by Max Jager
I remember it all like it happened…just this past year… All the birthday parties… All the games I watched you and Scarlet play together… There was never any sign…or…hint…that you would become the type of person that would do what you did…the kind of person I could hate...detest...despise…
Here's the thing, Car… Even though I never showed it…I will always…value our time together… I loved you so…much…and yet…my love for you does not change my feelings about what you did… Make no mistake… I will not forgive you… You will pay for what you've done… You have to pay…but…not now, Car… My hatred for you is not yet so great that I can take your life without a second thought…so move on from this…and live your life as best you can…so that if…when…I return…I can take from you…what you took from me… So I can make you hurt…just as much as you have hurt me… So that I can make you feel the anguish…and agony…that I will feel every day for the rest of my life… A day of reckoning will come…and I swear to you, Bandit…I swear to you…
…you willsuffer.
The Dichotomy
Bandit tried to strike his brother in the face when he closed in on him, but Red quickly swerved to evade the attack, and tried to strike the back of Bandit's head with one of his sticks. Despite not directly facing Red, Bandit knew the attack was coming, so he ducked to avoid the blow, quickly spun around, and tried to jab Red in his stomach. Red once again swerved to dodge the attack, and tried to punch Bandit in the face, but Bandit performed a backflip in order to dodge the punch.
Now's my chance! thought Red, seeing an opportunity to strike his little brother down, It's over!
While Bandit was in the air, Red shot two bolts of lightning at him from his fingertips, but despite the fact that he was not on solid ground, Bandit dodged both lightning bolts by maneuvering his body through the air at just the right time.
Damn it! thought Red as he jumped at Bandit and swung one of his sticks at his face.
Bandit swiftly ducked to evade the blow, and quickly punched Red in the stomach. It was just a quick punch, though, not a powerful one, so Red was able to recover from it with ease.
Red swung a stick at Bandit, but Bandit swung his staff at him at the same time, so the two weapons clashed against each other. They tried to strike each other thrice more with their respective weapons, but their weapons clashed against each other those times as well.
Red tried to kick Bandit in the stomach, but Bandit quickly backed up to dodge his kick, and swung his staff at his legs in an attempt to knock him down. Red jumped up to avoid the blow, however, and when he landed, the two swung their respective weapons at each other. They both managed to dodge the other's weapon, but Bandit quickly reached his hand out, grabbed onto Red's stick, and yanked it towards him, causing Red to grunt in surprise, for he was jerked forward as a result. Bandit proceeded to knock him into the air with his staff, but when he tried to follow up with another attack, Red kicked him in the face, sending Bandit stumbling back so he could land on the ground safely.
Shit! thought Bandit as he swung his staff at his brother furiously.
Red swung his own weapon at him, and the two clashed weapons once again. Bandit tried to kick him in the stomach, but he swerved to evade the kick, grabbed onto Bandit's leg, lifted him into the air, and slammed him on the ground. He tried to stomp on his head right after, but Bandit quickly rolled away before he could, and grunted as he immediately stood back up. He knocked Red down with a low spinning sweep kick, but before Red could hit the ground, he grabbed onto his head, picked him up, and slammed his body onto the ground three times, before getting right on top of him, and punching him in the face repeatedly.
"Red!" he yelled as he did so, "You better stop fighting back! I'm not gonna stop beating you until you do!"
After having punched him in the face five times, he was about to punch him in the face a sixth time, when a bloody Red quickly punched him in the nose, causing his blood to fly in the air. Red proceeded to knock Bandit off him, quickly got on top of him, and began returning Bandit's brutality by repeatedly punching him in the face the same way Bandit had to him.
"Just shut the hell up!" he yelled furiously, "What the hell is the matter with you? She meant something to both of us! At least she should have meant something to both of us! Yet, for some strange reason, while I'm angry and hurt, you act like you don't even care about what happened! But I'm going to make you care! I'm going to make you hurt so much, you'll come to understand how I feel! I'm trying to make this land a better place so that no one ever suffers the way she had to, and the sooner you understand that, and the sooner you finally understand my feelings, the sooner I stop pummeling you!"
After having been punched in the face five times, Bandit, whose face was now bloody and swollen, quickly grabbed onto his brother's neck, and grunted as he forced Red off him. Red grabbed Bandit's neck in retaliation, but this did not stop Bandit from getting back on his feet.
"You…idiot!" yelled Bandit as he choked his brother, "God damn it, of course I know how you feel, and of course she meant something to me! Damn it, she meant everything to me! But that wouldn't give me the right to act the way you've been! Just because you're hurting doesn't mean you get to justify any of your evil actions!"
Gasping for breath, Red knocked Bandit off him by punching him in the face, and proceeded to punch him in the nose with a powerful blow, breaking it instantly. Bandit yelled in extreme pain, but the pain did not stop him from grabbing Red's outstretched fist, pulling him towards him, and knocking him several yards back with a fierce kick to the stomach that made him grunt in great pain. Red coughed up blood as he watched his brother charge at him, and angrily gritted his teeth.
"You're really asking for it now!" he yelled with murderous intent, "I don't care how capable you think you are in combat! I'm the one who taught you how to fight! I'm the reason you became so strong in the first place! What the hell makes you think I'd lose to you?"
He tried to front kick Bandit in the face, but Bandit ducked to avoid the blow. Bandit proceeded to grab onto his neck, picked him up, and quickly slammed him onto the ground. He tried to jab his staff into Red's eye, but Red immediately rolled away to avoid the blow, and leapt back on his feet.
Red tried to strike him in the head with his stick, but Bandit ducked to evade the blow. Bandit tried to trip Red up with another low spinning sweep kick, but Red jumped up to avoid his attack, and tried to kick him in the face. Bandit swerved to evade the kick, and punched Red in the stomach as soon as he landed on the ground, sending Red stumbling back a few inches. Bandit charged at him, and swung his staff at his head, but Red ducked to avoid his attack, and swung his sticks at Bandit. Bandit swung his staff at him at the same time, and the two clashed their weapons against each other for twenty seconds, during which the only blow that connected was a punch Bandit threw at Red's face.
After those twenty seconds, Red quickly backed up to gain to distance between him and Bandit, but Bandit immediately blurred at him, unwilling to give Red any chance to plan his next move. Red tried to kick him in the stomach, but Bandit grabbed his leg with one hand, and delivered a powerful front kick to his face, causing him to grunt in pain as he accidentally dropped both of his fighting sticks.
Red tried to punch Bandit in the face with his left hand, but Bandit blocked his attack with his staff. He tried to punch Bandit with his other fist, but Bandit used his free hand to grab onto his fist, and let go of his staff so he could grab onto both of Red's fists. Red grunted as he shook his arms in an attempt to free himself from his restraints, while Bandit gritted his teeth and glared at him.
"Enough!" he yelled as he clutched Red's fists even tighter, "It's over!"
Red grunted at the pain, and looked at Bandit's hands in shock, for he had no idea just how strong his brother had become after all of these years. His raw physical strength was truly unnatural, and could probably only be surpassed by ten percent of the world's inhabitants.
Ah…! D
amn it…! He's…just as strong as…ever…! I… I can't…break away from him…!
Red truly thought Bandit was trying to break his hands, but that thought quickly vanished when Bandit headbutted him in the nose three times, causing him to experience excruciating pain as blood splattered all over the lower half of his face. Bandit quickly let go of his fists, and Red screamed in great pain when Bandit punched him twice, once in the face, and again in the neck. Red stumbled back as he held his neck, and fell to his knees.
Meanwhile, Bandit jumped back, took in an incredibly deep breath, and bellowed in Red's direction, releasing a massive blast of icy air and snow from his mouth that spanned a wide area.
Red's eyes widened in great surprise as he watched Bandit's attack head straight for him, and despite the pain he felt in his neck, he quickly took his hands off it, and raised his hands into the air.
As soon as Bandit's attack struck him, he summoned multiple, gigantic bolts of lightning down from the sky, and made them continually strike his body. This did not hurt him, however; instead, it raised the amount of heat his body possessed, so as Bandit's attack enveloped his body, the intense heat the lightning put into his body prevented him from being frozen by it. He did this for ten seconds, and as he did so, his body gave off steam because the heat of his body was clashing with the cold of Bandit's attack.
Shit! he thought as he gritted his teeth and looked at the steam around him, I can't see! I have to get out of this steam before he attacks me again!
As soon as he had this thought, however, it was too late. A small arrow of ice buried itself into his chest, and he screamed in agony as it did so, and fell to his knees. He panted heavily as he looked down at his chest and watched blood ooze from his wound.
Car…mine…!
He gasped when he sensed something coming at him from his right side, but as soon as he stood up to evade the unidentified flying object, the object, Bandit, punched him right in the face, sending him flying yards away, and out of the steam.
Red groaned as he went flying through the air, and watched as Bandit leapt after him. He raised his hands into the air, and summoned a lightning bolt down to strike him, but Bandit swerved to dodge the bolt, and Red watched as Bandit quickly created a spear of ice, and held it firmly in his hands.
This is it! thought Bandit as he prepared to hurl his weapon at his flesh and blood.
Red pointed his finger at Bandit right before he was about to throw his spear, and used some of his remaining strength to shoot a powerful bolt of lightning right at him, the most powerful lightning bolt he had produced all day. Unprepared for this attack, Bandit screamed as the lightning struck his body, and in his agony, he dropped his spear.
Red landed on his feet a moment later, and blurred at Bandit with all he had. Bandit managed to recover from Red's blow somewhat quickly, but as soon as he did, Red was right in front of him, with a clenched fist. He clenched his own fist, and the two yelled as they aimed to punch each other one last time.
Red…I… I can't believe you've fallen this far… I may not show it… I may be fighting with you, but…it hurts… It… It hurts…me to see what you've become…it…hurts me to see that you could ever do such damage to the place you once called home…and…though you may not believe it…it…it hurts me…it really hurts me…that…in order to protect this land…I have to try to take down my own flesh and blood…! But you haven't left me with any other choice! I can't let you rule over this land…! So…for the sake of this land…for the sake of its people…I…I must…end you…and it…it has to be…me who does it…because it's my responsibility as your brother to keep you from doing stupid things!
As their fists came closer and closer to each other, Red covered his fist in lightning, while Bandit covered his own in ice.
Mom…I'm sorry… I know this isn't what you would want for us…but…it can't be helped… I've tried to talk to him, but…he's too stubborn to listen to reason! There is nothing else I can do…! In order to protect this land…my friends…and your memory…
Both of them gritted their teeth as their fists came within six inches of the other's face.
I must…
Bandit finished his thought as their fists came within three inches of the other's face.
…kill your son…the brother I once loved and admired!
Right before he could strike Red right in the face with his ice-covered fist, Bandit grunted in pain; the lightning Red had shot at him a moment earlier had damaged his body more than he had realized. His pain and distraction gave Red enough time to move his head just enough so that the only contact his fist had with Red's head was with his ear. Nevertheless, his punch was still powerful enough to rip Red's ear open quite a bit.
Red, however, managed to punch Bandit right in the face with his lightning-covered fist, and Bandit yelled as he went flying hundreds of yards into the side of a building.
Red screamed in excruciating pain, and dropped to his knees as he put his hand over his ear.
God…damn it! he thought, shocked by the damage Bandit had done.
He trembled as he brought his hand down from his ear, and his pupils dilated as he looked at his hand, which was covered in blood. He slowly gritted his teeth in great anger, and looked up to see Bandit, who trembled as he tried to get back on his feet.
Bandit managed to take a few steps towards Red, but ultimately, his body was overwhelmed by pain and exhaustion, and he fell flat on his stomach.
Seeing that his brother had finally been taken down, Red closed his eyes as he calmed himself, and grunted as he slowly stood up. Before he could stand upright, however, he doubled over in pain, and covered his mouth as he coughed up a good deal of blood.
Damn it…! he thought as his vision blurred, I…can't do much more…! If anyone else were to come fight me…I…I'd be…helpless…incapable of…effectively…fighting back… Hopefully…that…will not happen… One more… Just one more attack…should ensure…that he stays down…
He panted heavily as he created an unstable ball of lighting and held it in his hand.
Bandit noticed this, but he was too weak to move, let alone try to dodge the forthcoming attack.
Damn it…! he thought as he gritted his teeth in frustration, I… I…can't…move a muscle…! I can't…do anything…!
Red grunted in pain as he yanked Bandit's arrow from his chest, and panted as sweat dripped down his face.
"Bandit…" he began as he looked at his brother tiredly and shook his head, "I… I'm sorry…but…I cannot allow you…to interfere with my plans… I…"
He was about to say something more personal, but he stopped himself, and closed his slightly teary eyes for a moment before he said what he intended to be his last words to his brother.
"You put up a good fight, Bandit, but…but in the end…I am the victor of this battle… Goodbye, Car… We won't be seeing each other again."
Red threw his ball of lightning right at Bandit, and Bandit closed his eyes, unwilling to watch the source of his demise fall upon him.
Is… Is this…?
Is this really how it ends…?
Sacrifice
Bandit braced himself for Red's final blow, but after fifteen seconds of doing so, he noticed something strange.
He was still alive.
What the…? he thought, relieved yet confused as to what had happened to save him from death, I'm…still alive… I'm still alive…! But…how…?
He groaned as he slowly raised his head to see what was going on in front of him, and noticed that Red was flat on his stomach, having doubled over from the pain of using that last attack.
Damn it…! thought Red as he gritted his teeth in pain, Where did…? Where did…she…come from…?
What… What…happened to him? thought Bandit in shock.
Before he could think more about what had happened to his brother, he noticed a pair of legs standing before him.
What the…? he thought in surprise, Someone…saved me… But
who…?
The person standing in front of him grunted in pain before they spoke.
"Bandit…" she said, "…Are you… Are you…alright…?"
Bandit slowly looked up to see who was speaking to him, and his eyes widened when he saw that the woman was an adult female with ruby red hair.
"…R… Ruby…?" he asked, surprised by her presence, for the last time he had seen her, she had been unconscious, "Wha…? What are you…doing here…? Red's down… Did you…? How did you…?"
He gasped when he noticed that there was blood in her hair, and gritted his teeth nervously as he looked down at her abdomen.
His eyes widened with inconceivable shock when he realized that her upper body had blood all over it, and when he looked down at the ground, he gasped when he saw that she was standing in a large and growing pool of blood.