what's left ↔ p.l

four - the showdown

author's note - this chapter was fun but sad to write. this has made me go to the point of crying because of how I've written this. good luck. bring some tissues. you're gonna need it!

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We left the den, Dan leading the way in his snake-like form, slithering away to the place where we expected to meet Jack. It felt weird calling him Sean - we were never that personal with him. Though he made it clear that faithful night when he broke out of prison - his name was Anti. I'd have a sliver of hope that he would turn back and cower and beg for mercy, but he wasn't that sort of person. Not the vile being he became.

It was Brighton. An unfamiliar place. It was told that he lived here with his girlfriend once upon a time - but no one knew what happened to her. Was she dead like the rest of them? Or was she helping him in his twisted mind?

Strider looked at me, eclipsing from his snake form to back into his normal form again. There was a pride of Slytherin emanating from him whenever he turned into a snake, but that was not the matter now. The matter of the moment was the showdown between Strider and Vinewhip against Anti.

I took in a deep breath as I looked around in the park, and saw a dark figure there. I knew who it was.

Anti.

I grabbed Strider's shoulder, shaking it. He looked back to me and I gave him a kiss on the cheek. His cheeks flushed with red, chuckling softly. "Kiss before the big battle? Never thought you'd be like this so...soon before the showdown?" He replies to my kiss, and kissed me on the forehead. "Vine, we're going to stop him. Then we won't have to worry anymore." He reassured me, but I had a feeling in my stomach that something was not right.

"Look. There he is. We'll have to sneak up behind him." I say, slowly sinking into the ground, closing my mouth immediately after. Dan turned back into a snake and slithered his way down to the park.

A minute later and we meet again at the park. A sinister chuckle, a mad cackle following after cake from the man that killed our friends. "I know where you are, Strider. Your snake form is easy to tell when the scales shimmer in the moonlight. Where is your lover, Strider? Did he skimp out on the battle? Like the pathetic being he is." The words tortured me. Being called pathetic by Anti riled me up, anger swelling within me. I have to wait for the right moment to unleash my attack. That is what I am known for these days.

"Don't you call him pathetic you twat. And if you try to hurt him you'll have me to deal with. I know who you're afraid of." Strider said, words rolling off his tongue in an angered tone. This was what I loved most about Dan. I'd stand up for him and he'd stand up for me. "And who am I afraid of...Daniel Howell?" Anti hissed out. I looked at Strider through the ground, a small hole in the ground appearing. He was thoroughly angered, and his fingers curled into a fist. There was steam rising from his hands - this was a bad sign. I told him not to let Anti get to him, but it looks like he's forgotten what I've said, in the effort of standing up for me. "You're afraid of him aren't you? Of Vinewhip? You're afraid of him. You resort to petty insults and try to rile me up so that I lose control - smart. But you're not that smart." Dan chuckled, his hands turning to ice as he threw out ice shards. I couldn't see what was happening, so I peeked out another hole which was to the right of me, and saw the shards pierce through the vine wall Anti had made, and stab right into the shoulders of the man. 

I thought to my self. Did Anti really fear me? Or was that to get my hopes up?

"You're right. I'm scared of him. Because to me, his powers are unknown. I only know from his name that he has the power to wield nature. You, however..." Anti grabbed a knife from his waist and threw it at Dan, scraping him by the shoulder. I moved myself underground, to behind Anti. I slowly creeped up from the ground and behind him. Strider smiled. "I wonder where he is? Because I see him." Dan smirked, a fire sword in his hands as he sliced into Anti. The flames licked over Anti's hand, and he pushed Strider back. While Anti was distracted, I wrapped my vines around his feet and eyes. His breathing came faster and faster. "I knew you'd be here, Vinewhip. Or should I say..." He looked behind me and smirked as he wrapped vines around my face, and I staggered backwards, hands frantically moving to rip the vines off. "Phil Lester. My nemesis. The only one I'm afraid of. Or well, I used to be afraid of. Now you're just a cheapskate. Only one power you have, and that's nature. What a pitiful power." He snarked, just in time for me to rip off the last vine. I grinned, vines curling around my hand as I raised my hand, the ground below him giving way as the ground sunk below him a few metres down. 

A grunt of frustration gave out from Anti as he tried using vines to climb from the hole he was stuck in. I looked at Strider for a glance, but there was something wrong with him. He looked paler than usual. I look back down to Anti and growled. "What did you do to Strider?" I called out, feeling my body temperature rise. Anti laughed. "It takes a while to take effect, but all of my knives carry a particular poison. Bet you can't heal him quick enough before it takes over completely, can you?" I could feel the flames on my back as I was ready to blow. Anti looked at me, terrified. He scrambled out of the hole and ran far, far away. 

I ran over to Dan, catching him in my arms as he collapsed into me. I took his mask off, looking at his dilating eyes. His breathing still was regular. It hadn't hit his lungs yet. "Take...take me back to the den. The...the anti-venom is there." Dan said, grabbing my hand. The fastest way there was by travelling underground. So down I went, carrying Dan in my arms. It was a matter of a few minutes we got back to London, where we had our den. 

I ran back into the den, carrying Dan in a fireman's lift. "Where to next, Dan?" I asked, but I heard raspy breathing. Shit. This was bad. "The freezer in front of us. Th-that's where the serum is..." He trailed off. I put him down on the ground and went into the freezer. It was clearly marked "Anti-venom" but it didn't say for what poison. I held it out for Dan to see. "Is this it?" I called out, looking over my shoulder to see Dan nod. I got out of the freezer and slid on my knees to go to him. He was physically shivering - I didn't think he would get so low in temperature. "Here, drink up." I popped the top off the serum and Dan opened his mouth, and I poured it in. He struggled to gulp it down. Shit. This wasn't going well.

"Dan. Stay with me please. I don't want to lose you." I said softly, while Dan came up with the strength to pull himself on onto his bottom, and leaned against my chest. "I feel worse, Phil. I don't think it's working." Dan said, his teeth chattering. I rose my temperature to a warmer degree to try to keep him from freezing up. 

A few minutes pass and the poison's effect is getting worse. The veins on his head are fully blue, and his skin was turning blue. He was losing control of his ice powers. It was turning on him. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I felt Dan's freezing hand touch my face.

"Thank you for meeting me all those years ago, Phil. Without you I wouldn't have been the same." He said weakly, and I cuddled him closer to my chest. Then I heard the cracks. I looked down to his feet and noticed they were beginning to crystallise. "Dan, please. Don't go. You still have a lot to fight for." I started to sob in between sentences. "Phil. I love you. You can go on without me." he said, weakly again, getting weaker with each passing moment. The process was coming up to his chest. "I will always be there for you."

Then he closed his eyes. A single tear rolled down his cheeks, a smile on his face as the rest of his body had crystallised. Then, he began to fade out. His legs first, then his chest. And finally, his sweet and beautiful resting face was last. I could still feel his hand, and I clutched it, fully crying. 

Then he was gone.

Gone forever.