I have a sad story that made me cry. So i have one named Pararea, when I hatched her I was so excited, I gave her berries when she was born, a few minutes later she died because i gave her stimberry cause i did not know that babys can’t eat the berries, so I got on my tapejara and rushed to the nearest obelisk with the implant, then i had to protect her until i got to my house. Pararea still lives to this day.😥😥😥
Open the Dododex app on iOS or Android, select a creature, and go to Tips > Submit Tip.
I have a Parasaur who is a hero! When i was new i had a dodo pen, a Pterra and a Parasaur named Dolby.One day on the island i was getting resources on my raft with my trusty pterra by the swamps. It was by the swamps when them dam devil snakes slam my rafts deck. I fought with extremism , tho i won i felt woosy and passed out in the shallows where i met my fate. I woke in anger and cursed the stoopid island MY RESOURCES MY RAFT MY BIRD ALL GONE! Its a 2 day run back ill never survive! I opened my thatch door to see Dolby gaurding the dodo pen . I told him about my misfortune and something changed in Dolby that day. He had a fire in his eyes and belched out a cry that made the dodos dance a song of storms. He had a will to get back what was best for us, I told Dolby it suicide to go back!But he wouldnt fear anything . We rode, Dolby ran and ran past all who threatened us. We reached the raft. Everything intact. Dolby and i can still be seen making a morning run.Ill always remember Dolby
The one day I was playing and got lost so i killed myself got my pt (fly guy)and got my stuff but then I realised im too heavy and tried to tame a parasaur unluckily it died to raptors (I survived) and tried to tame another 1 it died to something then it happened again then lost my fly guy and crashed out
Hi It’s Eclipse here
So in my first ARK world I found a raptor when I was like level 7 and not knowing what I was getting myself into attacked. It killed me of course and then it attacked my Dino’s Rocky dodo, Tocky dodo, Emerald Para.
Emerald died defending my Dodo’s.
One 🔼 is one respect for Emerald :(
Story time
I was on ragnorok nere the highlands I was unloading my raft but not all my creatures couldn't carry everything so I though lets use parasaurs I tamed two parasaurs and loaded everything on to them now I have 4 with my temporary base lets hope I can survive the desert
R.i.p my tex Parasaur a pego killed it
I tamed a parasaur named Skull Sappho and he was lvl 59, my level, when he died. It was a tragic loss...
I plan to build a grave with a parasaur statue and all of his favorite stuff in it.
You may want to consider pressing the good-looking arrow if you have built a grave. Just suggesting, so 'dex doesn't think I am asking for an up.
The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)
Chapter 95: Finality
Alan let out a roar of rage and slammed Dr. Aston down into the metal counter. Dr. Aston let out a grunt and looked up into Alan’s bloodthirsty eyes. He looked past Alan and smirked. Baby Wyvern quickly came rushing in and scratched at Alan’s back.
“AHH!” Alan cried as blood rippled off his back. Dr. Aston reflected the pressure back on Alan. As Alan let go of him, Dr. Aston sent a right hook toward Alan’s chest. Alan let out a grunt as he was sent flying back, tripping and falling onto his back. Dr. Aston took out his syringe and prepared to stab Alan in the throat when Bob suddenly came tumbling in and pushed him out of the way.
CLATTER!
The syringe dropped to the ground and Alan quickly took the syringe and tossed it to the side, breaking the needle. The syringe rolled away, and Alan turned back with wide and joyful eyes.
“Bob! You’re okay!” Alan screamed in delight. Alan rushed in to help his mentor, and the two quickly began passing Dr. Aston around like a hot potato, kicking and punching at him and giving him many wounds across his body.
“Yeah I am,” Bob replied with a wink, “Immune Artifact prevented the virus from doing anything so… lucky me.”
Bob slammed his fist so hard into Dr. Aston that his jaw seemed to crack. Dr. Aston let out a groan as he stumbled backwards, clutching his jaw tightly. Baby Dragon swooped down to attack them again, but they were prepared. Alan picked up his metal hatchet and swung at it, destroying it easily.
CRASH!
The metal pieces fell to the ground, collapsing into a bunch of scraps. The two grinned and Dr. Aston knew his time was up. Dr. Aston had to think of something, and fast.
Then, he came up with an idea.
“Bob, what's a Vice President like you doing on this ARK?” Dr. Aston sneered, almost triumphantly as he had thought of something so clever. Alan paused in his tracks, a mixture of surprise and pride in his eyes.
“Wait, YOU’RE the Vice President? You’re THAT Bob?!” Alan realized, “WHAT?!”
With Alan distracted, Dr. Aston slammed his foot into one of the tables and it was launched at Alan. Alan couldn’t react as the table hit him in the legs, causing him to go flying back. Alan let out a groan as he clutched onto his shin. Now Dr. Aston would be able to focus on only one person.
POW!
Dr. Aston’s head flew back and he let out a groan as his nostrils began to seep blood. Bob glared, clenching his fists even tighter than before.
“Shouldn’t have said that buddy,” he said through gritted teeth. Bob looked back at Alan and yelled at him,
“Get up!”
Alan groaned and got back onto his two feet. He rushed back to Bob’s side. Dr. Aston’s attempt had been futile. He knew his job here was done. There was no denying that victory was impossible.
“I just can’t let them take down Loki,” Dr. Aston thought.
Through it all and all, if he was going down…
He’d take these two down with him.
Dr. Aston grinned as the two approached, and then reached for his neck and moved the small collar that was wrapped around it up.
And then he clicked a button.
The collar beeped three times, and then a little indicator on the front flashed red. Dr. Aston ran toward them, and it was then Bob realized what was about to happen.
Before Dr. Aston could reach the two of them, Bob lunged forward and tackled Dr. Aston to the ground, holding onto him tight and shielding Alan from harm.
BEEP BEEP!
POW!
An explosion set off in the collar, blowing Dr. Aston’s head off and knocking Alan back, enveloping Bob and Dr. Aston in a cloud of smoke. Alan began to cough as he was still trying to process what happened. Alan’s head began to ring, and his thoughts ran rampant as he got up from the ground and stumbled forward.
“BOB!” Alan cried out, “What happened?! Wait… No… NO!”
Alan rushed forward and saw Bob laying on the ground, half of his face ripped off and most of his body charred, with bone exposed to the compound’s air. Bob began to cough as his head rolled over to the side, dazed and staring at Alan. One of his eyes was missing, the other was bulging out. Bob let out another hoarse cough.
Alan fell to his knees. He didn’t know why he felt this way, but it certainly didn’t feel good. Out of all of the people on this island, the only one who had really been there for him since the beginning was Bob. Not the Crimson Crusader, not Samuel’s group, nobody.
For some time, Alan had even considered Bob a good friend.
All in all, as memories came flooding in of their short time together on this sinister isle, he felt his eyes get watery. His head dropped in shame, knowing that he was unable to protect this man who had so selflessly given up his life to keep him safe. Whatever he had done to end up on this island as the Vice President, Alan didn’t care about. All Alan knew was that Bob didn’t deserve to die like this.
Bob stared at Alan for a moment. He seemed lost in his thoughts. But he had no regret in his eye. He stirred softly, before finally his body became still. For a moment, he opened his mouth.
“Alan,” Bob weakly muttered, “Thank you for being my friend.”
“Charlotte.”
“Dan…”
A million thoughts had run through Bob’s head as the mad scientist came running toward them. Everything he had worked for was to keep the scholars safe. He felt as if his knowledge was the only thing that could save them. But deep down, he knew that his old friend wouldn’t have kept his word. And deep down, he knew his old friend was long gone. Now he was just a man drowned within the confines of the constellations, searching for something he would have never been able to achieve. Bob knew there was no hope for him. He knew… that this was his finality.
“If I’m gonna go out… I’ll go out protecting these guys,” Bob thought meekly as his vision began to fade, “Alan. It’s up to you now.”
Bob closed his eye softly.
Alan pounded his fists into Bob’s chest, balling them up tight and curling his back in frustration and miserability. He had failed his only friend. Alan couldn’t even be bothered to go figure out where Samuel was, or if Nova needed help fighting that Rex.
“Please just let it be a bad dream,” Alan begged to the stars, “Please please please…”
But nobody came.
~
“Heh,” Dan Walker said, watching the hologram with a grin. He kicked back in his seat and tugged at the collar of his white suit, flashing his grin to the constellations above.
“Would you look at that? Guess I win, best friend.”
~
Samuel was the first to attack.
He rushed forward with a battle cry and then swung his pike at Loki. Loki’s implant glowed, and Samuel suddenly found himself blinded. He could feel the draft of the wind coming toward his face and he quickly ducked out of the way. Loki stumbled forward and Samuel charged, slamming into him and grabbing a hold of his waist.
SLAM!
Samuel slammed him into the window, but as the glass began to crack, he felt Loki disappear from his grasp. Samuel’s vision cleared and he realized Loki was seemingly gone.
Before Samuel could figure out what happened, Samuel was shoved hard against the glass.
KAPOW!
The glass began to crack more and Samuel turned around to see Loki standing behind him with raised fists. It was like staring into his mirror. Loki let out a scream and lifted his leg, swinging it full force at Samuel’s face. Samuel quickly weaved to the right, avoiding the attack, but Loki’s body shimmered away and he appeared right next to Samuel, counteracting with a punch to the gut. Samuel barely had time to react as he tensed up his stomach, preventing the punch from harming any of his organs. Loki shimmered away once again, appearing a few meters away from Samuel on the other side of the room next to the elevator.
“He can teleport?” Samuel thought as Loki glared back at him. Samuel held onto his pike tighter. Then, he dropped it to the ground. It was too much heavy weight. He’d have to full on hands…
“Guess we’ll have to do things the old fashioned way,” Samuel sneered at Loki. Samuel charged at Loki, bolting as fast as he could, but then Loki’s implant glowed again and he threw a tennis ball at Samuel’s face. Samuel stopped dead in his tracks as the tennis ball hit his nose, stinging him for a bit. Loki had two more tennis balls in his hands, and he tossed them both at Samuel, hitting him in the head and chest.
“How many damn attributes does this guy have?!” Samuel thought in horror as Loki smirked at him. Samuel’s graduation robe stood still as sand, as the two stared off at each other, wondering who would make the next move.
“My turn,” Loki whispered under his breath. Wings sprouted from his back and he took flight in the small office, charging forward and slamming himself into Samuel. Samuel let out a grunt as he toppled backwards, quickly getting back up onto his feet and analyzing the desk. There was nothing noticeable on it.
“You don’t have an implant do you?” Loki realized with wide eyes as Samuel’s head jolted back to face Loki. Samuel glared.
“What does it matter?!” Samuel screamed, “You killed Aurora! You deserve to die for taking her away from me!”
“I killed her?” Loki chuckled, “Yeah. Right.”
“Last time I checked I wasn’t the one who stuck a spear in her.”
Samuel froze in place at his words and Loki used this to his advantage. He teleported in front of him and then slammed his fist as hard as he could into Loki.
POW!
Powered by the artifact Samuel went crashing out the window and down the tower. Loki jumped out the window and dived down toward him, his hands outstretched. The wind howled around them. Loki dived a bit harder and then grabbed onto Samuel’s robes. As they neared the ground, Loki held his hands out and Samuel’s back crunched as he hit the ground full force.
A memory flew by Samuel’s eyes as quick as the night sky. A gasp of pain slipped from his lips as his vision began to wane. Loki punted him as hard as he could and his body crashed through the walls of one of the barns.
BOOM!
Samuel’s body rolled off the stone floor, and he landed next to a dead body that had fallen onto the ground. The pile of blood soaked into his graduation robes, further staining its shadowy fabric. Shocks of pain were sent up Samuel’s spine as he struggled to regain his stature.
Loki was just too powerful.
~
The jaded man slowly walked forward, his green eyes pinned directly toward Samuel. A blue mystical flame sprouted from his left eye and left hand. A blue hue quickly enveloped Samuel and Loki lifted him into the air with his telekinesis, the air not resisting against his body. Loki violently slammed his hand down, and Samuel’s leg twisted as his body collided with the flooring.
SNAP!
Samuel let out a howl of pain as his right leg was distorted in ways it shouldn’t have been distorted in. Every time Loki inflicted a heavy wound on Samuel, he could feel himself losing his grip on the world. He felt his mind wander to memories of old times, and then suddenly time skipped forward and Samuel had crawled a few inches away from him.
“W-What was that?!” Loki thought as he looked around. He heard voices whisper in his ears, and then comforting hands rest on his shoulders.
“Finish the job, you’re almost done!” Mr. Ma told him.
“Yeah… Let’s get this over with for once!” Chloe said with impatience. Loki nodded firmly, clenching his fists tightly. All the artifacts’ powers flowed throughout his body. Energy, strength, and flight.
Loki snarled and teleported in front of Samuel.
~
Samuel looked up to see Loki’s body towering over his, and then he felt a powerful punch swing at his cheek. Samuel quickly weaved to the side, barely clinging onto his life as his heart began to pound against his ears. Blood poured from his lips as Loki’s fist punctured the ground.
POW!
KABOOM!
The barn around them began to collapse in on itself. Samuel grabbed the nearby body of a girl with magenta hair and pulled it on top of him as the debris began to fall down on the two of them.
Crackle!
KA-KRASH!
Loki’s body shimmered away as he teleported from the scene.
Samuel gritted his teeth as chunks of stone fell atop him and his shield, and he felt more blood splatter onto the ground next to him and onto his robes. He shut his eyes, until it was over. The building had finally fallen down. Samuel held onto the corpse as tight as he could, the musk smell of death entered his lungs. The Artifact of the Clever rang in his head.
“I’ll suffocate soon if I don’t get out of here,” Samuel realized as he looked around. The air was smokey and toxic, “But I think President Loki will get me out of here just to kill me personally.”
~
Loki looked onwards at the calamity. He stormed up to the debris and began to kick it away with his super strength.
“I want to see this bastard one last time before he bites the dust,” Loki murmured under his breath as the stone chunks were kicked out of the walls of the town. The snowflakes began to pour down harder as the howl of wolves echoed in the air.
CRASH!
Loki looked on with a smirk, but then his smirk faded into a look of horror as his eyes gazed down at Sophie’s mutilated face, crushed and caved in by the debris of the barn. He could feel his head begin to hurt as Chloe’s voice began to scream in his ear. Loki clutched onto the sides of his head and stumbled backwards.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” Chloe cried out, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!”
Loki let out a scream, and then he blacked out.
~
Samuel could hear his twin’s scream as the debris was lifted off of his body. Samuel tossed the magenta-haired woman’s body to the side and let out a gasp as he clutched onto his leg. He looked up at Loki. There were white blobs covering his face, wriggling around like a sentient parasite. Samuel didn’t know what it was, but it had given him his opportunity to flee and recover.
Samuel began to crawl away once again.
And then he was lifted into the air with that strange force again.
Loki’s hand waved on its own, and Samuel’s back slammed into the wall of another building. Loki ran up to Samuel like a zombie and punched him in the gut. Samuel let out a groan and winced. Poison claws grew out of Loki’s knuckles, and then he pressed the sharp tips against Samuel’s stomach.
“Just die already,” Loki gasped, the white blobs convulsing even more.
Samuel didn’t understand how Loki had been able to grow this powerful. But one thing was for sure. Him killing all of his tribemates led to this psychotic episode of his.
“Guess I was right all along,” Samuel thought as brief memories of him and Aurora together on the island flashed by his face.
“I don’t want you to lose yourself,” Samuel told Aurora, “And, it’s not like I can get stronger anyway. I don’t have an implant.”
Out of all the people on this island, Aurora was the only one he had willingly told about his circumstance.
Out of all the people on this island, Aurora was the only one somewhat like him.
And out of all the deaths that he had witnessed on this island, Aurora was the only one he had cried for.
Samuel didn’t understand this feeling inside his heart. This feeling of regret. And of pain. Why did he try so hard for her forgiveness? Why did he cry so hard for someone he loathed? Samuel closed his eyes and felt Aurora’s words flood his mind like a tsunami. It all hurt so bad, but at the same time felt relieving. He’d be seeing her soon, at least.
Samuel uttered his final words to Loki, and then accepted his fate,
“Do it.”
Loki reached his fist back.
~
Nova slammed her skull into the Rex, its body battered and torn. With one final chomp, Nova clamped down on the Tyrannosaurus’ neck. It let out one last defiant roar before Nova pressed down all 35,000 Newtons of pressure onto its bone and neck.
CRACK!
The Tyrannosaurus’ neck finally hung limply in Nova’s jaws, and then Nova dropped the Tyrannosaurus to the ground. It let out a deafening noise as its body crashed into the snow.
BOOM!
Snowy powder flew into the air, coating Nova’s hide in snow. Her eyes darted around, her tail swishing anxiously.
“Any other threats?” Nova thought to herself.
Her beast eyes widened as she spotted Samuel pressed up against the wall by Loki. Nova let out a roar and began to charge at Loki. Loki paid no attention to her. Nova felt her body twist and transform, and then, she was back as a human!
Nova looked at her human hands in awe. She had managed to transform back into a human without someone calling her name. but glanced back up at Loki. Despite all Samuel had done, he was still her best friend. He wasn’t dying on her watch.
Nova ran up, her black graduation robe billowing in the wind, and then reached her hand out and grabbed a tuft of Loki’s fur shoulder plate. With all her strength, she pulled Loki off of Samuel.
Loki stumbled back, and Nova was quickly lifted into the air with his telekinesis and slammed into the snow.
“Whoever did that should stop and get out of my way,” Loki snarled. Samuel gasped at the sight of Nova as he crumpled to the ground. He stood up on one kneel.
“Nova!” Samuel cried out. Nova smirked back.
“Don’t worry, you won’t fight this battle alone,” Nova reassured him. Nova’s implant glowed, and Samuel’s mind cleared of all his thoughts. With the pain rushing out of his head, Samuel grabbed a hold of his leg and snapped it back in place. Samuel grimaced and stood up shakily. Loki slowly looked back and forth at the two best friends, the white blobs convulsing and growing larger.
“So how do we beat this guy?” Nova asked.
Loki gave no opportunity for either of the two to plan. He lunged at Nova first, but she quickly transformed into a Raptor, causing a white light to flash into the sky. Nova leapt out of the way, and Loki missed her by mere inches. Nova pounced on Loki and slashed at his left eye. Loki let out a howl of pain as blood rippled down his chin and onto the snow, making it a crimson red. Nova kept her talons wrapped around his throat, keeping him in place.
“I think we need to use his past sins against him,” Samuel theorized from afar, “It makes him lose more control over himself. Those white blobs covering his face grow more and more.”
Nova chittered back in acknowledgement. But then suddenly she dropped to the ground. Loki had teleported away from her grasp and behind her. Poison claws grew out of Loki’s knuckles and he slashed viciously at Nova like a Therizinosaurus. Deep cuts embedded with poison appeared on her tail and Nova skidded away, yelping in surprise. Samuel’s eyes widened as he did this. Knowing what had happened the last time someone was on the receiving end of those dangerous claws, he let out a scream of rage and charged at him.
“YOU’LL PAY FOR THAT!!” he screamed. Samuel swung his fist full force at Loki’s cheek and more blood spurted out of his lips as Loki was flung backwards. Adrenaline and emotions poured into every little crevice of Samuel’s body. Samuel’s body began to shake as he felt his soul rise. He let out another blood curdling scream and swung his other fist full force at Loki’s liver. The shot was so powerful that Loki let out a grunt as he was launched backward. His feet skidded through the snow and Samuel felt his eyes tear up as he charged forward to launch another devastating blow.
“TAKE THIS!” Samuel bellowed as he took away Loki’s reproductive rights.
~
Loki found himself being thrown around by those he cared about. Mr. Ma, Chloe, Sophie, Brad, everybody.
A punch to the gut, and then a kick to his crouch.
Trapped inside a strange realm filled with nothing but the constellations, he let his body be tossed around. He closed his eyes gently, trying his best to drown out the pain. He felt every bone in his body ripple with pain with each hit landed on him.
Mr. Ma bashed his head against Loki’s skull, and a headache instantly washed over him as his vision began to waver. The constellations sparkled even more as the beating continued. He felt tears drip down his face, the weight of his sins heavy on his shoulders.
“You said you’d keep me safe,” Chloe’s voice echoed in the chamber of constellations, “But now you’re tearing me down.”
“Am I laid to waste?”
“Now that you’re not around?”
Loki’s lip quivered, and he began to sob as his body burnt and his head echoed with the voices of all he had harmed. All he had hurt. Loki clenched his fists and let his body take over.
“Come and leave your mark,” Loki shouted, “Vandalize my heart.”
~
In an instant, white blobs exploded and rippled all across Loki’s body. Samuel and Nova were launched backwards into the hailing snow as Loki’s body began to glow with heavenly power. Loki teleported into the air and launched a hail of tennis balls at the two. Loki pointed his knuckles at the two and began shooting his claws at them. Wings sprouted out of his back as he maintained his flight.
Nova quickly transformed back into a human and dashed toward Samuel, jumping and pushing him out of the way of an incoming poison claw. Nova seemed uninjured in her human form. Samuel quickly realized that all her animal forms retained the injuries but not her human form.
“What a relief,” Samuel thought. Tennis balls littered the ground now. Nova’s implant glowed again and she transformed into a Tyrannosaurus, making a white light flash across the landscape. She let out a fierce roar and swiped her tails, batting the tennis balls out of the way. She quickly transformed back into a human and helped Samuel up to his feet.
“Are you absolutely sure that this strategy will help us take him down?” Nova asked, obviously skeptical. Her face was already pouring with sweat and her breathing was labored. Samuel was too. But Loki seemed to have no signs of tiring out. Must have been the effects of either one of his attributes or an artifact.
“I think so,” Samuel replied back, panting.
“Very reassuring!” Nova rolled her eyes.
“No, but for real. Even though his attacks are getting faster and stronger… He’s leaving himself open for more attacks,” Samuel replied back, his voice getting huskier, “We can take him down…”
Nova sighed, closing her eyes and brushing her hair to the side.
“Okay. Let’s do this. Hop on my back.”
Samuel clambered onto her shoulders and Nova transformed back into a Tyrannosaurus. A white light flashed in their eyes and Nova let out a ferocious roar, charging at Loki. Samuel steadied his balance, and then as she got closer to him, he jumped up with all his strength.
Loki didn’t even see it coming. Samuel landed on Loki and held onto him as hard as he could. Samuel bashed his head into Loki’s cranium and Loki stumbled backwards into the air. Loki grabbed at Samuel’s robes and tried to tear him off, but he wouldn’t budge. With one last attempt at bringing him back down to the ground, he leaned forward and bit down on his neck. Loki began to squirm and panic even more, and Samuel let out a cry as he tore a chunk of his flesh off.
Blood poured out onto Samuel’s face and he spit out the flesh, coughing and gagging. Loki’s wings flapped faster and he began to fly around frantically. Samuel knew what he had to do. He reached for the metal wings and held onto them, and with all his strength, tore them off.
RIIIPPPP!
Loki let out a howl of pain as the wings were torn off his back. Stumps of flesh were left on the wings. Loki’s implant glowed and an artifact shot out of it, landing into the snow. Loki fell to the ground, and Samuel turned his body around forcing Loki to suffer the impact of the attack.
KAPOW!
Nova transformed back into a human and quickly grabbed the artifact, absorbing it and letting her own wings unfold from her back. She flew toward the two and lifted her feet up, slamming them as hard as she could into his skull.
POW!
Loki was sent flying backwards as more blood sprouted out onto the snow. By now the whole ground was filled with it. Loki made no noise as his armor was broken and dented. His chitin armor began to fall off. The damage had been done.
Loki’s head hung in shame.
And then the barking of wolves filled the air as Loki’s implant shone.
The two turned around and saw a huge pack of spirit wolves charging at them. Exhausted and unable to fight back they could only watch as the wolves pounced on them and dragged them down to the ground.
Spirit teeth clashing and lashing at them, Samuel felt his heart grow cold. Had it all been for nothing? He felt his body give out as the last of his energy began to fade.
“It’s not enough fighting against this maniac,” Samuel thought as the spirit wolves grew in number, “What’s the point…”
As Samuel closed his eyes and accepted his fate…
And then something unexpected occurred.
A grenade clattered to the ground near the back of the spirit wolves. Samuel’s eyes widened at the sight. Its pin was pulled, and it beeped a bit, before finally it exploded.
KABOOM!
Shrapnel flew everywhere and hit Samuel a bit in the leg. Snow flew all over his body and the spirit wolves were instantly torn apart. Samuel could barely make out a skinny figure in the distance carrying a bag.
“Third time’s the charm eh?” the mysterious figure quipped, oddly familiar, “Don’t worry you two. I’m here to help.”
The mysterious figure emerged from the blizzard, his bangs flowing in the wind and his eyes filled with determination. He was holding onto a spear tightly with his other hand and he was covered head to toe in flak armor.
“Neddy!” Nova cried out in surprise, “Where you’d find that grenade?”
“Heh, did I show up too late? I heard that commotion and saw that crazy dude flying in the sky so I decided why not give y’all a hand? I found that grenade in some bag in the barn by the way. I almost barfed at what I saw but… Lucky us I found it,” Neddy replied. He looked around curiously, “Where’s Bob and Alan?”
“They’re fighting off Dr. Aston,” Samuel replied quickly, getting back up onto his feet to face Loki. Loki stood in the snow, his body shaking and quivering. The white blobs intensified. Nova and Neddy looked at Samuel in confusion.
“Dr. Aston?!” they said simultaneously.
“Yeah long story short he became a mad scientist… I think they got it handled though,” Samuel said. He turned to face Loki, “Let’s just handle this guy for now.”
Loki’s spirit wolves were dissolved, and it seemed he had run out of tricks up his sleeve. With no desire to teleport, he just stood there in the snow, waiting for the trio to make their move.
Neddy took off his glasses and put them away in his pockets. He dropped the bag onto the snow and clutched onto the spear tightly.
“It’s showtime.”
The three charged at Loki with all their strength and energy. Neddy jabbed at Loki, who quickly dodged to the left, and then Nova lifted his leg and slammed it onto the side of Loki’s face. Loki’s body stumbled to the side and he was met with a powerful blow to the cheek.
The three quickly surrounded him and took turns attacking him one by one. More blood flew onto the snow as Loki’s body was passed on to the others for their pleasure.
Pow.
BAM!
Skadoosh!
KABLOOEY!
Still, Loki’s body proved resistant. He seemed unable to die.
With a powerful punch, Loki’s body was punched all the way across the settlement. He crashed through building after building, making each one collapse one by one. A trail of blood followed his path. The three quickly ran his way and eventually found themselves in an empty part of the settlement. Loki was standing on the bloodstained snow, trembling once more. Tears were streaming down his face along with the blood. Samuel looked past Loki and noticed the unmarked gravestone that was embedded into the ground. A bloodstained pike lay there.
Whose was it?
“Could it have been Mr. Mo’s?” Samuel thought, “If Dr. Aston is here… No way…”
Samuel had a great idea. If he took Loki out of this state… Perhaps he could finally end him. Samuel stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak.
“WOW! You killed Mr. Mo?!” Samuel shouted, almost laughing at the thought, “You really ARE a monster!”
Loki froze.
Suddenly, Loki began to remember!
~
“I want you to succeed. I love your stories a lot. Much better than… Nevermind.”
Why wolves? Seems like an odd choice to me. You know most stories revolve around us humans, right?”
“Promise me you won’t die. You’ll escape and be free.”
“Don’t let your morals stop you, but don’t let heartlessness rule you either. There must be a balance, Loki. There must be another way.”
“I will always see you as my son, Loki. And I will always be by your side.”
~
The white blobs that surrounded his face and body disappeared in an instant. Loki had a look of horror on his face, the realization of all he had done finally setting in. His body was battered, bruised, and bleeding in places he shouldn’t have been. He no longer looked like the cold President they had faced when Aurora was slain.
“You-” Loki paused, “I-”
The white blobs began to flicker back. There was no time left. They had to act, and fast. Samuel’s eyes darted to Neddy’s spear, and he snatched it out of his hands, much to his surprise. Samuel darted forward, and with one final stab, slammed the tip into Loki’s heart.
SPLATTER!
SHINK!
The spear went right through the other side.
Blood dripped off the spear’s sharp end as Loki groaned, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Blood seeped from the wound, and Samuel pushed Loki toward the gravestone, pulling the spear out. Loki’s implant began to dim.
Loki collapsed into a sitting position next to the grave, his back rested against it. He breathed softly. Nova and Neddy watched on as Samuel stepped up to Loki. Samuel stared down at Loki’s face. He almost felt like it was necessary to spit on him and walk away, but he chose not to.
Samuel sat down next to him, resting his head in shame. He felt his heart pounding against his chest loudly. The stars above them were twinkling brightly. He looked up for a moment.
They were so beautiful.
“I’m sorry,” Loki suddenly said, “For killing your friend.”
Samuel looked back at Loki. For a moment, it almost felt like he was staring at himself. The two looked so alike. And they were alike in their own ways. They had both done a lot of bad things. That was for sure. And they both cared a lot about those they loved.
“I’m sorry too,” Samuel apologized, “It was my fault your friend died.”
Loki muttered something weakly under his breath. Then he looked up at the stars.
“No. It’s not,” Loki whispered, “It’s mine. It’s mine…”
Samuel fiddled with his thumbs uncomfortably.
“I’m also sorry for… you know,” Samuel gritted his teeth, looking at the wound in Loki’s chest. Loki shut his eyes softly, sighing.
“It’s okay,” Loki replied, “I deserve it. I… deserve it. I…”
Loki’s breathing began to slow down. His implant shone brightly one last time, and then a stack of papers manifested in his left hand. He weakly held it up to Samuel. Samuel gently grabbed the papers and looked at the top of the front page.
It read, ‘My Story’.
As Samuel flipped through the pages he noticed Loki’s name sprawled throughout, along with Mr. Ma’s and the woman named Chloe’s. Regret and pain flooded the words of the pages. Samuel looked up at Loki.
He wasn’t breathing anymore.
Samuel looked back down at the pages and continued to read through them. He felt a lump in his throat grow as he neared the end. And then he began to tear up.
Loki didn’t deserve any of this.
One fateful turn had caused Loki’s death.
Samuel looked back up at the stars. An aurora lingered in the sky. The constellations twinkled back down upon him. Samuel closed his eyes as he wondered…
Why?
Why did they have to be put through this?
Samuel could have imagined a life as a friend of Loki’s. A friend of Aurora. And of Andres. And of everyone who had to die on the island. Of everyone who had to suffer. He knew they were all in a place over heaven now. But still. Samuel promised himself one thing.
Whoever was responsible for putting them there would die, no matter what.
