funk turned to see Lady Tetsu brushing her knuckles from the blow, smugly playing off the attack.
"That'swhy we're always teamed up. I have to watch your back from making any mistakes like that." Lady Tetsu said.
"And I love you for it, baby." G-Funk said.
Sharing a quick kiss in the moment of battle, the two began moving onto more attackers, seeking to eliminate the threat as soon as possible, as a team.
-
Continuing to move onto other fronts of this attack, Valiance continued racing down the streets of Hillwood in his armored vehicle, gunning down armed attackers left and right, putting down these domestic terrorists and ending this hold on the city. Tapping into his communicator, he began inquiring for the statuses of his teammates, ensuring the plan all worked out accordingly.
"This is Valiance, continuing my sweep through the city. G-Funk and Lady Tetsu, what's your sitrep (situation report) on Front 'A'?" Valiance asked.
"All good here, 'V'. You wiped out a bunch of 'em for us." G-Funk said.
"What about Front 'B'? Star of David, that's your zone, any progress?"
-
On the battlegrounds of Front 'B', an area just southwest of G-Funk and Lady Tetsu's position, the team of 3 known as the Star of David, Bad Boy, and Dirt Man, known as the 3 troublemaking kids of Harold, Sid, and Stinky, continue their own way through the waves of 'Little' Nicky's men. Having tastes for mischief and jokes throughout their childhoods, they gain here what is their most favorite part of superherodom:
Fighting swarms of bad guys.
"Couldn't be better here, Val, but Star's a little caught up to talk to ya right now." Dirt Man said.
As Dirt Man made clear over the radio, the Star of David, armed with his shield insignified with the symbol of his namesake, bashed his way through enemies and gunfire, ramming his way straight through armed gunmen like a living tank. Bullets and attacks mean nothing to this man; only accomplishing the goal of saving his city.
Having lived a past of both childhood delinquency and crime, there is a desire in his heart to do better, tobebetter. He has come a long way since his early childhood to his teen years to reach higher points of morality, faltering in his path under the employ of 'Big' Gino, only to find his way once again. Now, he is dedicated to doing right, and will not stop until he believes himself to be 'good' again.
For Dirt Man and Bad Boy, however, this is all mere fun and games, and they do not take the mission for justice so seriously. Nonetheless, they do take it seriously enough, and prove themselves to be valuable assets to the Hillwood Heroes. Making good use of their own tools and powers, they, too, fight against the armed gangsters that try for their temporary takeover of the town.
Armed with a device called a Soil Manipulator, a technology based on an ancient supposed elemental martial art called 'Earthbending', Dirt Man moves the very soil beneath the feet of his enemies, sending them flying through the air by putting pillars of rock underneath them, or knocks them down by sending chunks of rock flying at them.
Wielding a pair of handguns loaded with tranquilizer rounds, Bad Boy takes a more practical approach to his enemies; fighting firearms with firearms. Not many would see his choice of weapon as 'fantastic' as his comrades', but none could argue against his efficiency with them.
"Y'know, B.B., all the weapons you coulda had, and you chose guns? Kinda lame compared to my toy, ain't it?" Dirt Man asked.
"Hey, man, I've always liked first-person shooters. Takes the edge off. You know how paranoid I get sometimes." Bad Boy said.
"Fair 'nuff."
-
On another battleground of this urban war, designated as Front 'C' under Valiance's plan, the team of the more gentle hands of the Hillwood Heroes; Insect Girl, Flower Child, and the Mauve Avenger, known since their early years to one another as Nadine, Sheena, and Eugene, make their way through their own front, having the least amount of attackers to handle. Calling into this trio to hear their status, Valiance makes his request for a progress report from them as well.
"Insect Girl. How are things going on your end?" Valiance asked.
"So far, so good. You'd be surprised how fast these guys drop when a swarm of wasps comes their way, even when they got AKs in hand." Insect Girl said.
Using a device neurally linked to her called the Arthropod Influencer, created courtesy of Membrane Labs just as Dirt Man's Soil Manipulator was, Insect Girl assumed control over a swarm of wasps, sending them flying straight towards her enemies. The wasps, growing restless under their control, began ferociously stinging the armed men, sending them all falling to the ground in pain.
"Executioner wasps. My own little touch. Nastiest sting on the planet." Insect Girl said.
Staying true to her peaceful nature, Flower Child began not attacking the attackers, but instead offering medical support to those stung by the killer wasps, trying for a path that would lead those misguided souls back to reason. Though her team often questions such the effectiveness of this approach, it has the utmost approval of the Green Eye, which is enough for the others to accept and her to continue.
The clumsy Mauve Avenger, however, has a much different means of fighting his opponents. Lacking hand-eye coordination, and notorious for being extremely unlucky, the Mauve Avenger does notfighthis enemies, so much as he makes his enemies instead, in actuality...
...injure themselves.
For instance, at this instance in time, the Mauve Avenger faces off against one of 'Little' Nicky's men, trying to make the best of what he knows of his martial arts training, the little he does know. His punches and kicks are well-practiced, but his footing leaves some room for improvement, causing him to slip on his own cape and fall on his back.
Taking advantage of this, his opponent began to approach the downed Mauve Avenger, only also to slip on a can, causing him to fall and shoot himself in the foot with his own weapon. Embarrassed to having caused the gunman to injure himself, the Mauve Avenger began to get off the ground, trying to help him back up.
"Oh, crap, I'm really, really sorry. I didn't mean to make you trip." Mauve Avenger said.
"You dickhe*d! You made me shoot my own foot, you-!" The gunman said.
Trying to stand on his foot again, the pain of pressure applied to his shot foot led him to fall back down in pain, curling towards his foot to try to block the pain out. However, in the midst of doing so, he moronically held down the trigger to his rifle, sending bullets flying to the feet and legs of the other attackers in the battleground.
All without fully functioning legs to walk, the attackers all fell to the ground, each trying to comfort their injured legs. Insect Girl and Flower Child, not understanding how the Mauve Avenger could achieve such a feat, both looked to him in astoundment. Unable to bring himself to say anything else, the Mauve Avenger simply held up his arms in a shrug and said:
"Oops?" Mauve Avenger asked.
-
With all going well on the other fronts of the battle, Valiance continued on his own sporadic counterattack on the city, firing away at any stray gunman he might lay an eye on. For every one he would catch in his sights, a count that led a total more than acceptable, he fired the mounted machine guns on his vehicle, taking them out as quickly as he found them.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
His gunning streak, however, seemed not to last. An explosive round fired its way to the windshield, blasting a hole straight through the glass and causing it to shatter through. Unable to compensate for the sudden interruption in his field of vision, Valiance crashed his vehicle into a downed car, putting his own plan to a stop.
Stepping out of the car, Valiance observed his surroundings to see what could have fired such a shot, only to find the wild card in 'Little' Nicky's plans: Lars Rodriguez, trying to make a name for himself as 'El Cucuy', wearing a T-shirt that read: 'I put the 'STD' in 'stud', all I need is 'U'. Holding up a small rubber bullet in front of his face, El Cucuy gave it a squeeze, flicking it towards his opponent.
"Rubber bullets, huh? All that heavy metal, and you don't use it to kill anybody? If it weremedrivin' that thing, I woulda mowedsomany people down by now." El Cucuy said.
"Hence why I keep weapons like that away from people like you." Valiance said.
"Well, you sure didn't do a good job of keeping this arm away from me, in this universe or the one I got this one from. Name's Buckley Lloyd, yeah? Real sorry 'bout your daughter, man. She looked like a total bitch, but I bet her puss* was tighter and cleaner than a Chinese fingertrap, woulda liked to cream it before she, y'know..."
El Cucuy made a crude gesture of moving his thumb across his throat and pretending to choke, emulating a movement of death. Angered by the mockery of his daughter once again, Valiance stepped down from his downed car, approaching El Cucuy to deliver his punishment to the cyborg psycho.
"And I know your name: Lars Rodriguez. Your police reports say you have a taste for young girls, call you a pedophile. I hate pedophiles." Valiance said.
"Ephebophile, dude. Get it right. 14's the lowest I go." El Cucuy said.
"Shut up. I've read about you; your attack on that Good Burger and getting caught up in Ocean Shores, attacking that karaoke bar, and joining in the Silver Sentinel Scandal-"
"C'mon, dude, I keep telling people, I wasn't at a damn karaoke bar! Why does everybody think that?!"
"It doesn't matter. The Hillwood Heroes have a no-kill policy, but, given someone with your reputation for coming back from the dead, I suppose they'll forgive me just this once."
Not interested in hearing any more of El Cucuy's taunts, Valiance drew his sword, preparing to use it against his enemy.
"Cute toy. I'd be digging the whole 'Prince Valiant' theme if I was some kinda Dungeons and Dragons fa*g, but, I'm not, so, I'm just gonna say you look gay as hell. I, on the other hand, got like horror movies, and I just got back from a town they filmed one of my favorites in...The Evil Dead." El Cucuy said.
Changing his arm into its chainsaw form, El Cucuy gave the weapon a rev, loudly displaying the killing power of his arm attachment. Taking a stance like Ash Williams of the aforementioned film, particularly in the sequel, El Cucuy prepared himself to fight against the white knight.
"Y'know, I was wondering what happened to the D-248 prototype. I'm looking forward to taking it back." Valiance said.
"Come and get it." El Cucuy said.
With the two opponents rushing towards each other, Valiance and El Cucuy met face-to-face in an instant, bringing their weapons closer to one another than they stood. Between Valiance keeping mastery over his sword with El Cucuy keeping control over his chainsaw arm, the fight progressed quickly to a stalemate, with both opponents proving each other to be capable against one another.
Banking his arm off one deflection of his strike, El Cucuy moved his chainsaw arm to Valiance's shoulder, landing a slice into his armor. Cutting through the reinforced steel, the blade managed to just nick at Valiance's skin beneath, beginning to draw some blood. As Valiance stopped to eyeball the wound, he looked back to his enemy, seeing him look back with an amused smile on his face.
Seeking to continue to draw more flesh from his enemy, El Cucuy rushed towards him with his chainsaw still revving loudly again, aiming to land another cut into his enemy. Wielding his sword against the attacker, Valiance continued to block off his fast strikes once again, driving off the quick attacks of the chainsaw seeking to make another cut into his body.
Despite his best efforts to fend off any more strikes, Valiance felt another slice made into his armor, sending him back in pain from the cut. Not allowing his enemy to recuperate so easily after this attack, El Cucuy continued to strike at Valiance, forcing him to retain his focus on the fight and away from his new wound.
With both youth and cybernetic enhancements on his side, El Cucuy seemed to be leading in this fight, soon to make plenty more cuts to come, eventually leading to Valiance's untimely death. Unable to allow this to come to pass, the white knight began thinking of a way to put this enemy down for good, knowing his efforts were needed elsewhere.
Blocking off an aerial attack from a jumping drop-swing of El Cucuy's arm, the cybernetic psycho rushed straight at his enemy, pointing his chainsaw straight at him to embed it in his chest. Taking his sword in hand, Valiance prepared to use a similar tactic against his opponent, but having another advantage on his side.
Where El Cucuy's chainsaw was only about a foot long, the length starting from the handle, Valiance's blade had a bladespan of 16 inches, more than enough to reach El Cucuy before he could reach an attack. Thrusting his sword straight to the rushing enemy, Valiance aimed his blade straight for El Cucuy's chest.
Piercing straight through El Cucuy's chest, putting the hilt against his sternum, Valiance landed a killing impale into his enemy. Not content with driving a sword straight through his chest, Valiance charged against him with the blade still inside, landing El Cucuy against a wall and piercing the blade through the concrete wall of the building.
Unable to move, the hilt of the blade keeping him nailed against the wall, El Cucuy choked against the blade piercing into his chest, coughing up blood, and soon lowered his head with a deathly exhale. Given his reputation for surviving the impossible, it was unsure if this had truly killed him or not, but accepting that he was down for the count was enough for now.
What came now for Valiance was the sound of applause, coming from one man observing the event as a spectator. Turning to see the sole person clapping at his efforts, he found himself in view of the one man behind this unprecedented attack of terror against the city of Hillwood:
'Little' Nicky Russotti.
"Mr. Lloyd. It's been a long time since I've seen a man my age able to fight like that. Quite an impressive display." 'Little' Nicky said.
-
Elsewhere, as the fight on the ground continues on like a war, the Green Eye made his way to the Hillwood Home for the Emotionally Troubled, hoping to arrive in time and defend the Freak from any means of attack. Upon arriving to his destination, however, it seemed as though he had made his arrival far too late.
Power and phone lines were brought down to the ground, completely destroyed and leaving all contact with the outside cut off. Still, unable to allow himself to stand idly by, the Green Eye rushed inside the building, bursting through the front door, expecting any kinds of trouble in wait.
What he finds instead is nothing of the sort, but, instead, the aftermath of some kind of trouble. Bullet holes were laid into the ceiling, the emergency lighting still remained on, and there seemed to be no signs of life anywhere in the building, leaving him to believe that no one had left this place alive.
Hearing a small creak from a nearby door, he found that belief to be partially true, as no one had left the building at all. The doctors, nurses, and whatever patients could be moved were all hiding inside a supply closet, and all visible through the window. Unable to bring themselves to step out, they instead cowered in fear behind it, even with the familiar face of the Green Eye in front of them.
The Green Eye, attempting to show some manner of gentleness and security, tried to slowly open the door, hoping to let the hiding staff go free. Instead, those hiding behind the door showed no signs of wishing to leave, quickly shutting the door back in place, keeping a barrier between them and the Green Eye.
"Easy, easy. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help." Green Eye said.
"She killed them. She killed all of them." A nurse said.
"Who? Where is she?"
The nurse pointed a shaky finger towards the way to the Freak's room, not daring to move away from this one place that provided her security away from the killer. Conversely, the Green Eye, needing to put a stop to Rhonda's killing spree, began making his way down the halls of the hospital to reach the room, preparing himself to fight against her once again.
As he made his way to the room, a strange and alarming sight came into his view in the distance down the hall; a man in a suit bleeding from his chest, walking out from the hallway. Trying to hold onto his wound and hold his own fluids inside his body, his efforts proved for naught, and his death was all but inevitable here.
"It's... It's a demon... It's a goddamn demon..." The man gurgled.
Succumbing to his wounds, the man fell down on the ground, dead at last from his injuries. The Green Eye rushed to the bleeding body to check his pulse, believing that there was still a chance to save his life, but a lack of pulse proved that there was no hopes of saving this man now.
This sight did not put him in a state of shock, but the view that followed indeed did it. Turning to the origin of this dead man, the Green Eye was given a spectacle of bodies, blood, and organs splattered across the hallway; all remnants of the men sent by 'Little' Nicky to retrieve the Freak... a mission that they have obviously failed.
Every instinct in his body drove him to vomit, but the Green Eye fought back against the urge to expunge the contents of his stomach, having a job to do and a person to save. Taking his staff in hand, the Green Eye carefully stepped his way towards the Freak's room, forcing himself towards the room and preparing for battle.
Stepping through the door into the room, the Green Eye reached his destination at last, but found himself to be too late to stop Rhonda. Upon entering the room, the Green Eye found Rhonda driving her blades into the Freak's chest, leaving him gurgling on his own blood and suffer under the attack.
Turning to face the Green Eye, Rhonda looked straight into his glowing green eyes with her own glowing blue eyes, smiling upon his arrival.
"Lover. You've arrived. I'm sorry you weren't here to see me make him suffer, but you've arrived at a good time. I was beginning to grow bored with him... and I still want to play." Rhonda said.
Jumping in a backflip, Rhonda leaped out the window behind her, choosing another place to bring the Green Eye. Though his first instincts told him to run and pursue her, his own empathic instincts led him to stop and check on the Freak, ensuring that he was not dead.
"Curly, are you okay?" Green Eye asked.
The Freak was horribly badly bruised and mutilated under Rhonda's torture; his life just barely hanging on by a thread. Still, the Green Eye knew that he was alive for now, and he had to stop Rhonda. As such, he was forced to leave the Freak behind to catch his own target.
"Just hang on, Curly. Help is on the way." Green Eye said.
Jumping up to the windowsill, the Green Eye looked up to see where Rhonda could have gone, and, with the view of a broken window on the next level above him. Perching himself onto the windowsill, the Green Eye jumped to the broken window above, climbing up and onto the second floor of the building.
Stepping onto the second floor, the Green Eye kept his staff out, waiting in anticipation for wherever Rhonda might have been hiding, or what tricks she held in store for him. With only his supernatural senses of the Spirit Master to warn him of the oncoming attack, the Green Eye held his staff above, blocking a downward strike from Rhonda as her physical form phased into view.
Moving at speeds quicker than the human eye could perceive, and the Green Eye's eyes could only just barely keep up with, Rhonda began throwing strikes at him from every direction, each strike she threw being blocked by his staff, and eventually thrown back with a well-timed kick to her stomach.
Not being stopped from a mere kick, Rhonda rushed back towards her target, running up sideways along the wall, and even reaching the ceiling before dropping back down and throwing her swords at him once again. Catching the blades in a block, the two were caught in a deadlock; neither side getting edge over one another.
Pushing against the Green Eye, Rhonda drove him into the wall, crushing some of the drywall around him. Pushing right back against her, the Green Eye threw them both against a door behind her, leading them both crashing on the floor and landing inside a lab room filled with various computers.
Picking themselves up from the ground, the two opponents ceased their fight for one moment; Rhonda wishing to share some words with the Green Eye.
"Arnold... I've removed all obstacles. It's down to just you and me. Two halves of a whole. Two corpses in one grave." Rhonda said.
"What is this about, Rhonda? Why are you doing this to me?" Green Eye asked.
"My needs are twofold. One: I must make Curly suffer for his crimes against me, a goal which I have succeeded. Two: I must allow my body to feel the utmost pleasure once again, and remove this vile, corrupted sense of love from my being."
"Why me? Why would you just... take me like that?! Do you have any idea what you've done to me?! What you made me do?! You took away what made me pure for Helga, and you left me weak and I... god, I actually cheated on Helga because I didn't know how to deal with it! You ruined everything!"
"Then you understand how Curly has brought me to ruin. You know the pain as it tainted pleasure, and how your life is no longer as pure as you once believed. Now you can understand the need I have for revenge."
"You don't know what you need, Rhonda. You're not even really alive. You're just a ghost! Don't you get it? I can't read anything from you; it's like you're dead! What you're doing is taking revenge for someone who's not even alive!"
"It makes no difference whether I am really alive or dead, Arnold. What matters for me now is the pleasure, and how I must take it. You gave me pleasure once, you were such a pillar of security and warmth that I recognized, and you were able to make me feel that pleasure again."
Taking her swords in hand, Rhonda swished them into the air once again, preparing for another fight.
"But I am not content just yet. I need more pleasure, and, this time, I need it with pain. You have to give me that. You are the only one who can give it to me." Rhonda said.
-
Back in the city of Hillwood, concurrent with the fight that prepares itself for the Green Eye and Rhonda, Valiance and 'Little' Nicky come face-to-face for the first time, standing off against one another in the midst of the urban war that still continues. Valiance stood at the ready for another fight, where 'Little' Nicky stood calmly in amusem*nt, as if spectating a grander performance for his own amusem*nt.
"End this attack. Now." Valiance said.
"C'mon, now, I thought you, of all people, would come to understand why this little skirmish had to happen. I tried to reason with your leader, I tried to work this out peacefully, alas, your sacred Green Eye didn't see it that way, so, now, we're all stuck here." 'Little' Nicky said.
"You're tearing apart your own city just so you can kill one man. Is that all really worth it?"
"You and I both used to be fathers, and the reason it's 'used to be' and not 'are' fathers is because of that man, if you can call him that."
"It doesn't matter. I thought I couldn't let go of the past, either, trying to correct my own mistakes and change it, but I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried. Killing him will achieve nothing."
"Tell you what, I'm a fair man. How about this: You let me take him, and, after I'm done making that piece of sh*t suffer as much as I can, you get the final blow to send him off to his next life. He took your child from you, too."
"My child gave her own life to save another's."
"And that girl she donated her heart to, who shot out her old one?"
Knowing the answer to be the Freak, Valiance paused in his speech, unable to retort his enemy. Not satisfied with standing around any longer, 'Little' Nicky began shedding his suit jacket, gently folding it up and placing it atop a nearby car to keep it safe. Revealing underneath his suit jacket was a belt of throwing knives, as well as his metal armguards around his wrists.
"I'm giving you one last chance, Mr. Lloyd. Please, call off your men, let me walk away with the Freak, and I'll walk away. You won't see me come back to the world of crime again, I won't come after a single one of you, hell, I'll even go straight back to prison for you. All I'm asking for is a chance to let my son rest in peace for good." 'Little' Nicky said.
"He won't rest in peace. Not as long as you hold this grudge, and I'll be there to stop you every step of the way. When I first lost my daughter, I took it upon myself to see that no more children have to suffer again. As long as there's men like you in this world, then I have to continue. If I let even one of you go, then I will have failed that mission. I will not stop until you are back in prison... or dead." Valiance said.
Seeming to expect this sort of answer, 'Little' Nicky gave his neck a crack, preparing himself for a fight against Valiance.
"Very well." 'Little' Nicky said.
-
[Soundtrack Cue: Chan Kwong-wing - Store the Sun (FromSPL: Kill Zone)]
Back at the Hillwood Home for the Emotionally Troubled...
With her swords ready in hand, Rhonda called for the Green Eye to make his attack, eagerly awaiting their duel.
"Now... make me feel it! Make me feel alive again!" Rhonda said.
Granting her request, the Green Eye rushed towards her, throwing his staff towards her with strikes at speeds faster than lightning. The two superhuman figures continued their strikes towards one another, moving like some twisted form of a dance between gods, with the full knowledge on both parties that this was merely a form of play for Rhonda.
-
Back on the streets of Hillwood...
With the white knight of Hillwood and the massive mafioso armed with nothing more than their bare fists, Valiance and 'Little' Nicky rushed towards each other, both preparing to their fists to be driven into one another. Valiance threw the first punch, only to find it blocked away by 'Little' Nicky, his armored wrist knocking the fist aside.
Eliminating the threat of this strike, 'Little' Nicky threw a punch to Valiance's ribs, with a heavy amount of muscle to back up his punch against the armor. Feeling the fist strike right into the armor, Valiance found himself thrown back and out of breath, just from this one attack.
Preparing himself for the next strike, Valiance took his time to ready for the next attack, slowly taking his time to read his opponent. Likewise, 'Little' Nicky did much of the same, keeping true to his own martial arts training. Slowly circling around Valiance while in his defensive stance, the massive mafioso patiently waited for his next moment to attack.
-
Back at the Hillwood Home for the Emotionally Troubled...
The mutual deadlock of strikes and parries, long as it was lasting, soon came to an end with one simple move. Spinning his staff between Rhonda's hands, the Green Eye knocked her swords from them and thrusted the staff against her stomach, both disarming her and sending her back against the wall.
Taking in the pain delivered to her by the one person her own muddled mind convinced her that she could trust, Rhonda welcomed this pain that was coming to her, making her body start to grow hot and aroused under the attack. Following a couple of eager pants, Rhonda shared her content for the attack.
The Green Eye, while motivated to stop her from taking any more lives, still had his own justification for wanting this fight. Having his body taken advantage of by her, he still had many discontentful emotions regarding the experience, and was more than willing to inflict it back on her... but only in the most enjoyable way possible.
Tossing aside his staff, the Green Eye raised his fists as his weapons in this fight, bringing a smile to Rhonda's face.
"Good. Now we can fight as warriors. Hand to hand: It is the basis of all combat. Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon." Rhonda said.
-
Back on the streets of Hillwood...
Valiance threw another stike towards the towering mass of a man, trying to utilize some basic boxing techniques against his enemy, but found that his strategy was insufficient. Despite a man of his size 'Little' Nicky proved himself to be a much faster opponent than he appeared, as evidenced by Valiance's fist being caught in his enemy's hold.
Sliding forward, 'Little' Nicky drove his elbow to the back of Valiance's head, subsequently grabbing him and throwing him to the ground. Preparing to stomp on his downed enemy, 'Little' Nicky sought to continue his attack by driving his foot straight into Valiance's chest.
Rolling on the ground to avoid the strike, Valiance stood up behind 'Little' Nicky, grabbing him from behind. Using the strength granted to him from his powered armor, Valiance threw his opponent in the air, causing him to flip on his back as he came to a landing on the pavement.
Flipping himself back upright, 'Little' Nicky grabbed at some of his throwing knives, tossing them straight towards Valiance. While managing to dodge one, the other knife embedded itself straight through his armor, hitting a joint within its build and reaching a potential weak spot.
Continuing his attacks with blades, 'Little' Nicky continued throwing more knives towards his enemy, aiming each one with expert precision.
-
Back at the Hillwood Home for the Emotionally Troubled...
Running up to his opponent once more, the Green Eye jumped into the air, crouching his legs up and aiming his knees straight for Rhonda's face. Making good use of her new super-speed, however, she disappeared in a flash, appearing directly behind him and throwing a kick to his back.
Jumping into the air, Rhonda somersaulted mid-flight, preparing to land both her legs straight down onto the Green Eye in a falling kick. His body reacting to defend the attack, the Green Eye crouched up his legs, causing Rhonda to land her feet directly atop of his. With his opponent in place, he extended his legs forward, throwing her against a set of computers.
Crashing into a large computer, Rhonda groaned in pain from the crash, moaning in ecstasy as she collided with the metal. Inserting a finger in her mouth, she lightly sucked against herself, trying to express her own feelings out as they began to build from this battle.
"That's good, Arnold. I felt that." Rhonda said.
"Enough! Is this just a game to you? How you completely tore apart my life so easily?" Green Eye asked.
"What else is there between lovers but games, Arnold? Come on, now, hurt me!"
Jumping and flipping her body back towards the Green Eye, Rhonda threw a punch towards him, only to have him dodge and throw back a series of his own punches, landing each one in her face. Rhonda attempted to counter some of these strikes on her own, but none of her efforts paid off against the Green Eye's dedication to keep fighting her.
Each hit sent carried with it a sense of resentment; hating Rhonda and every part of her being for her crime sending his life into a mess. Not satisfied with this infliction of pain, he threw a roundhouse kick to her head as well, sending her to the ground and crying out in pleasure even further, even giving a few laughs.
"More, Arnold! Hurt me more!" Rhonda shouted.
-
Back on the streets of Hillwood...
With 'Little' Nicky throwing various sharp knives at his enemy, Valiance was forced to flee from the oncoming projectiles, dodging behind the cover of cars, mailboxes, and other various obstacles in the street. Grabbing a newspaper off of the ground, the white knight reapproached the massive mafioso, having an idea to remove the threat of these throwing knives.
Before he could allow his opponent to throw his next pair, Valiance held up the newspaper in front of 'Little' Nicky, catching them both in the fold of the paper. Quickly overcoming the barrier of a mere newspaper, 'Little' Nicky sliced through it, preparing to simply embed his knives directly into Valiance rather than throw them at him; having his enemy right before him making that possible.
Not allowing 'Little' Nicky to do so, Valiance threw a kick to his knee, twisting his kneecap out of place for a full second, providing more than enough pain to the goliath gangster to force him to drop his blades. Grabbing onto his belt of throwing knives, Valiance snatched it off and threw it away, but not before taking a knife for himself.
Using his one commandeered knife, Valiance sliced across 'Little' Nicky's forehead, tossing away the knife once it served its purpose.
"What was that supposed to be?" 'Little' Nicky asked.
"Just the right kind of cut above the eyes. The kind that bleeds." Valiance said.
Feeling a rush of liquid and a vision of red come over his eyes, 'Little' Nicky felt against his face, finding that his hand was covered in his own blood from the touch, confirming Valiance's words. Not allowing this blockage of sight to stop him, he rushed back towards his opponent, reached straight for his armor, and tore off the front chest place with his bare hands.
Having his sight blocked with his own blood running down his face, 'Little' Nicky found his speed moving much slower from the distraction of his bloodied eyesight. Nonetheless, he found the concentration to move on to his next strike, keeping his hand in a spear-like form and driving it into specific parts of Valiance's arm and chest, enacting his next attack.
"That a tickle?" Valiance asked.
"That was a nerve bundle in your deltoid. Might not have hurt, but you won't be moving that arm for a while. Old martial art called 'chi-blocking'." 'Little' Nicky said.
Trying to move his arm again to test his words, Valiance found that he could no longer control it; having gone limp and numb from the attack. Unable to let a partial paralysis stop him, the white knight continued on the fight, moving to throw a punch towards 'Little' Nicky with his remaining functional arm.
-
Back at the Hillwood Home for the Emotionally Troubled...
Caught between a series of mutual kicks towards one another, neither managing to strike each other, only finding their blocks deflected, the Green Eye and Rhonda had reached yet another stalemate in their fight; neither progressing against the other. Unable to accept this boring point of their battle, Rhonda called for the action to continue, needing to keep up her arousal.
"Come on, Arnold. You can do better than that. Really make me excited!" Rhonda said.
Though her sick game left him wanting no part of continuing it, the Green Eye's own need to retaliate against his transgressor left him complying just the same, thinking of a new strategy to keep up the fight. Watching Rhonda throw her leg into a downward kick, he found a way to turn the situation to his advantage, preparing himself to enact his plan.
Letting the leg come down towards him, the Green Eye secured it in his arms tightly, not letting Rhonda go. Keeping his hold on the leg, he spun her around in the air, tossing her into a refrigerator with a glass door, inside it various beakers with unknown fluids and liquids.
Crashing into the refrigerator, her body was subsequently showered in shattered glass and the contents they once held, causing her pain once again. Jumping towards her, the Green Eye prepared to deliver a kick to Rhonda during her downed state, only to watch her move from her place in an instant, but compensated by throwing a back kick with his other leg, successfully hitting her again.
Excited from this surprise hit from her opponent, Rhonda began to breath heavily under the pain she was put under, her body nearly reaching the climax it had been waiting for.
"Yes, that's it, Arnold! I'm almost there! I've been waiting for this pain!" Rhonda said.
-
Back on the streets of Hillwood...
With one giant blinded under his own flowing blood and the other having only one functional arm, Valiance and 'Little' Nicky continued to fight one another, each determined to see the other hit the ground. Using brutal tactics against one another for so long, there was only so much these two old men could do against one another, and only for so much longer could they continue their fight.
Grabbing Valiance by his head, 'Little' Nicky relentlessly kept punching him in the face, his hardened knuckles crushing in the metal of his helmet. Soon, the helmet began to crack under the intense beating it was being put under, beginning to collapse in on itself, with a crack across the face revealing an eye of the man underneath.
Preventing his opponent from continuing this brutal beating, Valiance threw his remaining arm to block the next punch, following it by throwing a punch of his own straight to 'Little' Nicky's nose. With the armored steel of his fist pushing the cartilage of his nose into his skull, 'Little' Nicky's vision blacked out for a split-second, enough to free Valiance and cause his own nose to bleed.
Grabbing at a nearby flaming trash can out of anger, 'Little' Nicky tossed the metal can towards Valiance, causing it to knock him over. Picking himself back up again, the two were once again caught face to face in a dance of punches shared between one another, each aiming to land their fist against the other.
Then, in one moment, both had accomplished that goal; with Valiance and 'Little' Nicky simultaneously hitting each other in the face. Unable to keep fighting each other after this mutual strike, both giants had toppled one another, leading them both to fall to the pavement.
-
Back at the Hillwood Home for the Emotionally Troubled...
Though the two could continue this fight on for ages and ages with their superhuman abilities, the Green Eye and Rhonda knew that this fight had to soon come to an end. Rhonda had especially welcomed such an end to come, needing her body to feel the full consummation of their fight reach its conclusion.
Likewise, the Green Eye also desired for an end to this fight, wanting nothing more than to get his revenge against Rhonda for her wrongdoings and release the disgusting feelings within himself at last. Taking a more aggressive approach, he sought to end the fight accordingly.
Grabbing Rhonda's head, the Green Eye drove it against his knee in a Muay Thai fashion, continuously beating against her skull with all his leg strength. Sending her stumbling back from this attack, he followed this up with a backwards Capoeira kick, spinning his body around and delivering two kicks to her face.
Watching her glowing blue eyes start to glaze over, the Green Eye knew that this fight was all but over now, with only one final blow to go. Charging up all the energy he could into one singularity, he focused all the anger and rage that had been building up inside him straight into his fist, preparing to throw it straight at her. Rhonda, gladly awaiting this punch to come, gave an ever-so little smile, welcoming the attack to come.
Finally, throwing his fist of fury straight into Rhonda's chest, the Green Eye delivered his punch, sending with it so much force that many of her ribs were cracked and her shoulder blade was forced out of place, protruding from her skin. Receiving the last dosage of pain needed, Rhonda finally received her climax, shouting loudly in pleasure as it happened.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Stumbling back and falling against the wall, Rhonda let herself bask in the emotions set forth in her body, coughing up a spot of blood as she soaked in the feelings. Letting out a few pants, she gently caressed at her body, taming these flames that were fanned throughout this battle.
Completely drained of all emotional energy from the fight, the Green Eye fell to his knees, soon leaning back and laying on the adjacent wall. Just as Rhonda was released of her own emotions of ecstasy, he was released of his own negative emotions; the pain of his exploitation beginning to leave him, leaving behind only a wake of tire.
Still, he still did not understand the true meaning of this fight, not knowing what Rhonda would initiate this, and inquired her for an answer between his own breaths.
"Why... did you do this, Rhonda? Why make me... fight you like this? What was the point?" Green Eye asked.
"I'm not sure myself, lover. Maybe I wanted release from my pain... maybe you needed release from yours, and I gave you an outlet. I don't know my own thoughts anymore... all I understand now is what I feel. My mind runs and runs, but it has no guide; no soul. I am nothing more than an animal; a beast dressed as a harlot." Rhonda said.
"Perhaps that problem can be solved." A voice said.
Confused at the sudden appearance of this voice, the Green Eye and Rhonda looked around the room to see where who could have spoken these words, only to find the answer revealing itself in front of them. Making himself visible before the two beings, a spiritual form unknown to them, but known to a select few as Vlad Plasmius, appeared in the room, looking directly at Rhonda.
"You want your soul back? Come and get it." Vlad said.
Flying through the wall as if it were not even there, Vlad disappeared behind the drywall, moving onto somewhere else. Needing to seek the meaning behind this ghost's words, Rhonda rushed out of the room, heading straight to the window outside the room to seek it out.
Floating in mid-air, Vlad ended his pause to continue moving away from the hospital, luring Rhonda away. Eager to find him again, she pursued him, leaping out the window after him. Trying to catch up to the escaping Rhonda, the Green Eye rushed up to the window to catch her, only to find that she and the ghost had disappeared, leaving her lost to him once again.
The anger over this failure was not the main focus on his mind, but instead the sounds of sirens that approached the building. Preparing to make his own leave of the hospital, the Green Eye jumped out the window as well, landing onto the grass below his feet.
Before leaving, however, he still took one last look towards the Freak, hoping that he would still be alive following his torture by Rhonda. Miraculously, he seemed to still be alive; his breathing very shallow, but his body still breathing nonetheless, signalling a sign of life within.
Relieved to know he still had a chance of survival, the Green Eye ran off, seeking shelter away from the law.
-
On the streets of Hillwood, order began to return to the city, with the police beginning to contain the threat and the National Guard on the arrival in the city. With armed boots on the ground to fight against the many guerrilla thugs fighting against the local law enforcement, their attack was snuffed out as fast as it came.
For Valiance and 'Little' Nicky, the two still had to take their time to get up from the ground; both having put up a great fight against one another. When both parties finally reached their way onto their feet once again, the two enemies gave each other a look that made something of a mix between hate and respect; each having a vastly different ideology that could only counter each others', but skill and honor that were dead even.
"Thank you." 'Little' Nicky said.
"For what?" Valiance asked.
"I've not been put down for many years. All this time, I've been the untouchable 'Little' Nicky; never been beaten. You, on the other hand, managed to put me on the ground. You made me bleed. I remember the first time I had a challenge like this, and it was the day I finally became who I was. You made me feel alive again."
"Is this all just a game to you? Just mindless fun and games?"
"No. It's honor to me. Honor and sportsmanship. This world deserves a better class of criminal again, a man of principles and self-respect. If I have to rule in Hell, then I'll rule with class. That's what this is to me."
"Call it what you want. You're the poison to this city, and I'll be there to stop you. If I can't do that... then the Green Eye will."
"I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for the fun."
Knowing that neither were able to keep on fighting, or apprehend one another, the two opponents had no choice now but to flee the scene alone, lest they would also face the coming of the law as well. Going on their separate ways, the white knight and the massive mafioso vowed to meet each other again another day; this affair far from over.
While Valiance had no pleasure in this battle, 'Little' Nicky walked away with a sense of content, and a smile across his face.
-
Continuing her pursuit of the strange ghost, Rhonda chased the ghost from rooftop across rooftop, being led far away from the city as its mess began to be cleaned up. Still driven to find out more from this strange ghost, she pushed herself hard to chase it down, intent on ending its game soon and catching it.
Soon, however, Rhonda found herself alone on this last rooftop; the ghost disappearing without a trace and leaving her without her answer. Angered at the ploy of this image, she called out for the ghost to show itself again, demanding an answer to its statement back in the hospital.
"SHOW YOURSELF! WHERE IS MY SOUL?!" Rhonda shouted.
"I'm right here." A voice said.
Recognizing this voice as her own, as impossible as that statement may seem, Rhonda turned around to its source, finding herself in much surprise. Looking back at her glowing blue eyes was a reflection of herself, staring back at her in a translucent, misty form of a woman.
"I... don't understand." Rhonda's body said.
"It's simple. You... are not you. You're me." Rhonda's soul said.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that you're not a true living being, only a living body." Vlad said.
Appearing once again between the two, Vlad stepped down on the roof, changing back into his human form of Vlad Masters.
"You said it yourself: There's no soul in you, you're just a body. An quiver. An empty shell. When Buckley had used... whatever he used to bring you back, he only brought life to your body. He didn't bringyouback. When you die, your body is laid to rest. The rest of you, your soul, moves on. Your body just happened to be given life again, but it wasn't really 'alive'. Not yet." Vlad said.
"Then... what should I do?" Rhonda's body asked.
"Well, it seems simple, doesn't it? A soul and a body... I think I see the connection, don't you?"
"But what happens to me? Soul or not, I still have my life... my form of it. My own memories, my own feelings, what will become of them?"
"They'll be with my own, and we'll be one person again. Our memories will all be the same, just as we are the same person. We'll always be us." Rhonda's soul said.
Understanding Vlad's statement and her soul's argument, Rhonda's body looked to her soul, which looked back at her with a nod. With no more obstacles, it was time for the soul to return to the body, and life can be complete once again. Dropping her swords, Rhonda's body opened her arms to her soul, allowing it to return to her at last.
"Fine, then. We'll be one again. One life, one body, one soul. So be it." Rhonda's body said.
Taking the initiative as it was given to her, Rhonda's soul re-entered her body, connecting to a vessel of flesh and blood that connected her to the world of the living once again. All senses and sensations returned to her all at once; the soft embrace of her clothes, the cool air around her body, the smell of carbon monoxide in her nose, and the sacred pain of life returned to her at last.
Now, Rhondatrulylives again.
Pleased to see the life returned to this lost soul at last, Vlad gave a content smile, taking pride in helping another person in his life for the first time.
"So, Rhonda, how's it feel to be back?" Vlad asked.
Along with the return of her senses, Rhonda began to feel her memories of her soul and body merge into one, combining the experiences her life and afterlife to be known all at once. Remembering two specific events her body made, Rhonda felt her joy of returning to life interrupted by a damning fate for Hillwood.
"Oh, no! Oh, god, no! What have I done?!" Rhonda panicked.
"What? What's the matter?" Vlad asked.
"I... My body, when it came back... before I left, I took... I took a..."
"Took what?"
"This... I took a... I wanted to make Curly suffer like I did. Like... my body was suffering."
Upon understanding the fact Rhonda was trying to communicate, Vlad's face turned a light pale, knowing very well what she was trying to speak out loud.
"Oh... Oh, Jesus Christ..." Vlad whimpered.
-
Inside the Hillwood Home for the Emotionally Troubled, emergency services began to enter the building, seeing to help anyone left inside the building. As police officers moved through the building to secure it again, paramedics tended to the hiding staff and patients, providing trauma care to those in need.
Upon reaching Room 42A, the officers were met with the mutilated body of the Freak laying on the floor, still just barely breathing under the abuse he was under. One officer checked his pulse to ensure he was still alive, finding his pulse to be severely low, and many lacerations made all over his body.
"We got injured over here. Get a stretcher." The officer said.
As the paramedics retrieved a stretcher, Dr. Scott entered the room to see his patient being placed onto it, immediately rushing to check on him. Before he was able to physically check on the Freak, a policewoman held him back, preventing anyone from interfering with the paramedics.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to stay back." The policewoman said.
"Officer, that's my patient! I need to be with him. I'm Dr. Scott, therapist for the hospital." Dr. Scott said.
The doctor showed his staff I.D. to the policewoman, proving his identity. Checking the card to confirm, she let him continue through to accompany the Freak.
"Okay, go on." The policewoman said.
"Thank you. Hey, you! Careful, he's completely paralyzed, don't move him so much!" Dr. Scott said.
"Relax, pal. Even if he wasn't paralyzed, I doubt he would've walked again anyways, after all this abuse he was under. Looks like he'll be going straight to surgery." A paramedic said.
As the room was now secure, the officers had no need to be in this room; having other parts of the hospital to secure. However, for one particular officer, there was an object that caught his eye on the floor, leading him to investigate it. Crouching up to the object and inspecting it, trying to deduce what it was.
"What the hell is this thing supposed to be?" The officer pondered.
The object was a syringe with a few drops of blood remaining inside, labelled 'Sample #6', with a brand of 'Membrane Labs' written on it.
