Final Struggle

From their seats at the table they were able to see something fall from the roof near the entrance. Everyone was out of their seats at that point and ran outside. Steele lay on the ground lifeless with a hole where her heart should be.

"Team West America!" A crazed voice shouted from above them "I'm going to kill all of you"

Standing on the roof was the ghost man from East Africa both his hands glowing with neon green light. Raising his arms, with his palms facing each other the ghostman began releasing his green energy which formed into a volleyball sized sphere. Once the sphere began to vibrate from the amount of energy within in a strong beam shot from its center directly towards team East America. Matt was the first too respond, rushing to the front of the group and calling out a spell.

"Ma Seshield" A large pink and yellow circular shield appeared in front of the team, with a deep blue orb in its center. The ghost man's beam hit the shield with great force, but the shield showed no form of strain from the attack. Thee shield did however block the team's view of the enemy until it disappeared showing the ghostman had jumped from the building and charged the group. With a bloodthirsty smile he grabbed onto Matt and the nearest team member Gwen before all three vanished. Logan who had entered the first stage of the unlocked mode rushed to where his teammates had been but with his all of his enhanced senses could no longer sense they were in the area.

In reality they were still fairly close, when the ghost man had grabbed Matt and Gwen, he had turned them invisible and intangible alongside him and brought them underground into a maintenance tunnel of the sewer system. After passing into the tunnel the ghostman tossed the two veterans onto the ground and pulled energy into his hand, lighting the dark tunnel with a ghostly green light. A pink light appeared from Matt's spell book as he scrambled to his feet and began to summon his heart energy, Gwen also rose to stand next to her teammate.

"You two" the ghostman growled "you were the ones who took her from me". The eerie green light exaggerated the man's enraged expression, making him appear more of a vengeful spirit than a human.

"It wasn't personal" Matt spoke "we're just trying to survive like everyone else"

The ghost man let out a bitter laugh "Trying to Survive? Just like that bitch Abuya."

"You spoke with Abuya" Gwen asked, her voice high in fear.

"That's right" a look of contempt fell on his face "she asked me to join her. To make a new team, a better team she said. Know what I said to her?"

"What did you say?" Matt played along

"I told her it's not worth surviving without Dayo" the ghostman declared and fired a blast from his right hand.

"Seoshi" Matt cast his spell and the familiar dome surrounded him and Gwen. The energy blast struck the shield but wasn't able to penetrate it outright. The ghostman then began to walk forward while maintaining his blast, within a few steps cracks began to form on the shield.

"Wait!" Gwen yelled suddenly "Resurrection is possible in some movies! If you join Abuya you can bring Dayo back".

"You don't think I know this?" the ghostman shouted and his attack grew stronger "how can I face her again without avenging her first?"

"You'd rather focus on getting revenge than guaranteeing she comes back?" Matt questioned incredulously.

"Have you ever been in love?" the ghostman asked locking eyes with Matt. A conflicted look crossed the semi-mamodo's face at the question.

"When you have someone, you love more than anything," the ghostman continued "seeing their face when you've failed them is worst than death." With those words the ghostman fired an attack from his other hand which managed to shatter the spell and strike Matt on his right arm. As the barrier fell Gwen took the chance to send a trio of mana arrows at the enemy. The ghostman's eyes became unfocused and he managed to dodge all the projectiles, he had entered the first stage of the unlocked mode.

"Gou Saisu" Matt forced his injured arm to move and a large crescent shaped blast of energy was fired with a sweeping motion. A stronger version of his Saisu spell went flying towards the enemy. The ghostman fired off another attack which collided with Matt's spell and an explosion resulted creating smoke between the combatants. Matt took this chance to grab Gwen's hand and start running down the tunnel hoping to find a way to meet with the rest of the team. Neither if them were pillars of strength in the team and facing someone who had unlocked their genetic constraint was well beyond them.

"Left!" Gwen yelled suddenly and the two jumped to the side in time to dodge a neon green blast of energy. The ghostman was now flying towards them, his legs reverted to a smokey tail behind him. Matt sent another Gou Saisu at the enemy, but it was dodged easily with his improved mobility. Gwen also fired off a trio of arrows which forced the ghostman to turn intangible and dodge into the wall in order to avoid damage. Matt and Gwen began running again but only made it a few feet before being cut off as the ghostman reappeared and slammed his fist into Matt's head. The semi-mammodo was knocked to the ground, dropping his book and Gwen was quickly sent flying by a kick to her abdomen.

The ghostman looked down at Matt with contempt "You'll be the beginning of my revenge". Putting his hands together he began to prepare another blast.

"Do you really think you can kill everyone?" Matt asked suddenly "Our leader is stronger than the rest of our team combined"

"It doesn't matter" he responded his eyes still unfocused "as long as I die fighting"

"is your pride really more important than guaranteeing her revival" the semi Mamodo questioned "wouldn't she rather you try to survive for her?"

"You've never been in love" the ghostman said "who are you to lecture me?"

"Someone who's had to fight every day of their lives just for the right to find love" Matt spat out and with a swift motion pulled his pistol out of his pocket and fired. The bullet penetrated the energy blast the ghostman was preparing and caused a small explosion. Matt took this opportunity to grab his book and began flicking through the pages till he found his sixth and strongest spell. Holding his book in his left-hand Matt stood to face the enemy.

"Oru Naguru Shirudo" On his right forearm a round pink shield began to form around three feet in diameter with a blue orb in the center. Pulling the shield in front of him he blocked an energy blast from the ghostman who was just exiting the smoke.

"Another shield?" he said dismissively "don't you have any fight in you?"

"Now I do" Matt responded and tossed his shield at his enemy. The ghostman easily side stepped the shield but turned his back before he could see it bounce off the floor than ceiling at an angle that brought it back towards him. His enhanced danger sense told him to duck and managed to once again evade the shield, but Matt hadn't been idle. He rushed forward and when the shield flew over the crouching man, he grabbed it, set it back on his right forearm and tackled into the man. With surprising strength, he sent the ghostman flying onto his back and continued forward for another attack. A soft pink light was shining over Matt as soon as he had the shield back on his arm.

"That shield gives you a strength boost doesn't it?" the ghostman asked as he dodged the incoming shield swipe. Matt was moving noticeably faster and with more pressure behind his movements but the ghostman was still in the unlocked mode and able to move out of the way of any attack. Some attacks were getting close, but it was clear at this rate Matt would tire out before dealing any real damage. Thankfully he wasn't alone. Arrows made of blue energy came flying in from behind the ghostman and managed to scrape by on his leg. A small wound but more than they had done the entire fight.

The wound caused the ghostman to feel a phantom pain run through his body and he realized his mistake. This fight had taken too long, he wouldn't be able to hold his ghost form for much longer. He was still heavily enhanced from God so he would still be able to fight without his ghost form but if he dropped out of this form he would also drop out of the unlocked state.

Unlocking one's genetic constraint wasn't a simple magical power boost that occurred in this dimension, even a normal human living an ordinary life could unlock their constraint if put into the right circumstances. Many people have heard tales of parents who have shown incredible strength when their kids are in danger. Some of these are examples of people unlocking their genetic constraints but what is often untold is these people often died afterwards. Unlocking the constraint releasing a chemical in the body that allows people to reach beyond what a normal person can achieve but it is extremely taxing on the body. Most people die from just a small amount entering their body. The only way to safely endure this poison is to have a body that has been enhanced by God.

The ghostman remembered the experience vividly from just yesterday when he had just fled the battle. The pain had been so great that he had passed out, leaving him defenseless until Abuya had found him. If the pain was even half as bad as it had been the first time even a normal person could kill him in that moment. He knew he had to flee but to run from these two who had killed his beloved wasn't something he could tolerate. He had hoped to take out most of their team before he let himself die but he would settle for just these two.

Jumping back from Matt's latest attack, the ghostman took flight and managed to dodge another barrage of arrows from Gwen. Any further attack was stopped when he vanished from sight. Now invisible the ghostman decided to finish Matt first as he had caused the most trouble in these fights. Moving forward he planned to pass through him and rip out a vital organ as he had done with Toby, but it didn't work out right. When he came in contact with the soft light that surrounded the Mamodo a jolt of pain shot through him and prevented him from passing through. This was especially damaging as he had gone for a full dive into his enemy as opposed to simply reaching in. The shock of the hidden defense sent the ghostman flying back and made him drop out of ghost mode. He also felt himself leave the unlocked mode as well and knew he only had seconds left.

"You better hope our teams don't run into each other again" he said glaring at Matt "I will do whatever it takes to end you and the rest of your team."

After these final words his eyes rolled back into his head and he began to spasm as if he were having a seizure. Matt looked at the helpless enemy in front of him with impassionate eyes for just a moment before he grabbed his discarded gun and shot a bullet into his head. Seconds later the shield he carried and the pink glow that surrounded him faded and Matt fell to the ground with no strength to move.

Above ground the rest of team West America hadn't been idle but also hadn't made much progress. After seeing his teammates vanish Lance had guessed they were taken underground to fight, unfortunately they couldn't find a storm drain big enough for anyone to pass through. They were at the third one when Logan said he could hear what sounded like one of Matt's spells. Deciding he could wait any longer the team leader wrapped his hands in his jade magic and began to punch the ground above the storm drain. Within a minute a loud crack was head and the segment of concrete fell through into the sewer below. Logan told the newbies to stay put and made his way further into the sewers.

It was only a moment later that a beep came from everyone's watch signaling the death of an enemy team member. A few minutes later Logan appeared carrying Matt across his shoulder with Gwen walking next to them. The newbies quickly helped the veterans out of the sewers and the team made their way into a side street hoping no one would approach them. Gwen and Matt gave a brief explanation of the fight that had occurred.

"I'm a bit confused" Lance started after hearing the story "I thought the unlocked mode would've made it impossible for someone without it to beat them"

"There are no guarantees" Logan said "until a person reaches a certain level of strength they are just as vulnerable as anyone else. Even though I can reach the second stage I can still be killed by someone in the first or even a strong enough sneak attack from an enemy who hasn't unlocked their constraint."

"Though we got very lucky in this fight" Matt commented from the ground. His final spell had taken all of his heart energy, leaving him without any strength to move but still conscious and able to speak.

"You did" Logan nodded "When a person first unlocks their constraint entering the unlocked mode should only be possible in times of extreme danger. He must've been forcing it through pure hatred which put a limit to how long it could last. Not only that it but from what I heard from you guys it seems he didn't plan to survive this movie. His will to survive wasn't strong enough to expand his time in the unlocked mode."

"He did seem confident they would resurrect him" Matt commented

"Given his unique potential I would be surprised if she didn't" Gwen added.

"Wait a moment" Josh interjected "What do you mean resurrection?" The veterans went silent at the question. They all shared meaningful looks before the team leader spoke.

"Certain movies allow for team members to be resurrected" Logan explained "we don't usually explain this until after the first movie."

"So, we could resurrect Steele?" Ashley asked

"Theoretically yes" the leader answered hesitantly "unfortunately we don't have access to any of those movies."

"In the exchange system there's an option to return to past movie worlds for a cost of fifty points per day" Matt continued the explanation "we only have access to the movie our most veteran member has survived"

"Interesting" Lance muttered looking away in thought

"What are you thinking" Josh asked.

"Nothing important" Lance said with a dismissive wave of his hand "let's focus on the remainder of this movie"

"Well given what the ghostman said" Logan said "we can assume Abuya is not interested in hunting us down and most likely with his death she's recruited the wizard"

"So now the only real threat is the Creeper" Gwen surmised "We should follow through with our plan"

"Didn't you say God never makes movies easy?" Lance questioned

"Yes," Logan answered "God decides the difficulty of a movie based on the strongest member so there will always be challenges throughout the movie"

"That makes me hesitant than" Lance started "why would God allow such an easy exploit for us to take advantage of? Once we get to a big city we are now out of any danger."

Before anyone else could speak the regal voice of God sounded in everyone's head.

Team East Africa has passed the boundaries of Jeepers Creepers. Movie difficulty has increased, and Missions are changed. Creeper has gained a cloaking ability along with the ability to sense the presence of all team members and will actively hunt them down.

Mission: Survive until midnight

Logan let out a curse "Abuya must have had the same idea we did, and God didn't like it"

"You never said the mission could change" Ashley pointed out angrily

"It's rare" Logan explained "I've only seen it once when I was part of a team with a lot more veterans and it led to most of their deaths."

"So, what are we going to do now?" Gwen asked looking at the sky as if expecting the Creeper to suddenly appear out of nowhere, which now it very well could.

"Continue with the first part of the plan" Lance decided "We can't hide but we can run until time runs out"

"Matt how long until you can move?" Logan asked the still prone man.

"A few more minutes and I'll be alright to move" he answered his arms and legs twitching.

"Alright I'm going to go get a vehicle" the team leader said, "you guys wait here." With that he rushed out of the alleyway leaving the rest of the team waiting. As he said Matt was able to sit himself up within a few minutes and by the time Logan pulled up, the semi Mamodo was on his feet.

The team loaded up into the four-door car, Gwen took the front seat while the others were tightly packed in the back. This wasn't one of the cars they were originally planning on taking so the back was a little crowded for four people. According to Logan he had taken it from someone who was leaving the gas station so it had a full tank and they wouldn't need to stop for a while. Once everyone was situated inside, they were off. They decided to head north since the last time they saw the Creeper it was heading to the south.

The first five hours went by smoothly and everyone was feeling fairly optimistic with the movie ending soon. Driving along mostly empty highways they had a very smooth drive and had little doubt they would notice anything coming towards them. So, when Logan suddenly jerked in his driving it took everyone by surprise.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked when she saw her leader put a hand to his head. The team leader didn't respond for a moment, instead sitting quietly with a look of apprehension on his face.

"Abuya contacted me" he finally answered "Using her psyche force ability she's asking for help. Apparently, the Creeper has been chasing her and the wizard since they tried to make a run for it. She managed to stun the Creeper and remove it's ability to track them for a moment, but they are out of healing items and are asking us to come save them."

"Are you considering helping them?" Gwen asked tentatively

"I don't know" Logan replied honestly

"I thought you were all about survival" Josh said bitterly "Why not leave your allies to die?"

"It's not about the alliance" Lance answered before Logan could "If Abuya has the ability to knock out the Creepers tracking ability than being with her could be the safest option. Not to mention when the Creeper regains his ability, we may be closer to him than Abuya so we could be targeted instead."

"Lance is right" Matt added "If it's a gamble no matter what it might be best to put all our forces together"

"I agree" Logan said finally "She'll lead us to them, and we'll heal them up and plan to work together until the movie ends"

It only took twenty minutes to make their way to where Abuya and her surviving teammate were hiding away, an abandoned barn from the looks of it.

"You guys wait here" Logan said as he put the car in park "Matt and I will go in first, Abuya hasn't contacted me since giving me the directions. If this is a trap, we can handle it safest, Gwen get behind the wheel. Any sound of fighting and floor it." The Gamer nodded her agreement and took the front seat. Lance moved to the passenger seat and rolled his window down an inch to let in any sounds.

The two veterans made their way into the barn and within a moment the faint sound of talking could be heard, quickly followed by the sound of Matt's healing spell. Gwen and the newbies visibly relaxed when they heard it, for the moment they were safe. Ten minutes later and after Matt's fourth casting a new sound could be heard, and everyone's heart dropped. The sound of a large car was coming from the path they drove in. Within seconds a large van was driving into view, the Creeper had found them.

Gwen cast a single glance at the barn before starting the car up and sped off. There was only one road in and out from the barn, but the Creeper had pulled forward enough to allow passage for the small car. Gwen rushed forward and avoided the large van as it tried to swerve to the left and hit them. Apparently racing games did have some effect on a person's driving ability. Josh turned and managed to see Logan exiting the barn before they pulled too far away.

"We're safe" Gwen said almost like she was trying to convince herself "Logan and them will keep it busy. Just thirty more minutes"

Josh agreed with what she said, as long as the Creeper was facing off against the rest of the players it wouldn't chase after them. The other veterans could last thirty minutes in a fight or even flee when it got too dangerous. They were finally going to finish this movie. Suddenly a horn sounded from behind them, the Creeper's van had turned around and followed them.

At this point they reached the main road and Gwen took off, her foot never leaving the gas pedal. They were much farther down the road and still picking up speed when the Creeper pulled out. They went over a small hill and lost sight of the van a moment later. The roads weaved along for the next few miles only giving them brief glances of the van chasing after them. For a few minutes it looked as if they had lost the Creeper but once they reached a long stretch of road without turns or curves the van was once again in sight and was catching up to them. Within five minutes it was just two car lengths away from them. Gwen's foot was pushing the pedal against the floor in a desperate effort to pick up a little more speed. The sound of tearing metal rang through the car suddenly, nearly startling Gwen enough to swerve off the road. A harpoon that looked to be made of bone had shot through the back of the car and through the back seats. It came to rest right after passing through Ashley's chest.

Josh looked in horror at harpoon that was sticking out of his teammate's chest, a small amount of blood began to stain her shirt. Looking through the back window he could see a large cord running from the back of their car leading towards a compartment on the Creeper's van, which was less than a single car length away.

"Josh" Ashley whispered, tears falling from her eyes "I don't want to die"

"You won't" Josh said firmly "remember they said God can heal any wound. Just wait a few minutes and we'll be there. You will live."

"My brother" she said, and a small amount of blood leaked from her mouth "I have to take care of Elijah"

"You will" Josh began but stopped as the sound of tires squealing came from behind. The Creeper had slammed on his brakes and was slowing down dramatically. Josh looked towards Gwen and met her eyes in the rearview mirror, without speaking he knew she had no intention of stopping. As fast at it had appeared the harpoon vanished leaving behind a massive hole in Ashley's chest. An announcement sounded but was washed out as the harpoon took the majority of the back of the car with it, causing the car to turn and begin to flip from the speed they were going.

Lance regained his senses a few moments after the car came to a stop, when the sound of a car door being ripped off rang through his ears. His mind was still fuzzy, he knew something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. When he saw a monstrous arm reach in and pull an unconscious Josh out of the car a few thoughts came together. The Creeper had caught up to them. Josh was in danger. Lance had a gun on him.

The passenger window had shattered when they crashed giving him an exit from the car. Dull pain came from his hands as he crawled out and he saw glass shards embedded in his palm when he stood up. He flexed his hands a few times seeing a trickle of blood seep out from one of the biggest shards. This didn't seem right. Looking around Lance didn't really take in any details about the surrounding. This wasn't right. Lance felt something deep down screaming at him to fix what was wrong but again he couldn't think of what. A cry of destress came from his left, bringing his attention to a large creature pulling Josh towards a larger van. Seeing people pulled another memory from inside Lance.

What were they doing? What were they going to do? Are these typical actions? Has another taken his place? Am I in danger?

YES

In a rush Lance's mind cleared and as they always did his thoughts flooded through him. The Creeper had Josh and was taking him to the Van. Josh must've just woken up and was fighting against the Creeper's grip. Lance pulled his pistol out and aimed at the monster. His gaze was still fuzzy, and his hands were shaking but he couldn't stop.

"Focus!" Lance scolded himself. Suddenly his visions cleared and became even clearer than they normally were. Josh and the Creeper's movements were clearer and easier to follow.

"Mental capacity limit broken! Rewarded 500 points, mental capacity increased by 20 points, reaction speed increased by 30 points!"

Lance ignored the announcement, instead focusing on the back of the Creeper's head. Taking aim, the teenager fired his weapon and a small hole appeared on the Creeper's head. The creature dropped Josh and let out a shout of pain. Turning around the monster put a hand over his eye, which was where the bullet had exited. Seeing the attacker with it's remaining good eye the Creeper charged at Lance. Another bullet left the gun aiming to take out another eye, but the Creeper was able to avoid a direct hit. Instead a small scratch was left on the side of its head. Josh from the ground watched the monster approach his stepbrother and tried to rise and stop the beast.

A trio of glowing blue arrows struck the Creeper suddenly, pulling everyone's attention to Gwen who had just crawled out of the car. The Creeper looked to her and then Lance before deciding Gwen was the better target. The Gamer fired another trio of arrows before turning and beginning to run. The Creeper lunged forward, easily closing the distance and grabbing onto the young woman. It grabbed onto her arm and lifted her off her feet, so he was face to face with her. The veteran had terror in her eyes as she looked into the monsters face. She threw a punch at the beast with her free arm, but it was caught in the monster's other hand. The Creeper then lifter her a little more and pulled her arm forward till it was right in front of it's mouth. To everyone's horror the monster suddenly snapped forward and bit a chunk from her arm. Gwen screamed in pain and tried in vain to break his grasp. The Creeper then positioned her, so her neck was right in front of his mouth. Before it could strike however a piece of jagged metal pierced through its chest.

With a shout of pain, the Creeper threw Gwen away and spun around lashing out. Josh who had been the one to drive the scrap metal through the monster was struck and sent flying back towards the car. Another scrap of metal pierced through his shoulder as he landed against the crashed vehicle. The pain was nearly enough to cause the teenager to pass out. As he laid prone, he could hear gunshots and what sounded like arrows flying through the air.

Then there was silence.

The car that had been supporting Josh was gone leaving him laying on a cold floor, which he numbly thought was odd since they had been in a field. He could hear Logan shouting then, something about points and then a bright light was shining down on him. He was pulled into the air by an unseen force and from that point he was able to see a large floating orb of white light above him. This was God. Which meant they were in the Terminal Lobby. They had survived the first movie.