The Howling Dark, Part 12

"I would not be here without all of my Brothers and Sisters efforts...," Aaron's Doppelganger stated in an eerie and disjointed voice while standing up and walking toward where Aaron and the others were., "... But neither they nor you can fathom the depths of what I am... What. I've. Become. Now... BEGONE!"

He was looking right at Aaron.

At those words, a huge tide of blood red energy exploded out of The Other Aaron's body and washed over everyone and everything inside the strange space of The Howling Dark, pinning everyone to the ground with the exception of Aaron who was still restrained and The Goddess who braced herself with her hands to keep from being slammed into the ground like a felled tree. She grunted with effort and the muscles in her long, lithe arms bulged as she fought to stay upright.

The Other Aaron strode forward, the weight of the already intense pressure caused by his rampant, tyrannical aura threatening to crush everyone. Even Aaron could feel it but only barely. He had trouble focusing on anything and he couldn't stop his mind from wandering as everything blurred in and out of focus.

One of The Goddess' arms broke under the pressure but she barely uttered a sound while the ground beneath The Priest, The White-Haired Youth, and The Pirate Captain cratered and they violently coughed up blood as The Doppelganger passed by. The Knight was the only one who was able to get to his feet despite his heavy albeit damaged armor and the amount of blood he had lost and impact trauma he had suffered.

"STOP RIGHT THERE MONSTER!!," The Knight roared from behind his foe., "TURN AND FACE ME IF YOU DARE!"

A wide, deep smile adorned The Other Aaron's face as he turned. The Knight didn't waste anymore time once his eyes met his opponents.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!," The Knight yelled, weaving signs with his hands as an enormous wave of water rose up from behind him and rushed toward his opponent before transforming into a long, serpent-like Dragon that roared, its mouth opened wide and its long fearsome teeth on display.

Without a single moment of hesitation, The Other Aaron grabbed the enormous Water Dragon by its head and held its mouth open while only being pushed back by a couple of steps. The huge Dragon roared but couldn't bite down on its prey.

"Tch!," The Knight clicked his tongue, making another series of hand signs before yelling., "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

The mid-section of the enormous Water Dragon was immediately engulfed in a radiant blue glow that grew in intensity with every passing second as the light ascended its body and toward its open mouth.

"Useless.," The Other Aaron scoffed as he watched a gleaming sphere of light taking shape inside The Dragon's mouth. Within a matter of seconds, the sphere of light had reached the size of a beach ball and an intensity rivaling that of a small sun. A moment later the huge ball of liquid light shot forward, breaking the sound barrier in less than a tenth of a second and slamming directly into The Doppelganger's face.

Everything was quiet for several long moments then The Other Aaron slammed the huge Water Dragon to the ground and roared., "FUCK! YOU CHIPPED ONE OF MY TEETH!"

The Other Aaron stuck his finger in his mouth, revealing the tip of his left canine had been broken off but was already growing back but he seemed more concerned for the damage to his tooth more so than the fact that half of his face had been melted and his hair, what little remained was on fire.

The Knight who knew this wasn't enough to stop him had already begun weaving hand signs before the smoke cleared., "Water Style: Thousand Dragon Whip!"

The Water Dragon though brutally cast aside hadn't vanished and the moment The Knight finished the hand signs for his Jutsu it seemingly came back to life and attacked, instantly transforming into countless whip-like tendrils which quickly entangled The Doppelganger's limbs and torso but unexpectedly The Doppelganger didn't struggle or put up a fight... Instead he just stood there with a strange bemused look on his rapidly regenerating face.

"Lightning Style: Four Pillar Bind!," Roared The Knight as four giant stone pillars erupted from the ground around The Doppelganger. He didn't seem surprised even when bolts of electricity began arching back and forth between himself and the stone pillars. He seemed even more amused, holding up a hand and watching currents of electricity jumping back and forth between his fingers.

The Knight grunted, a stream of blood trickling out of his left nostril and right ear., "Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

The Knight opened his mouth inhumanly wide as he called out the technique's name and a bolt of lightning in the shape of a spear flew out of his mouth and split into five crackling spears before piercing The Other Aaron's torso. The five spears exploded the moment they pierced their target and discharged enough power to shatter a small moon but The Doppelganger didn't even flinch. Instead he raised his right hand and the watery tendrils holding him immediately fell away.

"Did you honestly think that would stop me?," The Other Aaron smirked.

The Knight was breathing heavy and the wound in his chest wasn't healing and continued to bleed profusely. The Knight flung out his hand and his sword which had fallen from his grip earlier when he was attacked rose into the air and flew toward him. The Other Aaron stepped to the side while the tip of the huge sword stopped only a few inches form impaling The Knight's chest before turning and slipping into his hand like an anxious lover.

With a grunt, The Knight gripped the hilt with both hands and hefted his sword up as The Doppelganger lunged forward, an almost feral look on its all too familiar face. The Knight swung his sword with all his strength, cleaving his foe in two at the chest.

"That Was Too Easy.," Thought The Knight, realizing that his opponent hadn't even tried to dodge and that his blade had cut through the flesh and bone without any resistance or even any blood. As that revelation set in, The Knight looked around hurriedly but his opponent was nowhere to be seen.

"LooKiNg FOr SOmEoNe?," Came an eerie voice from behind The Knight.

The Knight turned, sword at the ready but he was barely able to defend against his opponent's speed and had to sacrifice his sword which was shattered in the brutal attack. While he hated to sacrifice his sword which had followed him through many battles and saved his life in many of them he also knew that there was no other way. The sacrifice of his old friend had gained him the precious seconds necessary to jump back and begin the long sequence of hand signs that would decide his fate in this encounter.

Twenty.... fifty.... two hundred... one thousand... The number of hand signs he had performed in just a handful of seconds was skyrocketing and a series of figures were beginning to rise up out of the ground from behind him.

"No YOU DON'T!," Growled The Other Aaron as he lunged forward. It looked like things had devolved into a test of strength and more importantly of will as the two fearsome individuals locked hands and stared at each other as both tried to gain the upper hand and overpower the other.

"You can't keep this up much longer Brother. You're burning your own life to keep me at bay. If I don't kill you then the stress on your mind and body will. You know I'm going to win anyway so why don't you just step aside and let me have The Boy.," Sneered The Other Aaron.

The Knight gritted his teeth and roared., "Its... My... LIFE!"

The Other Aaron was slowly being pushed back until the ground beneath him began to crack., "Not AnyMORE!"

The Other Aaron pulled The Knight into a bone-shattering headbutt that cracked like thunder the moment the two hard skulls met but both of them refused to give up even an inch of ground. A loud crunch came from The Knight's left hand as the bones in his hand and wrist were pulverized. A second later, The right hand followed along with his right forearm but he still refused to give up any ground to his foe.

"You're strong Brother... There's no disputing that but I'm still Stronger!," The Other Aaron growled, hoisting The Knight into the air before slamming him into the ground. The Knight coughed up blood from the **** of the impact and screamed as his left arm was twisted then broken.

"How sad. You tried so hard but in the end... you... none of you can stop me.," Chuckled The Other Aaron with malicious glee. The Knight protested, trying to get up but was knocked **** with a vicious kick to the face.

"You're considered one of the strongest of our siblings but you came here in such a weakened condition... All you could do was stall for time and even that was a failure.," The sickening laughter of The Other Aaron echoed from every direction., "It would be pitiful if it weren't so utterly laughable."

With The Priest, The White-Haired Youth, The Pirate Captain and now The Knight **** and too beat up to help that left only The Goddess who wasn't fairing much better as she tried to resist The Other Aaron's oppressive aura and stand but she just wasn't strong enough.

"Take Pity On No One... Even Your Allies For The Day Will Eventually Come When They Will Take No Pity On You.," Aaron could hear the malicious voice echo inside his head as his Doppelganger approached.

Aaron had been in a daze most of the time, moving in and out of consciousness as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing which even for the most fanciful and open-minded of minds would be taxing never mind one as logical as Aaron's but as his 'Evil Twin' continued to advance on him everything was coming into sharp focus.

Without thinking Aaron reached out with his mind for help but not to some God who may or may not even exist or even to Gog but to someone or something that he didn't even know existed until that exact moment of desperation. The response was immediate as a roughly cylindrical rod-like apparatus approximately 20 centimeters long appeared in his hand. Aaron was stunned for a moment. Mostly because this was a device he had dreamed of for so long and now it was in his hand just as if it had always been there and as he stared in wonder at its elegant simplicity he felt a surge of newfound strength permeate his tired muscles.

The restraints holding Aaron simply evaporated and with new strength spurring him onward Aaron stood up gritting his teeth in effort, pointing the device at his smiling Doppelganger. With a single thought, The device in Aaron's hand extended and the four claw-like clasps surrounding the glowing diode at the end opened giving the rather simple-looking mechanism a more ominous air.

The atmosphere around the strange device crackled with power and thrummed with tremendous energy but before Aaron could do whatever it was he was about to do, His Other Self raised his hand and snapped his fingers and just like that the device disappeared from his hand and immediately re-appeared in The Other Aaron's Hand much to Aaron's growing shock. He had thought he finally stood a chance against the monster in front of him but he had been proven a fool.

Examining the device, The Other Aaron said, "Nice Craftsmanship.," He admitted and Aaron felt a sudden and intense need to retch watching his Doppelganger open his jacket, long slimy strands of mucus connecting the inside of his jacket to his bloody shirt as he slipped the device into his inner breast pocket with a disgusting squish., "Barely even born and like a faithful puppy she wants to protect her Master but though her fangs are sharp she cannot bite her Master... She cannot harm me."

Aaron was in shock. His last hope gone.

"I'll hang on to it for you so we can talk but don't worry it will be returned to you when you wake up."

"How?," Aaron found the word leaving his lips unbidden.

The Other Aaron pointed his finger and Aaron fell back down in the chair behind him while The Other Aaron sat down in a chair that suddenly appeared out of nowhere as he sat down., "Its simple Aaron after all you know the science as well as I do."

Aaron gulped at the implications of what his Other Self was saying.

"You may have already guessed but I once had this exact same model. I still sometimes experience the phantom pains from when "She" destroyed her. Even thousands of years later the pain is still as fresh as when it happened on that fateful day.," The Other Aaron lamented, remembering an event that for him had long pasted but for Aaron had yet to happen.

With a snap of his fingers, heavy leather straps burst from each arm of the sturdy made chair and held Aaron once again. Aaron struggled but his bonds were even stronger than before and what's more he felt like the strength that he felt from earlier was fading.

The Other Aaron stood up and leaning over, staring Aaron in the eyes., "Oh, Aaron stop resisting me. Why struggle? I am You after all. I am the inevitable conclusion. That. Is. YOU!"

"No! You're like this because you couldn't save your Sister but that doesn't have to happen to me. I will Save her... I have to.," Aaron screamed in his Doppelganger's face.

The Other Aaron grabbed Aaron by the throat., "Don't you think I told myself all the same things and I still lost her in the end. I COULDN'T SAVE HER AND NEITHER CAN YOU!"

With a wave of a clawed hand behind him, a kneeling figure took shape behind The Other Aaron.

Aaron's struggles immediately stopped, his skin became visibly paler than before, his lips quivered and a small bead of yellow and silver took shape in the corner of his eye.

The kneeling figure was crying into her hands. It was obviously a Young Woman's body, that much Aaron was sure of but as he took in what he could see of her features... the length, color, and style of her hair not to mention her skin color and those curves which the skimpy blouse and shorts she was wearing did little to hide but most telling of all were her cries.

They were like knives in his skull and what's more Aaron had heard them many times. His Sister Monica would come into his room when he first became confined to a bed. She would hold his hand and cry the entire night until she fell asleep. They were plentiful and painful memories which Aaron attempted to suppress.

"Oh Aaron you can't save her and you never could.," The Other Aaron sneered.

His Sister looked up at him and he screamed in horror as he saw his Sister covered in blood, her flesh torn and her arm mangled. Her once beautiful face withered and charred, her eyes milky and lifeless.

"Stop! P-Please STOP!," Aaron wailed, fighting his bonds as his Doppelganger's hands closed around his Sister's throat.

"Why Didn't You Save Me Big Brother?," His Sister cried out, Tears of blood falling from her eyes.

"NOoooooooooooooooooo!," Aaron screamed, his anguish evident as the blackened world around him rippled and the chair shook, creaking and splintering from the intense vibrations surging through it.

"There You Are Aaron... The Real You. Try As It Might The Dam Can't Hold Back The Water Forever.," The Other Aaron said in an amused voice and why not he had swept aside Aaron's protectors while barely breaking a sweat and now he could claim his prize or at least that's what he thought until the sound of laughter caused him to freeze.

The Doppelganger looked all around but then he realized that that ghastly and inhuman sound was coming from Aaron but at the same time it wasn't. It was a sound so horrific and frightening that there are no words with which to describe it. If someone had distilled and concentrated the very Essence of Madness it wouldn't have been as terrible as the bone-chilling sound rushing past his lips like a dark tsunami.