25 A Grand Finale

The injured old ant after recomposing himself from his discomfort, turned behind toward the source of the gun shot sound.

It came from the crowd.

One his eldest daughters gun was smoking. She had fired first. Her face filed with fear, at seeing her godlike father struggle and marched right toward her in quick wide strides. She was already beginning to think of what fearsome punishment her had in store for her sudden interference in his duel. She knew her worthless life deserved his wrath, but dreaded it nonetheless. She dropped her weapon as her brothers and sisters slowly stepped far aside from her terrified on the ground and crying.

"I sorry father, I thought.. I thought he kill you!! I Sorry please!!!" whimpered the young ant warrior as she groveled in the mud, clutching her fathers leg timidly and fearfully.

The general instead helped her atop her feet and smiled down at his loyal daughter. Immensely proud of her. "There is nothing to be ashamed of child. You did well. All of you did well. You're victory is my victory. You're loyalty strengthens me. And Loyalty shall never be punished in my swarm."

The girl smiled and wiped away her tears as she stepped back in line with her siblings. The general then turned and limped toward his daughter's downed opponent to finish him off for her. He may have been a bit disappointed with the turnout of the duel, wanting to have finished it personally. But still found slight comfort in besting his foe one last time. This is war. And there is no such thing as cheating if it means victory."

Shena's arm began to shake behind her back as she watched general approach behind Fereen, struggling to stand atop his knees and trying fight back. Holding his sword in front off the ground, struggling to keep himself balanced from collapsing forward. He could hear Shena readying her scavenged weapon.

He weakly raised his head up strenuously to looked in front beneath his feet.

The two discarded energy gauntlets were just out of reach in the mud. He turned his gaze right to Shena She was about to attack with Vesa's revolver. But there were only six bolts in the chamber. That would Leave them both three left to deal with. Each were exhausted and could barely stand let alone fight...

He couldn't take the chance.

"Shena... Don't." Blood began to pour from underneath his helmet as Fereen spoke slowly and weakly. He gestured with his trembling hand for her to stand down desperately to not make herself a target.

Shena clutched her pistol tighter full of anger at him. Did he really expect her to just stand by and do nothing?

'What the hell is he thinking?!!!' She screamed to herself internally. Her fury and fear growing in her mind over what the General would do to them both. But what she was afraid of didn't matter. Only saving him. She began to raise her pistol from behind her back. Ready to draw the bugs away from him and towards her instead.

"Shena... Please..." Fereen muttered feebly. Fighting the excruciating pain just to let out a few words to her.

Shena stopped.

Although she couldn't barely see his face through the broken helmet, She could tell by his one nervous eye revealed through the cracked visor that he was as serious as he had ever been about this. And that he needed for her to trust him now more than ever.

I don't know what your insane plan is this time." Shena thought to herself as she looked upon him fearfully. She then lowered her pistol back behind her in concealment. locking her eyes back up with his.

'But I'll go along with whatever you think is right.' she whispered to him. Her face was encompassed with terror. But now also with sight hope in her friend.

Shena loosened her grip slightly on the pistol. Barely managing to control herself from raising her shaking gun toward the general's exposed face as it approached right behind Fereen.

Fereen breath a sigh of relief. Uninterested in the danger looming above his head, still focused solely on looking upon his friend lying in the dirt mere feet away. For he could now focus on nothing else. Not the pain, exhaustion, or fear. Just her.

She would survive.

The injured ant stopped right behind his incapacitated opponent kneeling in the rain greatly upset. Is this how his last duel would end? He now was almost craving and begging for the chance that the duel could still conclude in a civil manner.

"Can you fight?" said the General as he looked down at at the incapacitated aquatic. He tapped his opponent atop it's inured back with the tip of his sword. Now seeming strangely concerned with the state of his enemies well-being. At least until he could kill him properly how he saw fit.

There was no reply, not even a wince of pain. The general then let out a heavy, melancholy filled sigh due to the poor turnout of the battle.

"Then enough of this." He raised his two swords high above. And brought the blades down. Severing the exquisite wings cleanly like paper.

Fereen collapsed on his stomach screaming in agony. The general reached over and grabbed the smoldering wings to rest atop his arms as another fine trophy to his collection. He then looked down with a vile smirk to his defeated opponent. Laying his clawed leg to rest atop it's now wingless back.

"I told you aquatic your wings would be mine." He grinned. "I don't make idle promises."

The general folded his new trophy against his arm as he turned to face his children to give them their next order who were now eyeing Shena and the now wingless fish eagerly. Ready to ponce on them both and tear them to shreds with his permission.

"Now that I have my prize, I think it time we end this. Wouldn't we you agree? The general said wounded but victorious.

"Eat the shark. I'll finish this one myself."

"Shena..." Fereen muttered. His helmet covered in mud and blood.

"I'm sorry....."

The glowing blades came down swiftly again, only this time towards the aquatic's head.

Fereen reached out, and tossed the energy gauntlet's as far as he could right into Shena's lap and ducked his head. Hastily rolling backward right underneath the army ant's legs at the last second. Much to the general's confusion and anger.

Fereen then stood up with all his remaining strength and plucked the belt filled with grenades off the general's waist and leapt back towards in front of the last of the general's children. His finger on the pin.

Shena's eyes widened in absolute terror. As did the raiders. Some tried to back away slowly with all their four arms raised, but there was nothing they could do. They were right in the blast radius. It was a complete standoff. Even the general stayed in his place. Completely dumbstruck as what to do next for the first time in his life. This suicidal fool now had his last children at his his mercy. He had to think of something. And fast.

"Alright aquatic." he said cautiously as he dropped his swords slowly towards the ground and changed his voice to a more sincere tone. "Stand down and I swear that you and the shark shall live. You have my word as a warrior and a father." He raised his arms high above head and slowly began to step closer.

Fereen stretched his left arm farther apart as he held the explosives toward the last of the general's offspring. His limbs shaking profusely. Blood trickling down his back from the wound. Now barely standing with his saber being reduced to use as a cane.

Fereen's visor locked with the general's worried face. The old ant then shifted his eyes slightly to the right in a sly gesture behind Fereen's back. One of his daughter's started to raise her gun slowly at her father's subtle command to fire again."

"Shena now"!!!!!!

The general instantly pulled two small knives from behind his thorax. Desperate to stop the detonation in time, he hurled the two daggers to spin and collide squarely in the middle of Fereen's chest with a loud thud.

But there was nothing the blades could do. For the pin's had already been pulled.

Fereen spurted blood as he smiled at the old ant under his helmet. Just as the flying fish collapsed on his back, he dropped the grenades to roll dead center into the mob of the raider's children.

The old warrior had been outsmarted for the first, and last time in his life.

'So this was his brilliant idea huh?' Shena thought to herself terrified and full of dread. She knew what would happen next, and she didn't want to end like this. But it was. She looked down and hesitantly grabbed onto the gauntlets, fastening them onto her wrists swiftly. With tears flowing down her bloodied face.

'His plan's really had been terrible....'

She activated the gauntlets and curled her head and tail in on the ground as a deafening noise erupted into the air. Hundreds of small metal shards scattered in every direction as screams of pain engulfed the night. The metal shrapnel pieces deflected and ricocheted off her solar shields harmlessly as she cowered in the dirt.

Then silence...