An Apocalyptic Invasion

i take care of an old foe

Crystal.
That was the answer.
She also had an evil personality, causing her to kill Riley all those years ago.
If I could tie my personality with hers... it could change everything.
"Now it's a question of finding her," I muttered.
I opened my wings and shot into the air.
I soared over vast forests and wide rivers, stampedes of bison and schools of fish.
I stopped when I saw a huge cave that looked like it reached down to the depths of the earth.
This seems like the perfect place for her to be in.
I landed at the edge of it. I hesitated for a bit.
Here goes nothing.
I soon went into the darkness, using my hand as a torch.
Really? This is where you're hiding?
I wasn't the same paranoid boy anymore- I was now a king, gang leader, and a soon-to-be father.
In other words, I had more courage than before.

She heard a voice calling her.
"Crystal? Are you there?"
Why do I recognize that voice? she thought.
She slowly peeked over the rocks. A boy was looking around, his hand in flames.
She frowned. Since when do you have fire powers?
Despite herself, she said, "Over here."
He turned in her direction. "Oh. Um... hi."
She slowly got up and limped towards him.
"Broken leg?"
She nodded. "Jumped off a ledge like an idiot."
"I'm not here to kill you."
She looked at him with a skeptical expression. "After everything I've done?"
"It wasn't your fault," he said. "Years of clarity helped me see that."
She noticed that Carlos held himself with more confidence and regalness. He wasn't the same boy she knew, so long ago.
"Which is why it's time for me to remove your other side and absorb it into myself."
She looked at him in horror. "You don't want to do that."
"I have to." He set his jaw determinedly. "It's the only way to stop myself."
"Stop yourself?" she echoed.
"I've done worse things than what you did. The Catwings gave up looking for you- I think it's because they knew that someone would put an end to your other personality; but it wouldn't be Riley."
"It would be a person who's experiencing the same thing," she realized.
"Yeah. Which is me."
"Why are you saving me?" she asked. "You've hated me for years. Why be compassionate now?"
"Those are valid questions. And I understand- I was wondering that myself."
His gaze became unfocused. "Over the past few millennia, I've killed much, MUCH more people than you. I'm also more of a monster, so what you did isn't even CLOSE to the things I have done."
"How many people have you killed?"
He turned away. "You don't want to know."
"I do," she said earnestly.
He rubbed his eyes and looked at her again. "Two hundred million people."
"T-Two hundred million?" she stammered.
He clenched his left hand. "And I plan to kill more."
She wasn't the type to scare easily, but the way Carlos said those words sent a shiver down her spine. Unlike him, she truly felt remorseful for what she did.
Carlos, on the other hand, proved to be a calculated killer. She could see that now, with the psychotic glint in his eyes.
She also noticed that her other personality went strangely quiet as soon as he entered the cave- almost as if it feared Carlos as much as her.
His head twitched. "Crystal, I've been thinking what to do with your other half. Like I said, I need to absorb it."
His gaze hardened, and he smiled. "I'll let you live, but you need to allow me to take it from you."
"Yes, please do it!" she cried. "I've been struggling with it for my whole life."
It was almost like something clicked in him. He looked at her with sad eyes. "What I just said to you was my king form. It's breaking out, and the only way to completely control it is to use your evil side."
"What do you mean 'your king form?'"
"I'm the king of hell, Crystal."
She stepped back. "No."
But as she looked into his eyes, she was flooded with images: Carlos killing an entire classroom, a crying Riley hiding in the corner. Scorching multiple people in one wave of fire. Unleashing terrifying creatures into the world and cackling with joy. They just kept going.
They disappeared as fast as they flashed by.
"You've been scaring me for all these years," he said in a low voice. "But now... I realize it wasn't your fault. Grab my hand."
As soon as she did, a current of agony ran through her body. She watched as a shadowy form slipped out of her and into Carlos.
He yelped and let go, then looked at his arms. They were pulsing with light, right under the skin.
He slowly looked up at her. "Run, Crystal. Don't come back, don't tell anyone what happened. If you know what's good for you, disappear again."
She stared at him. "But..."
"I healed your leg, okay? Hurry up!"
She realized that he was right: the pain in her leg was gone.
She started running away, looking back to see him glowing.
Oh, Carlos. I hope that all of this ends soon... but I wish that it doesn't take you with it.

Crystal ran off, leaving me in pain.
I calmed myself down, causing the glow to subside.
It's done. Now I need to wait for the process to finish.
Little did I know how much it would affect me.
I went back home with one goal in mind: to let the others know what happened.
But I couldn't tell them directly. This process would result in something big, and I did not want them to get caught in the middle of it.
I wrote a quick letter then placed a crystal on top of it.
Then I went to Mike.
"Can you hold down the fort for a while? I'm going on a vacation."
"Sure thing, bud. Mind I ask what's going on?"
"Just a couple of changes around here."
I went outside and got into the car. Then I drove off.
I needed to find a place to live, so I found a log cabin that was tucked into the deepest part of the forest.
Once I settled myself into the place, all I had to do now was wait.

It was nighttime now, and things did not get better.
I was expecting the two evil personalities to fight each other equally, but I heavily underestimated my personality.
It completely dominated the other one, absorbing and claiming it as its own.
Crystal's personality was completely gone, and it worked- but not in the way I expected.
A heavy pain hit my head as I crawled out of bed and went outside.
I realized that Lhrioun must be feeling the same pain I was, since we're connected. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything about it.
At this point, one entire half of my body was glowing. I heard four people in the forest and knew it was the gang.
"Oh my god," Tristan said.
I could imagine what he was seeing: a teenage boy with dirty clothes, an entire half of his body glowing orange.
"Can you do me a favor, please?"
Tristan and Ryan glanced at each other, but they nodded.
"Go back to the HQ- the big, tall building- and tell my friends to look for me. And please, hurry."
I could tell Kaitlyn wanted to ask a question, but Tristan dragged her off before she could say anything.
It would take a while for them to get there, so I got into the car and drove off to the Grand Canyon.
I found Plasma Trail standing at the edge, his fur casting an eerie purple glow.
"Do you need anything?"
I shook my head no.
"Do not worry about the gang," he said. "Once they're done doing what you told them to, the Catwings will take care of the rest."
"Thank you."
"Your hand changed."
The skin was now bubbling and popping, the skin a molten red.
"Yeah."
"How are you not in pain?"
"Oh, I am," I said. "But I'm trying very hard."
"Emphasis on 'trying.'"
"Plasma Trail, my body is currently splitting apart. Your sarcasm doesn't help."
"Sorry." He averted his gaze. "You know, I usually don't get scared; but the energy you're releasing right now is freaking me out."
Wow. Is it really that bad?
"I must go." He bowed his head apologetically.
I watched him take off into the night sky. Am I really so scary that the Catwing of violence runs away from me?
I planned to go as far away as possible; whatever would happen in a few days, it would cause a lot of damage and I didn't want to put that on my friends.
I dragged myself further into the desert as my veins filled with fire.
It was completely dark now, and the only thing I could see was the stars twinkling in the sky.
I realized that I was far away from the cabin. What am I doing?
Flying back home, I noticed quite a bit of Catwings speeding in my direction.
Plasma Trail must have brought them. I have no choice but to lead all of them to the cabin.
I landed in front of it and turned to face their direction.
All I have to do is wait.

What the hell...?
I woke up with the realization that my stomach pain was completely gone.
He took it away from you.
Carlos?
Yeah, it's me. Star Tail took it away from you because he knew you wanted to start a family with Riley.
Really? Can you tell him I said thanks?
Gladly.
Where are you, by the way?
I'm in a forest somewhere. There's a log cabin hidden in the trees, but you can find it using its roof.
How am I supposed to get there?
I don't know, you have wings, don't you?
Yes.
So fly over here.
I sighed but got out of bed and went outside.
I found myself in the air, looking for a forest.
It was really hard, since it surrounded the entire area. But I saw smoke coming from a chimney and knew I found the cabin.
I landed and folded my wings. Carlos was standing there, an entire half of his body glowing.
"Oh my god. Are you okay?"
He turned to me, an empty look in his eyes. "Hey, man."
"You didn't answer my question."
"I guess." He let out a little laugh.
I was about to go to his side when he stopped me with a hand. "Don't. Not right now."
I didn't question anything; he would like it, and plus I could tell he was in pain.
"What are you going to do?"
"Catwings and two others will help me out," he said. "If you see the others, tell them..."
He swallowed hard. "Yeah?"
"Tell them to mourn me if this goes wrong."
"You're not going to die."
"My body is fighting against itself," he snapped. "And the only one who can decide that is Tykine."
Tykine, I thought. Death hadn't shown himself in a while.
"Do you... do you want me to go?"
He nodded.
"If you die, just let me remind you that you owe me five bucks."
He smirked. "Ah, I'll give it to you in the afterlife."
I flew off to find the others. I was worried about them, especially my girlfriend.
I hope she takes this well, because if she doesn't... it'll make things harder for all of us.