15 The End

Keanu dropped off his gear by the front door before entering the living room.

Zyne appeared from almost nowhere, hugging him tight. The both of them levitated, Keanu embracing Zyne in their hug.

Keanu pulled away to look at Zyne. He teared up and grinned, pulling Zyne close. Gradually, they descended.

"How are you here?" Keanu gazed into his eyes lovingly.

"Nevermind that, love. I'm here now," Zyne smiled.

I tell him; I predict Canis will be here. He'd bring the fight to us.

During the few hours that remained, we readied ourselves.

A feeling the wind carried indicated that Canis would be here. Zyne sensed an impending dark, unruly energy. It was funny, because he wasn't scared of the fact.

The Earth rumbled. Keanu pulled up his mouth cover after loading his shotgun.

The Earth touched the bottoms of Keanu's boots, Zyne by his side.

Zyne and Keanu faced Canis. He was alone.

"The High-Rule can finally see." Canis cast a glance upon Zyne. "Why don't you leave this plagued Earth? Are you so stupid? Oh well."

Zyne and Keanu stood their ground.

"So that's how it's going to be," Canis stated.

With the snap of his finger, he summoned a gaggle of what seemed to be shadow-like entities. In a whir, they charged at Zyne and Keanu, like a swarm of maddened bees.

Keanu stunned the few he fired at. Those unaffected had disguised themselves as Canis. They took the form of Canis, flesh and bone.

Keanu jabbed his blades into the shadow Canises; they'd only broken off into more of themselves. They reformed into one as they lost the shape of Canis, one of them clawing at Keanu's chest before doing so. Stretching out, they separated into more of themselves.

Keanu's head and heart pounded. He threw his eyes around; he lost sight of Zyne. He rejected the anxiety, calming himself.

He backed away, fighting off the shadows. He lost his footing, an opening in the Earth swallowing him whole. He fell before landing in a vast darkness.

The shadows ganged up on Keanu, smothering him, choking him with their gastaseous figures.

The numerable voices that the Shadows imitated sounded in the back of his head.

"I'm not good enough."

"I should kill myself. No one would care."

"I don't deserve anything."

Closing his eyes, he breathed.

The words were all too true - they were his own words, but it would not end here.

...what would he say if he knew? Maybe it was time to tell Zyne. It couldn't be any worse than being told your boyfriend is apart of a PROPHECY, destined to be the High-Rule of the Underworld and eye of all destruction and evil, and that you and your boyfriend would have to win a battle against the King of the Underworld and his otherworldly servants.

He could tell him after, you know, he "subdues" Canis. The shadows would not get to him, he decided.

And with that, his eyes shot open, and with his brute strength he forced the Shadows off of him.

He fell through the floor, landing in the Real World. The count had lessened until more of the shadows appeared before him. Cutting and shooting, he fought them off the best he could. He only cut through the air.

This isn't working. What to do, Keanu?

Through the smog, he couldn't see Canis nor Zyne.

Canis is their Master. And with no master...?

He ducked, one of the shadows swiping at his face.

With no Master, there will be no more of these shadow assholes. Even if it isn't so, at least Canis will be dead.

***

A blackness consumed Zyne's vision. He grasped for air.

Zyne awoke, choking on the gas that further pushed itself down his throat. The shadows covered him - they tried to talk. Zyne didn't let them.

Straining to shoot his hand upward at first, it was with only one hand that he sent the shadow-beings flying.

Canis greeted him, slamming him backward. Crack!

Luckily, it was only one of Zyne's horns that'd snapped.

Zyne was pinned down by the shadows. He didn't struggle to free himself - he only turned his head to see Keanu. The shadows held him back, the lot of them fused into one mesh of shadows, their tentacles wrapped around his arms and legs, locking onto Keanu.

Canis signalled to the shadows. They juggled Keanu in the air, and with a thud, he landed on the ground, unconscious or dead.

***

Something called out to him in the darkness.

What he heard was fuzzy as he awoke, until it became clearer.

Something surged throughout Keanu's being. With his newfound power, using but only the swift movement of his hands, he landed a blow to Canis. It forced him backwards until he was slammed into the Earth. Before the shadows could strike, Keanu obliterated them, along with the ones that held Zyne, his arms shaking.

He rushed to Zyne. He'd been impaled with his own broken horn, a pool of dark forest-green blood surrounding his body. His face was battered and bloody.

Keanu stumbled backward. A blue aura was being emitted from Zyne's body, an unidentifiable entity... was it healing Zyne?

It expanded, gently touching Zyne.

It vanished as Zyne awoke, the third eye on Zyne's face now completely gone. Keanu helped him to stand. Zyne's brows furrowed, his eyes narrowed before a cutting realization struck him; his face told Keanu that something was... wrong. Did Zyne know the entity?

Canis called the shadow-creatures to his aid with a sharp gesture.

Keanu's powers faltering and weakening to their original state, he held back the shadows with what little he had. And in the midst of restraining the cretins, blood poured from his nose.

***

Ca-troll?...

Canis struggled to stand.

Zyne hovered over Canis. He kicked in Canis' face - Canis fell back to the ground. He groaned, touching his hand to his face. He eyed the blood on his hand, the velvet liquids running down his nose and mouth.

Zyne looked at his hand briefly, then averting his gaze to Canis.

Canis grinned. "This is only the start of something much, much bigger. I wonder, can you prevent it?"

Zyne doubted it for a second, but something deep within him thought otherwise.

The cacophony that was Canis' long horns caught Zyne's eye. Zyne gripped onto one of them, ripping it off from Canis' skull. He lifted it, mustering such a force that he used to pierce Canis' chest.

Right

Through

The

Heart.

The life drained from his body in an instant. In a flurry of fur, the humanoid form Canis once had had evolved into a gigantic wolf, his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Was this his true form?

The shadow-beings deteriorated into nothing.

It became silent. How quiet and tranquil it was.

Keanu's arm fell to his side. He collapsed. Zyne glided over to Keanu.

Zyne held Keanu. His eyes fluttered open. "So we did it, huh?"

"It seems so. You'll be ok, love." Zyne smiled.

Few demons are trying to fix what Canis left behind, but countless demons that reside in the Underworld are ultimately confused, aimless. The majority left, integrating themselves into Earth's society as full-fledged demons or as glamoured demons. Others migrated to other... places. Others fought. Many left it alone, remaining in the Underworld, along with whatever else inhabited the Underworld.

Forces stronger than Canis are coming. Something much worse tainted the air, and Zyne would be ready for it - both him and Keanu would be ready for it.