Episode 33: Resolution's Revenge

[Markus Hederick]

Markus stomached that entire explanation for why he was about to be put six feet under. He heard her loud and clear. He looked at his BrawlX and considered using the DNA Stimulus, but there was no reason to bring out lethal power against Roxy. Killing her now would prove that everything she thought about Markus was correct. This was a girl that was suffering from two major cases of post-traumatic stress disorder. Even if this was a dire situation, why should someone like this be sacrificed when there's not even a guarantee he is getting his family back anyway?

Markus nodded as he accepted things for what they were. He had to make a comeback or the Hurranians won't have to kill him themselves.

"Gargulion, we have to go," Markus signaled, hoping his partner was on his way to getting up before Aquarius shoots him.

"Yeah..." Gargulion got himself together. Pieces of his body started to trickle down after being broken. He didn't plan on becoming as broken as Roxy though.

"This is really sad, but I'm going to be honest with you, Roxy. I did like you, and I cared a lot," Markus confessed. "That's why I'm going to bring you down. The way you are now is completely different from the person I've known. It's okay for you to criticize who I socialized with. I don't need to be told again how wrong I was for being apart of that. That's just how life is. You have the choice to do right like how I've done to distance myself from anything remotely close to a terrorist, or you can choose to do wrong, like what Kyuki has sentenced us to do to each other right here. If wrong is what you want to do, then that's what you do."

Markus strongly returned to his feet despite being heavily wet from the earlier attack. He swiped a card on his BrawlX to combat Aquarius' transformation of herself and the battlefield. "Ability activate! Ventus Frame!"

Gargulion broke his body down in order to perform a process much like Aquarius' restructuring of her body, except that he was the one who made it cool. The new one he equipped was the bat body from the previous evolution, but with the sleeker wing design and sharp spikes along the design that aided in his flight and conductive capabilities. He would have went with the Aquos Frame, but what's the point if Gargulion can't get in the water yet?

"You can come at me with all you have, and I'm going to stay right here and fight you like you want. I'm going to show you that I care about you by not allowing you to go through with this. That's my way of protecting you, being there for you when you need someone: me."

(Boss Theme 2)

[Roxy Grimm]

"Awww. How sweet," Roxy played off. That was the first time Markus had actually confessed his feelings for her. It was a shame the tension became this tight before he manned up enough to say it. "Too bad it's too late for you to sweet talk me."

As for the ability Aquarius was concocting to strike Gargulion prior to his body change, Roxy officially declared its activation. "Ability activate! Water's Edge!"

A sphere of water encompassed the entire tip of Aquarius' tail. Rather than launching the entire mass as she would in her base form, Aquarius held it together at that spot. Medium-sized bullets of water began flowing out of it like a river. The bombardment it would create would surely be enough to render foes hit by this immobile at the sight of their bodies being crushed by the water pressure and the velocity at which they traveled. Knowing Markus, the likelihood of him surviving the attack may have increased with Gargulion switching bodies.

[Markus Hederick]

"Alright. You got me in the first round. Now here's the second, where everything is going to count. Gargulion, fly!" Markus was now intently focused on getting the win here. What he didn't know before costed him, but now that he does know, he won't make the same mistakes again.

Gargulion's Ventus Frame made him quick enough to evade Aquarius' water bullets without too much difficulty. It was great that Gargulion was fast enough to dodge them. Neither of them wanted to test the waters of what would happen if he gets hit by anything Roxy dishes out from here on out.

"This is rather complicated. There's an abnormal stinger, a pool of water with a barrier over it, and an armored scorpion underneath. That's a triple threat," Markus deduced.

The only one of those threats Markus knew he could attack was the tail, so that was his first target.

"Here it goes. Ability activate! Void Ripper!" Gargulion's right arm was covered in energy, giving it the appearance of a blade. The Ventus attribute's influence would give him the ability to use it as a ranged attack as opposed to getting in close, which was something he didn't feel too comfortable to do just yet. After flying around sporadically to mess up Aquarius' aim, he straightened himself out and swiped his right arm. The slash came out as a projectile of the same shape and sliced cleanly through the tail. Markus then observed it crashing into the water.

"There was a barrier up a second ago. So that means..."

"Double-Edged Stinger, huh? More like Double-Edged Sword," Gargulion insulted. He materialized another Void Ripper in his left hand and shot straight down. His speed was so great that it split the water into two halves when he descended. He smashed the blade into Aquarius, injuring her enough to break her improved shell down a layer. He then jammed his feet onto her head and used that as a cushion to jump straight back up into the air before the water smothered him.

Markus didn't want to come out and say this, but it was obvious that swimming with the Ventus Frame was simply too much to ask for...

"So that's your technique's weakness..." Markus realized. "Aquarius' stinger is the one that keeps the barrier active, and you reinforced her shell beforehand to make it more difficult for me to win if I found out about it. Not bad. Not bad at all."

[Roxy Grimm]

"H-how!? He just cut my tail off like it was nothing!" Aquarius complained from underwater. The water distorted her voice a little, so it wasn't very audible. It was fortunate for her that the fusion ability made her able to regenerate the lost limb. Scorpions normally wouldn't be able to do so, and had Aquarius not used this ability, she would have had that same flaw as the animal until she did use this ability. It sucked, but that's how it was.

"Tsk...you...!" Roxy was surely unhappy with Markus discovering the mechanics behind her technique that quickly. It was not supposed to be that easy to sever the tail. What was powering Markus to the degree that he would be able to do that, or was he just that strong?

The nice thing was that the field was reset back to normal, except for Aquarius' shell being broken down. Roxy couldn't allow that to happen anymore or she'd be in serious trouble.

"Double ability activate! Tide's Tail plus Water Flow!" Aquarius' tail was reinforced by a protective covering of Aquos energy that not only made it more durable, but easier to move around. Its use was made so much easier with the knowledge that Aquarius can now use it to strike faster. Add that with the constant pressure from a pressurized cannon of sorts coming from Aquarius underneath and Gargulion would have to continue moving to not get pulverized.

[Markus Hederick]

Markus was receiving well-deserved cheers from the audience for rising to the occasion and making a much-needed comeback. He had to keep this momentum going for the people that he cared about.

"I know. I'm annoying. A lot of my opponents tell me that," Markus added on. "You should get used to it if you're not as powerful as you looked before I adjusted my brawling style."

Gargulion would have liked to be able to see everywhere, but he couldn't. The attack from underneath the water was impossible to see coming when there's a powerful stinger trying to get in his face. Being hit by either of them would spell disaster. Markus would dare say that Roxy was stronger than him in terms of power in his current state.

"Ability activate! Aero Gargoyle!" As the signature ability of the Ventus Frame, this one was going to be a big move for Markus. It was an adaptation of Gargulion's Soul Eater ability, except that it didn't function as a siphon of power. What it did was make his body the figurative eye of a storm that would spread from his body to the outside.

The winds brought by this were strong enough to ward off the attack from underwater and slow the tail down enough to where he could safely move out of the way; however, the tail was progressively getting closer to him due to how strong it was, so he couldn't stay in that one place forever.

"I don't mean to be demeaning with this one, but it's getting done anyway. Ability activate! Gargoyle's Revenge!" Gargulion swiftly flew past the stinger and shot a concussive shotgun-style blast from his mouth at the staggered tail, around the middle of it. This turned that portion of the tail into stone. The wind power from Aero Gargoyle aided him in taking the tail apart simply by tapping the cemented location. As the tail fell, he went to the side of it and blew a gust of wind on it in such a way that its trajectory would change. From this action, the powerful stinger actually ended up on top of Aquarius' shell, seriously breaking it until one quarter of it was left.

"The name of the ability was fitting, wasn't it?" Markus asked in reference to Gargulion getting his revenge from being struck by it earlier.

[Roxy Grimm]

"...D-did he just hold a grudge?" Out of all of the things Gargulion could have hit her with, he chose to do it with her own tail? That had to be a personal attack.

"Alright...that's it..." Roxy had just about enough of Markus mocking her in battle. Aquarius stuck the large stinger into the drink and injected a lethal dosage of poison into it. This was to make any attack that comes to the surface have that same toxin to use against Gargulion, and should the water touch him, he would be very desperate to find something to cling to for his life.

"Ability activate! Scorpion Shoot Down!" This was going to shape up to be the most lethal ability in Roxy's arsenal while Aquarius is in this mode. Why? Because the ability grew two additional copies of the same tail, so now there were three gargantuan tails in the battle. That also meant that all three of them controlled the application of the barrier.

"I can't let you win! You got that!?" All three stingers faced upwards and continuously shot needle-like blasts at Gargulion that seemed like it was going to continue forever.

[Markus Hederick]

"I hear you," Markus acknowledged. He seemed confident in knowing that he was going to end up winning the brawl anyway. "Fusion ability activate! Penumbra Chain!"

Fusing with Shade Winger, this split Gargulion's shadow into five. Each of these would reenact an action made by Gargulion previously. By combining with Gargulion, they bestowed those acts upon him so he could use them all at once. What happened to him now included: dense shroud of darkness covering him for enhanced strength, Gargoyle's Grudge; his hands becoming blades, Void Ripper; his fast movement creating a reaction that would trigger a concussive blast; Gargoyle's Revenge; his body being able to repel any foreign object that would try to strike his body, Mirror Shot; and his body being able to zip straight down instantaneously like a lightning bolt, Aero Gargoyle.

With all of these latent abilities, he drove through the obstacles and into the water. All of those poisonous needles bounced off of him. His speed was so great that his start created a blast that turned all three tails into stone. The wind blast that it also created blew the statues apart and opened up the gateway into the water, which he easily parted with his blades.

In front of Gargulion was his target, the scorpion that had caused this much of a fuss in the battle. It was time for her to go.

"So this is the limit of your power?" Gargulion wondered. He charged straight ahead to knock the scorpion out.

[Roxy Grimm]

Roxy was truly astonished that Markus was dangerously close to beating her. It all turned around so fast. She couldn't think of anything else to say now that it all just punched her in the face. She became desperate to get away with this now. Her next ability...may literally be her final stand.

"A-ability activate! Final Stand!" Roxy could only hope that this ability would give Aquarius enough of a push to survive Gargulion's assault while the waters start returning to normal. Gargulion's push would not let him escape in time, so if that happens, she would win because the nullification properties of the water in this mode would destroy his body and deprive him of the strength needed to stand up to Aquarius.

Aquarius summoned a lot of strength to be able to push herself to this point, more than she had ever done before. She put her pincers up and stabilized herself into the ground. She was to remain stationary. Any movement would let Gargulion throw her around any way he pleased, and then it would be all over for her.

[Markus Hederick]

Gargulion delivered a high-speed jab at Aquarius with his blade, but it was only enough to shatter the remaining portions of her shell due to her using the ability she just used. Now Gargulion was actually in danger of being killed because of the water coming back to normal.

"You sound a bit flustered over there, Roxy," Markus noticed with a cocky grin on his face. "So this was the limit to what you could do? That's too bad. You've hit the peak of your power while I haven't tapped into mine yet."

Markus' plan B in case this would happen was a very simple one, the one ability he has that makes him have more control over the battlefield than Roxy's ability does.

"This is it. Ability activate! Shrouded Obscurity!" Gargulion conjured a black orb in between the palms of his hands and then held it straight up. He chose to disperse it in his hands from where they were standing because he did not want a single drop touching him before the sphere's effects spread properly.

Once this was done, Aquarius' vicinity was clouded in a dark sky. As long as that was seen, they were in Gargulion's domain, and as long as they were in Gargulion's domain, they were subject to everything he could do in there. To ensure that he ended the battle, Gargulion wiggled out of his Ventus body and appeared before Aquarius in his spirit form. He then transitioned to his humanoid stature.

"Good effort," Gargulion applauded Aquarius as consolation for what he was about to do to her. He held his right hand up and amassed a lot of energy within his body before the particular space his Shrouded Obscurity had imploded on itself and erased the entirety of the arena.

[Roxy Grimm]

Roxy jumped up when the explosion occurred. The battle space was literally in ruins because of what Gargulion just did. All of the water was blown out of existence; there wasn't a single drop left. All she knew was that Markus' life gauge went down by 100 points on the scoreboard. When she saw that amount decreasing, she thought she had beat him. Anyone would believe that.

The only problem was that the decrease stopped. That shouldn't have happened from what Roxy wanted to accomplish. If Gargulion were defeated in the manner that was about to be portrayed, Markus' life gauge would have hurried to zero. The fact that it didn't made her afraid.

She didn't have time to contemplate what that meant for her as a result of it. All she saw was a battered scorpion being sent flying toward her with the stinger looking like it would pierce right through her body if they made contact. Aquarius was not going back into ball form, and she was coming too fast for Roxy to dodge it. From this, she screamed...

[Markus Hederick]

In a split second, Gargulion's spirit form appeared right in front of Roxy. He stopped the stinger with just one finger...ONE. He then grabbed it to hold Aquarius above his head. As painful as that must have been for Aquarius, it was nothing compared to what Gargulion was going to do next to finish her off.

"Scary, huh?" Gargulion asked Roxy to make light of the fact that she was nearly skewered. While still having eye contact with her, he casually tossed Aquarius high into the air so she could land in the large crater headfirst. This act was more than enough to send her back into ball form and lock her in there. The damage from Gargulion was so great that she had to seal herself in that state for a while.

The audience didn't erupt into a frenzy over Markus' apparent victory yet. They were utterly shocked at what Markus just revealed to them. The public was not aware of their new powers yet, so it came as a surprise to them that he showed this level of strength when he previously didn't have it.

[Roxy Grimm]

Roxy's life gauge hit zero. That wasn't something that needed to be said since it was easily suggested to based on what just happened to Aquarius. It wasn't even a contest when that form of Gargulion's got brought out. He made both her and Aquarius sit down without even breaking a sweat.

"Markus...you..." It was difficult for Roxy to accept that she lost like this. After everything she said and did in this fight, she was afraid for Gargulion to be within close proximity of her. She tried to have him killed, and now he was standing there in front of her. If he taps her the wrong way, she will end up dead instead.

"You're just that much stronger than me..." When she said that, Gargulion stepped towards her. She was too scared to move. The audience was wondering what Markus was intending to do and why the referee was allowing that to happen. From the looks of it, she was sure none of them could stop Markus even if they tried. He was leagues above them all.

[Markus Hederick]

"Yeah, I guess you can say that," Markus responded. He didn't want to have to show that Gargulion was capable of doing that, but he didn't want to make the mistake of not finishing Aquarius off in that exchange.

Most people would say that Markus is permitted to some form of vengeance right now. She didn't hide the fact that she tried to kill him. For someone thought to be weak, she put up a tough fight and may have succeeded in doing so had Markus choked like he did so many times in the past, at least that what's Tank thought he did. He didn't go that route though, and no one - not even the Resistors or the Silver Knights - told him what he should or shouldn't do. They all just let him do what he was going to do.

Gargulion took a quick glance back and saw that there wasn't a trace of anger in Markus' eyes. This told Gargulion what not to do to Roxy, so he surprised everyone by wrapping his right arm around Roxy like he was taking her somewhere. "He must LOVE you. You're a lucky one," Gargulion teased.

He soul stepped to bring Roxy right in front of Markus. Gargulion didn't let go of Roxy just yet. Until he knew for sure her will to kill was gone, she was going to stay right where she was.

"You're crying..." Markus noticed a tear rolling down her left eye when she was brought to him. "I told you I would show you that I cared, didn't I? I meant what I said. I don't want to hurt you; I want to help you. We don't have to walk away from each other as mortal enemies..."

[Roxy Grimm]

Roxy was terrible at not letting her emotions show. She definitely didn't want to cry because she was desperately trying to maintain the persona that she was strong. It just came out forcefully, like she was bottling up those emotions for far too long.

"You want...to help...me...?" Roxy acknowledged Markus as being serious about what he was saying. He proved to be very persistent to stick around this long or, in this situation, outright maim or kill her for the attempt she made at doing it to him. Then there was this next question:

"But why...? Why are you still caring about me after all of this? Why...?" It was a legitimate question that she was sure Markus had a legitimate answer for.

[Markus Hederick]

"Because...I know you," Markus answered. "I know you well enough to know the kind of person that's lying underneath all of the struggles you've had. This coward gets it. From the moment all of that stuff happened to you, you had no one else to help you find hope, except for yourself. You wanted to become stronger than me so you could prove a point. You didn't want anyone to call you a weakling because it hurt you so much to be compared to me."

Gargulion's eyes widened at the thought that Markus interpreted it that way, and it actually made a lot of sense. That is essentially what Roxy wanted Markus to feel. She considered him useless, and her motivation for getting to this level was to make Markus feel the true pain of what happens when you fail. She didn't want to be that person; she wanted to become powerful enough to not have to bother with anyone else, because she couldn't trust anyone to begin with. She also mentioned her family being killed by the Hurranians. That extra event made it even worse.

"Well...I admit defeat. You succeeded in reminding me of how that feels, and you've shown that you were stronger than me all along," Markus conceded. "You came all the way here after losing it all and put up that much of a fight even when people were against you. That's more than I could say for what you saw in me."

"You don't have to tackle life on your own anymore. There's nothing more you need to prove. And you're not a toy." Markus took his wallet out and took the picture of him and Roxy's younger selves out. The water damage didn't make the picture any more clearer, but they could still be seen. "You're the person who made me into who I am right now. You're my friend."