User blog:Baluar/Let's settle this... Chapter 14, once and for all, plus epilogue...

I can't believe 2014 is ending... time just goes away really fast from us. Anyway, here's the last part of the fanfic I've been writing over this... year?

Thing is, I'd like it if you gave your opinion, not of the chapter, but of the story as a whole (yeah, that includes you, Lyrr! Oh, and if you read it all, give your opinion as well, Ken). Oh, and if you want, about the chars too. I won't mind if you criticate something... critics are more than welcome, since I'll see what I did wrong and try to correct what I did bad here.

But hey, you're here for the story (... maybe. Maybe you're just here randomly. Or maybe you thought there was free Coca-Cola or something. Sorry to break it to you, but there isn't. And if there was, I'd drink it all), so here we go with the story. Since this blog will be much longer than average (chapter 14, which on its own lasts a little bit over twice as much as any other chapter, plus the epilogue, shorter than a chapter, but still of 450 words or so), I broke it up into two headings. Here you go:

Grand Finale... this is chapter 14
This is serious, but all I can do is keep doing what’s expected of me, and expect that Sakaki finishes his cure in time (I told him to make the cure so that it completely erases our Aragami side, rather than suppressing its side effects. I won’t take any chances). It simply tries to convince me that I actually desire power, something utterly senseless, but ignoring him eventually makes him shut up. And Nia suffers from another It as well, only that hers is female, so it appears that these Aragami became the darker side of our personality.

Eventually comes a quest where I am forced to enter my Aragami form to prevent some random Ogretail from reaching the Outer Ghetto (my Aragami form gives me the speed boost I need to overcome the advantage the beast has over me. And yeah, I have run out of OP) and cause destruction. Oh my, why? While I do obliterate the Ogretail (a blaze Vajratail, actually), It manifests in a physical shape, outside me (a human shape, but entirely jet black). While I am afraid that he’ll instantly begin causing havoc around, his blurriness when compared to the environment makes me realize that he is an illusion caused by my head (that doesn’t make his evil grin any less creepy). But instantly, the whispers I had heard in the beginning become extremely powerful. Their voices force me to cause the havoc I had feared he’d do, and I barely manage to control them, but I only can throw myself to the floor in hopes it ends eventually. I obviously try to return to my natural form, but I can’t: my will isn’t strong enough.

I stay that way for hours, slowly becoming aware that “it” is devouring (never better said: he’s an Aragami, after all) my resistance to do what he says. I open my eyes briefly, and I see that Nia was by my side. She is obviously wondering what she could do, and then she decided to hug me. That gave me enough to be able to slap out of It’s influence, but not before he could say:

-[Hmm. You really are powerful. Never had I thought a human could offer so much resistance. But the time will come when I will finally be able to overcome your petty attempts of denying true power.]

-[Three words: go to hell.] – Yeah, that is all I could say.

I become aware that, despite having returned to my normal form, I see everything with a reddish touch. It is definitely hell-bent on taking over me. And so I decide to join Sakaki in his quest of creating a cure. Because I don’t think it’s a good idea to try to protect people while half of me wants to obliterate said people.

In a relatively short time (2 or 3 weeks), we manage to develop a cure. But how it works is unknown to us. All Nia and I can do is go to the Training Area 2, join our hands, while some of our most trusted friends (the rest of the 1st Unit) watches over us, so we don’t cause any disaster during the effect of the cure, and finally take it. It’s just like a Restore pill, but it tastes very, very bitter. Suddenly, my left hand, the one I’m holding Nia’s right hand with, grows a black thing, like spikes, and a decent share of pain to complete the set. Decent enough to KO both of us.

We wake up, not anymore in the physical world, for what I can see. It’s apparent that we’re in a corrupted version of the Training Area 2, covered in something similar to that thing in the Infernal Subways.

-You’ve come. Both of you. That’s better. No need of wasting time, showing you the error in your ways. Power, ultimate power, is the only true goal in life, in whatever life one speaks of. – That voice. It is It. But it sounds more female than before. Oh. It must be because Nia’s mind and my own are connected, so it’s probable that both "Its" are connected as well. – Now, what better way to show you how power works that using it to crush your consciences with it? – And he (or she?) shows up. Black body, red eyes, half male and half female body, levitating over the ground, whatever you’d expect from a cliché villain. Although describing it doesn’t make justice to it… he/she’s as scary as one could imagine. Which isn't much, really, 'cause I am not that creative.

As expected, we battle (our God Arcs conveniently are aside us). However, it isn’t exactly a battle in our favor. Even though we are two against one, It still has more than enough to kick our asses. It’s not very pleasant to describe, really, but it seems like he/she can easily see our moves coming, and act to counteract them with little to no effort. If I swing my sword from behind and Nia from the front, It moves away just in time so the swords clash and we have to recover from the strike, moment in which he/she attacks. He/She can also dodge any bullet we throw to him/her with ease, so after a while we simply rush to melee, with no better results. Eventually, we finish battered, while It stands towering over us. It is obvious It had a point. Knowing so, It says:

-Now, give in to true power. Accept the gift that I commended to you, so long ago, in Antarctica. Too bad that my power can only be in one body. – What in the name of…? He’s that Ouroboros? Damn, this is getting weird.

-So… it’s you! Weren't you dead? I... absorbed your core!. – I answer.

-No. It was my plan all along. When I roared, and all but you fled, I knew you were the right candidate to host my power. Your unexploited potential is colossal.

-Why... would you get in a human body?

-I could pass unnoticed easier, and herald doom without anyone knowing it. But now, it’s time to finish this. My power is limited because of your bond. So, it’s time for you, woman, to die. – He/She waves a hand, and Nia suddenly goes unconscious, while I get almost paralyzed.

-Don’t you dare… touch her…

It obviously does whatever the hell he/she wants (my battered looks take off me whatever intimidating capacities I had before). It appears Nia’s conscience is being drained bit by bit, while she screams horribly. That was enough for me. It has all gone too far.

-Get your hands off her, you MONSTER! – I grab the first God Arc I have nearby (Nia’s one), and jump probably 3 meters to reach him, and go through the middle of his/her body with the Arc. He/She definitely didn’t see that coming. I cause It a serious cut in the mid body (just shy of splitting him/her in half), and fall to the ground just in time to catch Nia and avoid her to fall head-first into the ground.

The scream of agony that came thereafter almost caused my ear to bleed. It simply collapsed to the ground, and screamed:

-NOOOOOOO!! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!! I will…

-You thought you had power… Try to see if it works in hell. – I simply pierce his/her head with the Arc, and throw it away. It is not going to scream anytime soon. And go see if Nia’s alright. Suddenly, the corruption around us begins to fall apart, and we’re in Training Area 2 again, while our friends enter through the door, battered but alright, unlike us, who are in real need of medical assistance, especially Nia, who is in a semi-comatose state. Curiously, I realize that we had never been in our minds (later, I was told that the 1st Unit had fought with the bastard, and got owned), and that the doctor I had never seen ‘till I got head-cracked was with our colleagues. He said, while grabbing Nia:

-No worries. She’ll be fine. We’ll have her alright again in no time. I promise.

I assent, and collapse to the ground. It’s too much for me to remain conscious.

Epilogue...
I was later told by Robb and Lili, who both insisted to become part of the first Unit, that Nia and I somehow transformed into our Aragami forms and then “shed” our Aragami part, which immediately transformed into the monstrosity I had just killed. It's weird, but I'm glad it's over.

I later realize that, though painful, the cure was fully functional. We both lost our capacity to morph into Aragami and with it any collateral effects it could have. Well, most of them. Some residual effects remain forever, though, like a noticeable increase in strength and resilience, and the fact that neither of us needs an Armlet. Oh, and the fact that we are now compatible with each other’s God Arc, too. (Although that perhaps came from before, given how similar we are. I never tried to wield her God Arc before, nor the other way around…)

So I am in the hospital, after a day or so of being bedridden, while Nia had to stay more since she was the one who got the worst part of our battle. I have no idea of what to do... until I remember what she always did to me – give a hug. When I do so, I feel something that I had not felt since long ago, yet is as familiar to me as the air I am breathing – a Resonance. Nia instantly awakes, and she returns the hug as well.

A few months later

Even after all the traumatic events we had passed through, the entire 1st Unit feels like we need a change. It has been almost 2 years since we recovered Lindow, and we just need to do something. Then, my high rank finally serves me for something, and I overhear that Fenrir is planning to create a mobile Branch that hunts for the most dangerous Aragami – something that they’re planning to call Cradle.

The entire 1st Unit tried to enroll, but one of us had to stay behind. Kota was the most willing, since he has his family here, but that doesn’t prevent him – or us – from shedding tears at the departing. We promise we’ll come back every time we can, and he promises he’ll do his best to keep the Far East Branch safe so we can return whenever we want. And Robb had to stay, too… they’re going to form a unit called “Blood”, and he’s a potential member.

And so we stop calling the Far East Branch our permanent home. Although that should give me a life without too much trouble, since FEB is the center of pretty much every trouble Fenrir ever has, I’ve always known deep inside me that a quiet life is probably not what I have, as they say, in store…

[http://godeater.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Baluar/Oh,_right,_the_teaser_of_the_2nd_part... Oh, right, you might wanna read this as well...]