Active Measures (Ares #4)

The End Of The Kaimen.

Ares walks very slowly towards Roarke, his gaze not wandering and staying set on Roarke. "You seem determined. But you won't kill me, you'll die here just like your daughter!" Roarke shouts. Ares lunges towards him, and in an instant, lands punch after punch against him, letting out his rage with every punch. Roarke stands up, blood spilling out of his mouth. "You haven't asked the obvious question yet, Ares. Aren't you interested to know what happened to your precious Krystal?" Roarke asks, as he plunges his blade into Ares' stomach. He screams out in pain, as Skylar walks up to him, and holds out her hand, preparing an Annihilation attack. "What..about Krystal..what did you do?" Ares whimpers. "Oh surely you can guess that much, Ares. You're a smart man, figure it out. After I took your daughter, I sliced down your precious partner, leaving no one left. I knew Skylar would turn against you, everything fell into place!" Roarke brags. Ares grunts and groans in pure anger, his voice breaking under each mutter. "You..monster..you're gonna pay for that..YOU WILL..PAY FOR THAT!" He screams, as his aura and energy powers up so intensely, it begins to crack the floor and walls around them. Shattering the blade that had been plunged into him, Ares begins to grunt louder. "You took me daughter...you KILLED MY WIFE..THEN YOU EVEN HELPED KILL CORVUS! You're gonna pay for that, Roarke. Now I'm angry..I'm extremely angry..and now is the time for you..TO PAY!" He screams, as he races towards Roarke, throwing him into the shattered walls, breaking them down. Ares steps outside of the building, through the hole he created, and picks Roarke up by the throat. "Just how long can you keep up that form, Ares? Last time you used Ultimate Instinct, it nearly killed you!" Roarke questions. "SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Ares replies, plunging his fist into Roarke's face and stomach. Roarke rolls over, spitting out blood. He laughs, and then pulls out a remote control. "This is the button to launch the rocket, Ares, and guess what? You're out of time!" He shouts, as he presses down on the control. A large amount of shaking can be felt, as the rocket beings to emit an intense amount of noise.

"Woah, what the hell is going on?!" April shouts inside the rocket, barely able to stand up because of the intense vibrations. She begins punching at the walls to try and escape, but to no avail, and falls to the floor, giving up hope. "I guess this is it, wherever I go now, I just have a feeling, this is the end for me. I'm sorry, Dad. I failed you" she whispers, and then she closes her eyes, and prays.

The words can be heard by Ares, and they resonate through him. "Annihila-.." Skylar begins to unleash her attack, but she is interrupted abruptly. Ares plunges his fist so powerfully into Skylar's stomach, that it rips a hole clean through, his fist protruding through the other side of her body. She begins to fall down on the spot, blood spilling everywhere. "You were a good Kaimen, and it was never meant to end this way Skylar. I only hope you can forgive me, but this is the only way. The power made you crazy, and you killed the God of Annihilation. You were one hell of a fighter, but you lost it. Forgive me." Ares explains. Skylar falls to the floor, and spits out blood. "Save..April..I'm..sorry.. get that bastard.." she mumbles, as she closes her eyes, and falls limp on the spot. "Rest easy, Skylar." Ares says quietly.

"Now that..I did not expect." Roarke mumbles. "I've already lost everything, Roarke. I am not letting you take my daughter away from me!" Ares explodes with anger. As the pair argue, the rocket begins to elevate. "IT'S TOO LATE NOW, ARES. THE ROCKET IS GONE!" Roarke shouts. Ares punches him rapidly. "Stop the rocket, now!" He demands. Roarke smiles, and crushes the remote underneath his feet. "Sorry, no can do!" He laughs. Ares growls in anger, and flies as fast as he can towards the rocket. "Oh you poor soul, there's nothing you can do now." Roarke mumbles.

Ares arrives just above the rocket, and begins to hold his hands out in front of it. "I'm gonna need a miracle for this to work, HANG ON TIGHT APRIL!" Ares screams. The rocket smacks into Ares' hands, and begins to push him back. "Please..please..PLEASE!" Ares screams, as the rocket very slowly begins to slow down. "Dad, is that you?!" April screams inside. "Let's give this ring a test drive, thank you Corvus! ANNIHILATE!" Ares screams, as the rocket very slowly begins to disintegrate piece by piece, however, it begins to take more and more energy out of him. "Come..on.." Ares grunts, his energy running out rapidly. A narrow opening appears by the window near April, and she slithers out of it. "DAD, IM OUT!" She shouts. "I can't..let this..rocket..hit the Earth.." Ares replies.

As the last few remnants of the rocket disappear, Ares falls through the sky. "Skylar..Krystal..Corvus..I'm sorry I couldn't finish the job.." he whispers. "DAD!" April screams, as she catches his body out of the sky, and lays him down on the floor. Footsteps can be heard nearby. "You...all you had to do was stay in the rocket...that would have been it..YOU SELFISH, EVIL, DISGRACEFUL BEING!" Roarke screams, as he grabs April and lifts her into the air, choking her. "Now you'll die. Just like the rest of your kind!" He screams. April begins struggling for air, when suddenly Roarke's own blade appears through Roarke's chest, and forces him to drop April and fall to his knees. Ares stands with the blade through Roarke's chest. "Oh, brother, of course it's you to end it all. But at least, I won't be going alone.." he mutters, as he plunges a blade of pure energy through April's chest. "APRIL, NO!" Ares screams, as he pulls the blade out of Roarke, and plunges it back in through the back of his head. Roarke falls to the floor in a pool of blood. Ares holds April in his hands. "Stay with me April, please stay with me." He pleads. "My dream was always to meet you one day, Dad. It's all I ever wanted. I'm happy I got the chance. I can go happily now. Thank you for fulfilling that dream for me." April whispers. "You're not going anywhere, stay with me April, please." April holds his hand gently. "It's okay..it's okay..I've had my time..you need to keep the Kaimen name going. Please, for me." April whispers, as her eyes begin to close, and she lets go of Ares' hand. Ares stands up, and walks towards a room with only some desks and chairs in them. Ares throws the chairs in pure anger. "So this is my gift, is it? I save the Kaimen, but lose everyone I love. If this is life, then I don't want it. I've done all I need to do." Ares monologues, as he picks up the blade once more. "But all things must come to an end. And all people have their time. Things change, and so must I." He swipes his hand up and down the blade, wiping the blood from it, and he plunges it into his own stomach. Grunting in pain, he moves April's body into the corner, and sits down with her. "But at least, I fulfilled my wish..of meeting my daughter.. one last time.. I'm sorry it had to end this way." He strokes April's head once more and whispers, "I love you, April." Ares closes his eyes peacefully, and the room falls completely silent.