02x35: The ASG's Finest Hour

The ASG confront Austin who is one step from killing Kyle.

THE ASG’S FINEST HOUR

 

     They had made it to the base. John was there, four BB Guns ready beside him, all loaded with magazines.

     “He’s down there along with Janella and Berna.”

     “Thanks, John. ASG, to the Training Room!” Michael said.

     “Who put you in charge?” Patrick asked.

     “Now’s not the time to argue. We have to save them all!” Ernst said.

     “Where did you come from?” Patrick asked.

     “JB told me to go ahead and I thought it would be a great idea and�"“

     “Shut up, Ernst!” Michael said.

     “NO, MICHAEL, YOU SHUT UP! I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOU PUSHING ME AROUND LIKE I’M WORTH NOTHING! Austin is down there about to kill three people against his will and you’re here arguing and going against all reason!”

     “Enough of this,” John said. “I think the world ends tonight because I actually agree with Ernst. You guys have to stop this stupidity and kick a*s down there.

     “Here,” John said as he took the four ready BB Guns from the table. “Be careful with these, they’re all we’ve got.”

     He handed them to Michael, Patrick, Ernst, and Ivan.

     “The last one is for me, now go and good luck.”

     The ASG went into the elevator.

     “Oh, Ernst?” John said.

     “Yeah?”

     “Buy me some time down there.”

     “Sure.”

     Ernst went in the elevator and the doors closed.

     As it descended, they could hear rumbling from below.

     “What the hell is going on down there?” Lanz asked.

     Finally the elevator reached the bottom and the door opened.

 

It was over, Janella and Berna laid unconscious on the floor. Kyle was struggling against Austin’s lazerbeam in the post-apocalyptic landscape they were now stuck in.

     Ernst, Patrick, and Michael ran to the girls.

     “Hey, you guys hurt?” Ernst asked.

     “No, not at all. We just got pummeled halfway to death,” Janella said sarcastically.

     “What happened?” Michael asked.

     “It’s nothing too complicated. We arrived here and he knocked us out of the way of their battle as soon as we stepped in,” Berna said.

     “And here we are now, long story eh?” Janella said.

     “Well, well, well…” Austin said. “My very own search group. Glad to see you guys again.”

     Austin turned his hand into a harpoon gun and fired it straight at Kyle’s abdomen.

     It went straight through and Kyle screamed in pain. He dropped to the ground and clutched his abdomen.

     The ASG rushed to help him.

     “STOP! Right there. Not one more step or I fire another one!” Austin said.

     As Kyle bled out on the floor, all they could do is watch.

     “Austin, this isn’t you!” Berna said.

     “No s**t. If this were me, I’d probably be sucking up trying to impress Little Miss Badass over here,” Austin said pointing towards Janella.

     “Guys…, get him… back… to-… night,” Kyle said weakly as he fell unconscious.

     “KYLE!” Berna yelled.

     “And three, two, one, Pause,” Austin said as he put a field around Kyle.

     “What was that?” Patrick asked.

     “I stopped time inside that dome. All I have to do to save his life is to rewind time. But of course I wouldn’t do that.”

     “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!” Berna yelled in frustration.

     “Nothing, just a smart conversation. One wrong move and I hit fast forward on him, are we crystal clear on that?”

     They didn’t reply.

     “Excellent. Okay, now to start, let’s introduce ourselves. You first!” Austin pointed at Ernst.

     “What the hell does he want?” Lanz whispered to Cedric.

     “Lanz, I heard that. One strike down, two strikes to go.”

     “You never mentioned any strikes!”

     “HEY! My game, my rules! Now, Ernst, introduce yourself.”

     “Play along for a while,” Janella said.

     “Fine, d****t.” Ernst said before taking a deep breath. “My name is Mike Hawk… and I would love to kick your a*s!”

     Ernst shot laughing gas in Austin face as Rico and Ricardo pinned him to the ground. Ernst took out the BB Gun and put on his arm.

     “Haha, go ahead Mike, pull the ****ing trigger. Let’s see what happens!”

     They all heard a rumble behind them as a building suddenly collapsed and the debris was heading right for them.

     “Get out of here!”

     Rico and Ricardo realized that they weren’t holding on to anyone anymore.

     “Looking for me?” Austin said. He teleported to the top of a pile of scrap metal.

     Everyone had steered clear of the falling debris. They went below Austin’s pile of scrap metal.

     “You are so gullible. I’m afraid that stupid action is a strike as well. One more and you’re out. Well, technically, Kyle’s out but that pretty much encompasses your probability for success as we�"”

     “SHUT THE F**K UP!” Ernst shouted.

     “Well I’ll give that a pass, Ernst, but thanks for cursing me.”

     Ernst yelled out loud in frustration and started to climb the scrap metal pile.

     “ERNST! Stop, please!” Berna shouted.

     Ernst just went on.

     “What a persistent little mouse. Come here!”

     Austin fired in front of Ernst and it crumbled along with him.

     “What a stupid little mouse.”

     Ernst crashed to the bottom, an inch from unconsciousness but he fought anyway. He fought to stay up.

     “What the hell is wrong with you? That’s three strikes, you just killed him you friggin’ dumbass!” Michael said.

     “I WARNED YOU! I gave you three chances to behave and you blew it! Well, three strikes, yer out. Will the next player please step up?”

     “AUSTIN! NO!” Berna said as she flew upwards.

     “Berna, stop!” Ernst shouted as loudly as he can.

     “What’s the matter with you?!” Janella asked in frustration.

     “Not now!” Ernst said. “Clear my mind, Clear my mind. There is no plan!” Ernst said to himself in his mind.

     “What plan?” Austin said. “After all this time, you haven’t learned your lesson. I can read your mind, remember.”

     Austin fired a darkness orb at Berna and sent her crashing.

     “You just lost your lucky star,” Austin said as he waved his hand over to Kyle’s area where the time stopping field disappeared.

     “NO!” Patrick said as he rushed to Kyle.

     “Pat… rick… good job…” Kyle mumbled.

     “I’m going to get you out of here. You are going to live.”

    

The rest of the ASG looked over the scene in absolute helplessness.

     Berna struggled over to Kyle. Ivan and Janella followed.

     “I’m not letting you go! You’re not leaving us!” Berna said.

     “You guys…. Are the best…”

     “DON’T SAY THOSE WORDS LIKE YOUR LAST!” Berna said, half-sobbing. “You’re gonna live through this Kyle, you’re gonna live!”

     Ernst saw this and looked back at the ASG. Most of them were bowing their heads in defeat. Ernst turned to Austin.

     “There you go! You got what you wanted. Why don’t you finish the job?!” Ernst yelled.

     “You don’t understand anything, don’t you, you senseless little retard. I didn’t want this, I didn’t want anything. I just set the rules and you broke them. I was just having fun.”

     “Fun? FUN?! He’s dying over there, don’t you�" don’t you talk to me about fun!”

     Austin slid down the pile of scrap metal and faced Ernst.

     “One day, this place will be your reality and you’ll thank me for the foregone conclu�".”

     Then Austin suddenly fell off balance, his left arm being held in place by a hand emerging from the scrap metal. Another hand was holding on to a BB Gun that had been triggered and was now installing a new band on him.

     Austin was speechless and in shock.

     “Once again, I lose. I guess we’re tied.”

     “Tied?” John asked, emerging from the scrap metal.

     “You got me twice. I got Kyle and Blaine. Farewell, ‘til we meet again.”

     Austin dropped to the ground as John took the BB Gun from his arm.

     “John! Get Kyle out of here!” Janella shouted from the other side.

     “Right,” John said. He changed the training room back to normal. And Patrick, Ivan, Berna, and Janella accompanied Kyle’s unconscious body to the elevator. John went in while the rest of the ASG stayed behind.

 

They were silent in the elevator. Only their breathing broke the silence.

     “Kyle, can you hear us?” Patrick asked.

     Kyle did not respond.

     “He’s gonna be okay,” John said.

     The doors finally opened and they brought him to the ward. John zipped the equipment over to them and they attached themselves to Kyle automatically.

     “Instant Life Support. Guess you can say deus ex machina but whatever. We got a dangerous heart rate. Call Clara from outside.”

     “Done,” Berna said as she sent a telepathic message to Clara.

     “Come on, hurry…” Janella said to herself.

     Clara ran into the base.

     “Where are you guys?”

     “In here!” Berna said.

     “Can you do something about it?” John asked.

     “Umm… let’s get this out.”

     Berna removed the harpoon from Kyle’s body and set it on the ground.

     “Alright, let’s try stitching him up.”

     Clara put her arms on the entry point of the harpoon and her hands filled with a bright white light. Kyle’s heart rate started stabilizing.

     “I thought we needed a miracle,” Berna said.

     Then his heart rate started going critical again.

     “Clara, anyone, do something,” Berna said desperately.

     “I’m trying!” Clara said as she continued the treatment.

     Then Austin entered into the room.

     “Let me handle it.”

     Austin put his hands on Kyle’s head and entered his mind.

     “What’s happening to them?” Janella asked.

     “I think he’s going into his mind.”

   

Austin was back in the white void. It was their link. Austin had unintentionally corrupted it since it now had grey stripes all over it as if it had been torn in some places.

     Austin saw Kyle being beaten up by none other than Austin himself.

     “Stop it.”

     “Who are you to stop me?”

     Austin switched the band to Lumokinesis and charged his hands. He then grabbed his negative self and it started to glow inside.

     “What are you doing?”

     Light started to seep out of its crevices. His eyes started to light up and light started to go out of his mouth.

     This time, I destroy you for real.

     Austin pushed his hands deeper into the melting flesh as the being he was holding onto exploded in a field of light. The light fragments went to the grey lacerations and everything was a perfect white again.

      Austin went down to Kyle, bruised and battered.

     “Kyle, it’s over. You’re okay.”

     “Thanks… What exactly happened?”

     “I went crazy right? My crazy self corrupted our link and it started to affect you mentally and physically. That was why you couldn’t beat me when we were fighting.”

     “Oh…”

     “Let’s head back.”

      The white void around them started to fade as the view of the ward slowly came back into picture.

 

There they were, same position as before. Austin separated his hands from Kyle’s head and his heart rate had stabilized.

     “He should be fine now.”

     Austin looked over to Janella and saw a look of relief. In reality, that was all he wanted to see.

     “Austin…” Janella said.

     “Yeah?”

     “It’s so good to have you back.”

     “Thanks.”

     At that moment, Joel burst in the doors.

     “GUYS! Jericho, Joseph, Pocholo, they’re unconscious. Landers and Spike, they’re on their way off the island. They’re rushing towards the base of the hotel!”

     “But the base of the hotel is destroyed!” Ivan pointed out.

     “Exactly,” Austin said. “Kyle, can you get up?”

     “Yeah,” Kyle said as he floated off of his bed.

     “John, round up the rest of the ASG. This isn’t over yet.”